#PwAL

Sorry Excuse For A Fire Evacuation Staircase In The Grenfell Tower – Supported By Shoddy ‘Expert’ Evidence !

Posted by CJ Walsh

2024-10-06:  After reading the  Grenfell Tower Inquiry  Phase 1 Recommendations (Chapter 33) … I was naturally curious about what would be happening during the next phase.  Paragraph 34.14 in Chapter 34, however, struck me as strange, even unbelievable … the single narrow #Stairs in the Tower would NOT be the subject of further investigation in Phase 2..

This is the Ridiculous Single Narrow Fire Evacuation Staircase in the High-Rise Residential Grenfell Tower …

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Although the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Recommendations (Chapter 113) concluded by looking back to Phase 1, and specifically mentioning Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (#PEEP) … nothing was said about the Fire Evacuation Staircase.  Case closed.  And there is only one word to describe this outcome: ‘FUBAR’ !

Struggling to understand that highly questionable decision … a deep dive into the Phase 1 ‘Expert’ Technical Evidence led me to this Page from Report BLAS0000019, dated 2018-10-24 …

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Three Important Documents Relevant To Competent Fire Evacuation Staircase Design :

  1. Orientation Manual for First Responders on the Evacuation of People with Disabilities, Document FA-235 / August 2002, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (#FEMA) in the #USA.  Yes indeed, this document was published way back in 2002, and is still freely available on the Internet.

A vital piece of information with regard to the Firefighter’s Lift, and the serious harm which can be inflicted on People with Disabilities by its use …

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In the absence of an operable Lift/Elevator Fire Evacuation Assembly in a building … which is still usually the norm … this photograph provides vital information with regard to the Correct, Best and Least Hazardous Method of assisting the evacuation of a person using a Manual Wheelchair.  Electric wheelchairs are too heavy, and too awkward in shape, to be lifted down/up a Fire Evacuation Staircase, even with three sturdy individuals assisting.  Note that some elaborate, highly-adapted and very expensive manual wheelchairs cannot facilitate being lifted.  In all cases, however, Vulnerable People requiring Mobility Aids will be most reluctant to leave them behind in an emergency … and they MUST be allowed to keep their personal aid.

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  1. Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Centre Towers 1 & 2 (on 2001-09-11), Document NIST NCSTAR 1 / September 2005, published by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (#NIST) in the USA.  Refer to Recommendation 17 on pages 215 and 216.

[ Contraflow Circulation, in a Fire Building:  Emergency access by firefighters or rescue teams into a building and towards a real fire, while building users are still moving away from the fire and evacuating the building. ]

Contraflow Circulation during a Fire Emergency is essential.  This facilitates rapid and safe movement of firefighters towards Fire Protected Lift/Elevator Lobbies and Areas of Rescue Assistance in order to check on the presence, or otherwise, of Vulnerable People who may be waiting for rescue.

Once Firefighters enter a Fire Building … and without provision for #Contraflow Circulation … the ordering of a ‘Stay Put’ Policy for building occupants is the only difficult option … but this is NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE.

Carefully examine the photograph below.  Firefighters wearing heavy protective clothing and also carrying firefighting equipment require far, far more circulation width than 510 mm !!   However, this staircase is still not wide enough to facilitate unhampered building user evacuation.  Notice how people have to twist sideways in order to allow firefighters to pass … and this inevitability slows down evacuation progress in the ‘real’ world.

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  1. International Standard ISO 21542: Building Construction – Accessibility & Usability of the Built Environment, published in 2011 and revised in 2021.  Standardizes good design for accessibility and the safe usability of buildings, which has been common practice for many decades.

Basics Of Staircase Design … Going, Rise, and Height of Handrails … ON BOTH SIDES of every flight of stairs …

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Basics Of Staircase Design … Clear Unobstructed Width – Between 2 Continuous Handrails.  ALL Fire Services MUST adopt this single understanding of ‘clear unobstructed width’ of a staircase !

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Basics Of Staircase Design … Staircases pose a serious hazard, especially during the stressful process of Emergency Evacuation … HAZARD Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (stippled, for hazard) at the TOP and BOTTOM of every flight of stairs.  Concerning this particular design issue, British Standards and English Building Regulations MUST be ignored !

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Basics Of Staircase Design … Handrail Tactile Plates, essential for the evacuation information to be used by people with a visual impairment in an emergency.  Refer to Figure 38 in ISO 21542.  However, this is a much more informative photograph … from one of my previous visits to Japan.  Notice the high colour contrasting …

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Basics Of Fire Evacuation Staircase Design … The Clear Unobstructed Width of 1.50 metres between Continuous Handrails on a Fire Evacuation Staircase facilitates Contraflow Circulation, the Safe Assisted Evacuation of People in Manual Wheelchairs, and Stretcher Evacuation of Building User and/or Firefighter Victims during an emergency.

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CONCLUSIONS

Having been directly involved in the drafting of national and international Accessibility Standards and Technical Guidance since the 1980’s … I am really, really annoyed by the inept and incompetent misuse of raw anthropometric data to try to justify the width of this sorry excuse for a Fire Evacuation Staircase in the Grenfell Tower … and inflicting the Firefighter’s Lift/Carry on People with Disabilities is NOT ACCEPTABLE.  This shoddy ‘expert’ evidence clearly demonstrates a profound ignorance of Building Design, and about how ‘real’ people use ‘real’ buildings.

My great fear is that the technical justification for this shambolic fire evacuation staircase will become a benchmark for similar shambolic staircases in other buildings … not just in England, but in other jurisdictions who are dim-witted enough to copy England’s bad example … whatever it does.

Professional building design, construction and technical control disciplines, who practice in England, MUST carefully read … and keep re-reading, as necessary … Paragraph 113.12 in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report … which is expressed in too mild a form for my liking …

Our investigations have shown that levels of competence in the construction industry are generally low and that by the time of the Grenfell Tower fire many contractors, designers and building control officers treated the Statutory Guidance as containing a definitive statement of the legal requirements.  It is understandable that those who turn to the Guidance for advice about how to comply with the Building Regulations should be tempted to treat it as if it were definitive … We therefore recommend that a revised version of the guidance contain a clear warning in each section that the legal requirements are contained in the Building Regulations and that compliance with the Guidance will not necessarily result in compliance with them.

I must go further … where the Technical Guidance in any of the English Approved Documents is known to be inadequate, or even suspect, it is the ethical duty and responsibility of a true professional to find a better way of complying with the relevant Functional Requirements in Building/Fire Regulations.

In addition, and specifically in relation to Building Fire Safety … it is necessary, at the same time, to comply with ALL of the relevant Functional Requirements in England’s Building Regulations … that means NOT ONLY WITH REQUIREMENT B … BUT ALSO WITH REQUIREMENTS A, K & M (for a start) !   The recent publication of a single document which merges ALL of the Approved Documents is a small step in the right direction of improving a deeply flawed body of building legislation.

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Competent Building Design / Ethical Building Design … Lies Beyond Codes !!

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END

#FireSafety4ALL #NobodyLeftBehind #NeverStayPut #VulnerablePeople #SustainableFireEngineering #SFE #GrenfellTowerFire #GrenfellTowerInquiry #ShoddyTechnicalEvidence #FireEvacuationStaircase #EthicalDesign #BeyondCodes #PeopleWithActivityLimitations #PwAL #WHO #ICF #PeopleWithDisabilities #PwD #Accessibility4ALL #InclusiveAccessibility #FUBAR

Inclusive Accessibility of The Built Environment & Successful Implementation In Japan

Posted by CJ Walsh

2024-09-14:  Inclusive Accessibility of the Built Environment – ‘Accessibility for All’ – is a dynamic, continuously evolving concept … the effective implementation of which is essential if we are to realize a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment … for ALL, i.e. including everybody, every ‘Person’ in society … particularly ‘Vulnerable People’.

Whether it’s People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF), or #Refugees, or #Migrants … how does ‘Inclusion’ differ from ‘Integration’ ?

Graphic Image, in colour, showing the meaning of ‘social inclusion’… and differentiating that concept from ‘integration’, ‘segregation’, and ‘exclusion’.  Always grateful to Solidarité Lilloise Étudiante (So’Lille – France) for this very clever and informative image.  Click to enlarge.

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Vulnerable People :

Those people – in a community, society or culture – who are most at risk of being physically, psychologically or sociologically wounded, hurt, damaged, injured, or killed … and include, for example, people with disabilities, young children, people with health conditions, frail older people, women in late pregnancy, refugees, migrants, prisoners, the poor, and homeless.

People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) :

Those people, of all ages, who are unable to perform, independently and without assistance, basic human activities or tasks – because of a health condition or physical / mental / cognitive / psychological impairment of a permanent or temporary nature.

Accessibility of a Building :

Encompasses the complete cycle of independent use of a building – in a dignified manner and on an equal basis with others – including the approach, entry and usability of the building and its facilities, services and information/communication systems, egress from the building during normal conditions and removal from its vicinity and, most importantly, evacuation during an emergency to a place of safety remote from the building and reached by way of an accessible route … by all of the building’s potential users, with an assurance of their health, safety, welfare and security during the course of those activities.

Successful Accessibility Implementation :  [ Principle 2 – 2015 Dublin Declaration on ‘Fire Safety for All’ in Buildings ]

Successful Accessibility Implementation … meaning high quality accessibility performance in the built environment … is reliant upon:

  • A robust Legal Base mandating accessibility for all and fire safety for all ;
  • Determined Political Will ;
  • Sufficient public Financial Resources ;
  • A compassionate and understanding Bureaucracy at all levels ;
  • Competence … meaning duly educated, trained and experienced in accessibility and fire safety design … spatial planners, architects, structural engineers, fire engineers, quantity surveyors, technical controllers, industrial designers, building managers, and people at all levels in construction organizations ;
  • Independent Monitoring of accessibility and fire safety performance ;
  • Innovative, well-designed accessibility and fire safety related Products and Systems which can be shown to be ‘fit for their intended use’.

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Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan :

Colour Photograph (1 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.
Colour Photograph (2 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.

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Colour Photograph (3 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.
Colour Photograph (4 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.
Colour Photograph (5 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.

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Colour Photograph (6 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.
Colour Photograph (7 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan.  Photograph by CJ Walsh.  2024-04-13.  Click to enlarge.

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Principle 9 – 2004 Rio Declaration on Sustainable Social Development, Disability & Ageing :

Concerted and properly resourced programmes of #Disability and #Age Related education and training should be provided in every U.N. Member State … at all levels … to politicians, educationalists, bureaucrats, administrators, and technical personnel connected, directly or indirectly, with the spatial planning, design, construction/de-construction, operation, management and maintenance of the Human Environment – in order to ensure that the implementation and monitoring of disability and age related Sustainable Social Policies, and the requirements of International Law, are competent and effective.

The #Dignity, #Privacy, #Autonomy and #Independence of every #Person should be respected.

Every U.N. Member State should adopt measures for the production and management of national disability and age related #Statistics – within an agreed and harmonized international framework – which are impartial, reliable, objective, scientifically independent, and accessible to the Public.

For #Survival and #Liberation, the priority targets for a comprehensive range of disability and age related sustainable social policies should be …

–  Residential Buildings ;

–  Public Transport … including buses, coaches, taxis, trams, trains, ferries, ships and planes ;

–  Educational Buildings ;

–  Places of Work.

Good #Education, within a context of Lifelong Learning for All, and Good #Employment are important keys to Social Inclusion.

For #Health and #SocialWellbeing, the priority targets for a comprehensive range of disability and age related sustainable social policies should be …

–  Health Facilities ;

–  Electronic, Information & Communication Technologies (#EICT’s) ;

–  Civic Buildings ;

–  Existing Buildings & Infrastructure … of Historical, Cultural or Architectural Importance.

In the short term, properly resourced programmes of work should be carried out and monitored in all U.N. Member States – in order to ensure that the Human Environment (social, built, institutional and virtual) is effectively Accessible for All.

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END – But More Examples To Follow !

#Inclusive Accessibility #Accessibility4ALL #VulnerablePeople #PwAL #2001whoICF #PwD #FrailOlderPeople #Buildings #BuiltEnvironment #SocialInclusion #RioDeclaration2004 #FireSafety4ALL #DublinDeclaration2015 #NobodyLeftBehind #EthicalDesign #UNmemberStates #InternationalLaw #Sustainability #SocialWellbeing4ALL

Successful Elaboration of ‘Fire Safety for All’ in China’s Bay Area ~ Hong Kong & Macau !

Posted by CJ Walsh

2019-07-26:  This time last month, in June … I was visiting a hot and humid Hong Kong and Macau, only 1 hour apart on a sea ferry, in China’s Bay Area … to make a Keynote CPD Presentation on Fire Safety for All – Nobody Left Behind ! in the Hong Kong Institute of Architects … and following that up with a full morning Workshop and an afternoon Plenary Presentation at the large 2019 Rehabilitation International Asia-Pacific Region Conference, in Macau, later in the week.

2019 Rehabilitation International Asia-Pacific Conference (Macau) – 26 to 28 June

The Theme of this 3-Day Conference, in #Macau, was Together, Leaving No One Behind, In Disability-Inclusive & Rights-Based Progress.  Attended by 1,500 delegates from 30 different countries, the event also gathered together more than 250 international experts, practitioners, academics and researchers from all over the world.

Two Exhibitions, visited by 6,000 people, were organized alongside the Conference: 1) ‘Facilitation and Mobility Aids + Assistive Technologies’ … and 2) ‘Art’.

It is worthwhile noting  that #China ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (#CRPD) on 1 August 2008 … but has not yet signed, never mind ratified, the Convention’s Optional Protocol … a clear signal of current political intent which, hopefully, will change in the not-too-distant future.  Every year, Hong Kong and Macau submit reports to Beijing regarding CRPD compliance status and implementation.

Colour photograph showing CJ Walsh, as he addresses a Plenary Session on Fire Safety for All – Nobody Left Behind ! at the 2019 Rehabilitation International Asia-Pacific Region Conference, in Macau.  Click to enlarge.

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Colour image showing the Matrix of ‘Fire Safety for All’ … a Priority Theme of Sustainable Fire Engineering … which is particularly concerned with the fire safety of #PwAL’s (People with Activity Limitations), but also with #PwD’s (People with Disabilities).  After the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire, in London, it is important that these concerns stretch to include the #Poor, #Refugees and #Migrants.  Click to enlarge.

Without being able to use a #Lift/#Elevator for Fire Evacuation in a building … there is No Fire Safety for All !

In a developing fire incident, People with Activity Limitations must be provided with a safe, alternative evacuation route – just like all other building users – which is a Fundamental Principle of all Fire Engineering.  However … just one #User/#Occupant Fire Evacuation Lift/Elevator in a building is an empty, meaningless, Token Gesture !

Colour photograph showing the participants from 30 different countries who attended the 2019 Rehabilitation International Asia-Pacific Region Conference.  The venue was The Venetian Macau Hotel.  Click to enlarge.

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Fire Safety for All must be considered at the start of the Design Process.  Colour image explaining how #Buildings must remain #Serviceable, not merely Structurally Stable, for a minimum Required Period of Time.  Click to enlarge.

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‘Fire Safety for All’ on Macau TV News … Friday night, 28 June 2019 … my friend and colleague, Ar Joseph Kwan (Architect & Accessibility Consultant based in Hong Kong), is the person being interviewed …

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Hong Kong Institute of Architects CPD Seminar – 24 June 2019

Continuing Professional Development (#CPD) is an important aspect of Ethical Architectural Practice.  Arriving drenched in a heavy rain downpour on the Monday evening … I was not surprised, therefore, to find that this Seminar was well attended by local architects.  Representatives of HK Authorities Having Jurisdiction (#AHJ’s), and Local Fire Services, as well as senior personnel involved in the development of the HK Code of Practice for Fire Safety in Buildings and the HK Barrier Free Design Manual were active participants in the panel discussion afterwards.

Colour image showing the Title Page of CJ Walsh’s Keynote CPD Presentation on ‘Fire Safety for All – Nobody Left Behind !’.  This Page also signals how ‘Fire Safety for All’ is integrated into the wider context of Sustainable Design.  Click to enlarge.

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Colour photograph showing CJ Walsh, as he makes a Keynote CPD Presentation on ‘Fire Safety for All – Nobody Left Behind !’ in the offices of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects.  Click to enlarge.

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Sustainable Fire Engineering – Recent Dublin Presentations !

Posted by CJ Walsh

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

2019 City West Summits, Dublin – Colour photograph showing the view over the Exhibition Hall.  Click to enlarge.

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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 !

Sustainable Fire Engineering
Internet: www.sfe-fire.eu
Twitter: @sfe2016dublin

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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