'A Gentle Whisper in Your Ear'

Sustainable Fire Engineering – Recent Dublin Presentations !

2019-03-19:  Two Conference & Exhibition Events were recently held in Dublin’s City West Convention Centre …

• 2019 National Sustainability Summit –  http://www.sustainabilitysummit.ie/
• 2019 National Construction Summit –  http://www.nationalconstructionsummit.ie/

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I was very pleased to make a Presentation at both events, adapted to suit an Irish context, on … ‘Sustainable Fire Engineering – Necessary Professional Transformation For The 21st Century’ … which continues to evolve.

Sustainable Fire Engineering:  The creative, person-centred and ethical Fire Engineering response, in resilient built form and smart systems, to the concept of Sustainable Human and Social Development … the many aspects of which must receive synchronous and balanced consideration !

Presentation Abstract

Annual Fire Losses, both direct and indirect, amount to a very significant percentage of Gross Domestic Product (#GDP) in all economies, whether they are rich or poor … and result in enormous environmental devastation and social disruption.  Some losses have not yet been fully identified, e.g. environmental impact … while others are not yet capable of being fully quantified, e.g. business interruption, brand and reputation damage.  Globally, fire statistics still remain unreliable.  In all cases, however, the waste of valuable human and natural resources caused by preventable fires is unsustainable and no longer acceptable.

From an entirely different perspective … Sustainable Buildings are presenting every society with an innovative and exciting re-interpretation of how a building functions in response to critical energy, environmental, climate change and planetary capacity pressures … an approach which has left the International Fire Engineering and Firefighting Communities far behind in its wake, struggling to develop the necessary ‘creative’ and ‘sustainable’ fire safety strategies.

The Aim of Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) is to dramatically reduce direct and indirect fire losses in the Human Environment (including the social, built, economic, virtual, and institutional environments) … to protect the Natural Environment … and, within buildings, to ensure that there is an effective level of Fire Safety for All Occupants, not just for Some, over the full building life cycle.

The following Priority Themes for SFE lie outside, or beyond, the constrained and limited fire safety objectives of current fire regulations, codes and standards – objectives which do not properly protect society, a fire engineer’s clients, or the facility manager’s organization:

1. Fire Safety for ALL, not just for Some.  Nobody left behind !
2. Firefighter Safety.  Everyone goes home !   It is easy to dramatically improve firefighter safety with building design.  So, why haven’t NIST’s 2005 and 2008 WTC 9-11 Critical Recommendations been properly implemented anywhere ?
3. Property Protection.  Fire damage and post-fire reconstruction/refurbishment are a huge waste of resources.  On the other hand, protection of an organization’s image/brand/reputation is important … and business continuity is essential.  Heritage fire losses can never be replaced.
4. Environmental Impact. Prevention of a fire is far better than any cure !   But prevention must also begin by specifying ‘clean’ technologies and products.  Low Pressure Water Mist Systems are not only person/environment-friendly and resource efficient … they are absolutely essential in airtight and hyper energy-efficient building types (e.g. LEED, PassivHaus, BREEAM) in order to achieve an effective level of fire safety for all occupants, and firefighters.    [ Note: Environmental Impact Assessment (#EIA) has been superseded by Sustainability Impact Assessment (#SIA).]
5. Building Innovation, People and Their Interaction.  Fire engineers and firefighters must begin to understand today’s new design strategies.
6. Sustainable Design and Engineering. Wake up and smell the coffee !   Legislation can only achieve so much.  Spatial planners, building designers and fire engineers must subscribe to a robust Code of Ethics * which is fit for purpose in the Human Environment of the 21st Century.

Sustainable Fire Engineering Solutions are …

• Adapted to a local context, i.e. climate change/variability/extremes, social need, geography, economy, and culture, etc ;
• Reliability-based – lessons from real extreme and hybrid events, e.g. 2001 WTC 9-11 Attack, 2008 Mumbai/2015 Paris/2016 Brussels Hive Attacks and the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Incident, are applied to frontline practice ;
• Person-centred – real people are placed at the centre of creative endeavours and due consideration is given to their responsible needs, and their health, safety, welfare and security in the Human Environment ;
• Resilient – functioning must be reliable during normal conditions, and include the ability to withstand, adapt to and absorb unusual disturbance, disruption or damage, and thereafter to quickly return to an enhanced state of function.

* Refer to the 2016 Dublin Code of Ethics: Design, Engineering, Construction & Operation of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for All (PDF File, 112 kb).

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Spectacular Dawn over Amandola (FM), in Italy – 28 April 2013 !

2013-05-02:   Yes, that is the moon … yes, that is a rainbow … yes, those are the Sibillini Mountains still sketched with snow … yes, those are the cloud formations and colours at one moment during a spectacular dawn over Amandola at 06.12 hrs on Sunday morning, 28 April 2013 …

Taking a photograph is a distraction from the ‘real’ experience … it fails to capture and communicate the ‘person-centred’ feeling …

And I can imagine more comfortable words to describe this scene … ‘spiritual’, ‘transcendental’, ‘metaphysical’, ‘mystical’, ‘supernatural’ …

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Older People in Emergencies – Urgent Action Required !! (I)

2009-11-25:  In the midst of an economic, financial and fiscal crisis in Ireland … the country has recently been hit by a Major Flood Emergency in the West and South … extending inland almost to the centre.  The emergency will continue over the next few days.

There appears to be no central co-ordination of the response to this National Emergency.  No public guidance or other announcements have been published in the national media.

Further to the full page advertisement promoting the National Older & Bolder Campaign, which was printed on Page 7 of The Irish Times (2009-11-19) … the contents of World Health Organization (WHO) Fact Sheet: ‘Older Persons in Emergencies’, drafted following the 2006 Lebanon Humanitarian Crisis, are both appropriate and particularly relevant for Ireland now …

When dealing with older people in emergencies, a number of issues which might affect them will require special consideration.  Apart from specific chronic disease and disability related issues, two major factors contribute to increased vulnerability of older people in emergencies: the ‘normal’ challenges of physical ageing and social loss, and the ‘environmental’ challenges.  In a crisis, minor impairments which do not interfere with daily functioning in the normal environment can quickly become major handicaps that overwhelm an individual’s capacity to cope.  For instance, an older person with arthritic knees and diminished vision, living alone in a high-rise apartment with no family members or friends nearby, can become incapable of getting food or water or of fleeing danger, and may be overlooked by neighbours.

Specific Issues

There are several specific issues that affect older people, separately or in combination, and which can impact on their ability to respond or react in an emergency.  Awareness of these specific issues by all those giving aid, or surrounding them, will improve interactions.  Knowledge of the age profile in an affected community, as an emergency response is prepared, will help to ensure that older people at risk are identified and that appropriate supplies and services are provided on-site.

The specific issues affecting older people are:

1.   Sensory Deficits (especially vision and hearing)

• reduced awareness ;
• difficulty accessing and comprehending visual and auditory information, and responding appropriately ;
• reduced mobility and risk of disorientation.

2.   Slower Comprehension and Retention of Information (especially new, complex or rapidly delivered information)

• difficulty accessing information ;
• difficulties in understanding and acting on risks, warnings, directions ;
• reduced capacity for self-protection and avoidance of harm ;
• disorientation in unfamiliar environments ;
• greater risk for abuse and exploitation ;
• provision of information in more accessible and structured formats.

3.   Less Efficient Thermoregulation

• greater susceptibility to hypothermia, hyperthermia and dehydration ;
• appropriate shelter, clothing and food, as well as adequate fluid intake.

4.   Reduced Functional Ability (poorer balance and reduced speed, psycho-motor co-ordination, strength and resistance)

• reduced mobility and risk of being housebound ;
• increased risk of falling ;
• decreased capacity for self-protection and harm-avoidance ;
• difficulty getting basic necessities and accessing health facilities, e.g. local clinics ;
• increased vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.

5.   Difficulties in Urinary Continence

• need for adequate toilet facilities and continence supplies.

6.   Oral Health & Dental Problems

• easy-to-eat soft food and fluids may be necessary.

7.   Changes to Patterns of Digestion 

• need for smaller, more frequent portions of easily-digestible, nutrient-dense food and adequate fluids.

8.   Increased Body Fat Composition, with Decreased Muscle Mass and Metabolic Rates

• greater sensitivity to certain medications with potential adverse effects on functional ability and cognition.

9.   Greater Prevalence, and Co-Morbidity of Ageing-Related Chronic Disease and Disability (e.g. coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancers, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, cognitive impairment)

• need for condition-specific medications, treatments, medical device and assistance aids (oxygen, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, glasses) ;
• higher risk for adverse drug reactions.

10.  Weaker and Smaller Social Networks (e.g. widowed, living alone, minimal contact with neighbours, dispersion of family)

• reduced awareness and comprehension of the situation ;
• greater risk of social isolation, neglect, abandonment, abuse and exploitation.

11.  Heavy Reliance on Care and Support by Very Few Family Members

• when essential family support is disrupted, physical and psychological functioning can deteriorate rapidly ;
• reunification with family is particularly important.

12.  Psycho-Social Issues

• reactions to loss of home, family and possessions can be more acute for older people who cannot rebuild their lives ;
• resistance to leaving, and grieving, may be strong.

13.  Reliance of Other Family Members on Older People

• older people often care for other dependent adults and children and may require resources for others as well as themselves.

Last but not least: Older People should not be considered solely as a Special Needs Group.  From numerous accounts of natural disaster and armed conflict situations, it is known that their knowledge of the community, previous experiences with such events, and position of respect and influence within their families and communities are critical resources in dealing effectively with emergencies.

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Sustainable Fire Engineering & Fires in Buildings ?

2009-07-11:   Practical Implementation of Sustainable Human & Social Development … transforming our Human Environment by gradually improving and monitoring ‘Real’ Sustainability Performance … depends entirely on directly applying a Multi-Aspect Understanding of ‘Sustainability’, in a manner which is both balanced and equitable, to all of the many different facets of Sustainable Design.

Therefore … responding ethically and professionally, in built and/or wrought (worked) form, to the still evolving concept of Sustainable Human & Social Development …

        … the specific aim of Sustainable Fire Engineering shall be to design for Maximum Credible Fire & User Scenarios … in order to maintain a proper and satisfactory level of fire safety and protection over the full life cycle of a building.

[Sustainable Fire Engineering can be applied, equally, to other elements of the Built Environment, e.g. means of transport on land or sea.]

As discussed in a previous post … the Minimum Life Cycle of a Sustainable Building is 100 Years.  AND, to prolong Building Life Cycle and maximize Building Usability … such a building must be Flexible and Adaptable with regard to internal layout, Accessible for People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) … and Structurally Robust.

 

Maximum Credible Fire Scenario:

A sequence of events during a ‘real’ fire incident in a building – related to design, construction, occupancy, fire loads, ignition sources, spatial geometry, fire protection measures (both passive and active) … and an adverse, but reasonable to anticipate, operation and management status – which culminates in fire conditions which are severe, but reasonable to anticipate over a complete building life cycle.

 

Maximum Credible User Scenario:

Indicates building user conditions which are also severe but reasonable to anticipate over a complete building life cycle, i.e. …

• the Number of People Using a Building increases, on occasions which cannot be specified, to 120% of Calculated Maximum Building Capacity ;

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• 10% of People Using the Building (occupants, visitors & other users) have an Impairment (visual or hearing, physical function, psychological, mental or cognitive … with some impairments not being identifiable, e.g. anosognosia).

 

Sustainable Fire Engineering Strategy:

A coherent and purposeful arrangement of fire protection and fire prevention measures which is developed in order to meet specified Sustainable Fire Engineering Design Objectives.

In designing a building for conditions of fire, and its aftermath, project-specific Sustainable Fire Engineering Design Objectives typically cover the following spectrum of concerns …

• Protection of the Health and Safety of All Building Users … including people with activity limitations, visitors to the building who may be unfamiliar with its layout, and contractors or product/service suppliers temporarily engaged in work or business transactions on the premises ;
• Protection of Property … including the building, its contents, and adjoining or adjacent properties, from loss or damage ;
• Protection of the Health and Safety of Firefighters, Rescue Teams and other First Response Personnel ;
• Protection of the Natural Environment from Harm, i.e. adverse impacts ;
• Facility, Ease and Cost of carrying out Effective Repair, Refurbishment and Reconstruction Works after the Fire ;
• Sustainability of the Human Environment (Social, Built, Virtual, Economic … ).

 

Human Health:

A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.   (World Health Organization)

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