SPECIFICATION FOR THE NATURAL VENTILATION OF FIRE FIGHTING SHAFTS - BRE SHAFT
The fire fighting shaft shall be ventilated by means of a natural ventilation shaft as recommended in BRE project report 79204.
The shaft shall be nominally straight and vertical as well as fire resistant, with a minimum cross sectional area of 3m², closed at the base and open at the top. The shaft shall be terminated with a Colt Seefire ventilator to provide weather proofing when closed.
At each storey an automatically controlled (select) fire rated smoke damper (or) fire door shall be connected from high level in the lobby to the shaft, providing an air flow path from the lobby to the shaft.
(select) A decorative grille or louvre shall be provided in front of each damper.
(or) The fire door(s) and any guarding necessary to avoid risk of falls through them will be provided by others. Operation of the door(s) shall be via the Colt Doorman actuation system. Each (select) damper (or) door shall have a minimum free area of 1.5m².
A Colt Seefire ventilator with a minimum free area of 1.5m² shall be installed at the head of the stairs to provide a source of inlet air.
In automatic mode, the system shall be activated by (select) the building fire detection system (or) a dedicated fire detection system incorporating smoke detectors in the accommodation adjacent to each door into the fire fighting shaft and supplied as part of the ventilation system. The detection system shall have the capability of distinguishing on which storey the fire occurs and providing a dedicated output for each storey. A break glass switch shall also be provided in the lobby on each storey for manual activation.
Under fire conditions the (select) damper (or) door on the fire floor and the Seefire ventilators shall open. The (select) dampers (or) doors on all other storeys shall remain closed.
Control shall be (select) via the Colt OPV system (or) via an intelligent fully addressable control system.
The control system shall:
- be specifically designed and optimised for fire protection use
- use a manufacturer's fully tested and proven standard control panels, not custom designed and manufactured items
- incorporate a mimic panel for fire service use
- be fully flexible and user friendly
- be user re-configurable for basic operating parameters
- be fully configurable and re-configurable using a Windows (or similar) based tool, requiring no programming knowledge
- be capable of operating all equipment simultaneously, without need of cascade control
- provide full battery backup so that a maintained supply is not required
- provide local battery backup providing at least 70 operations and intelligent control at each ventilator
- provide battery capacity monitoring for all batteries (not just voltage monitoring)
- provide visible and audible fault and fire condition warning at the control panel
- incorporate a watchdog to all microprocessors to check system and force appropriate reset if necessary
- allow interrogation of operating status of equipment direct from the control panel and via a plug in computer connection
- provide diagnostics for the controls, wiring and ventilators
- have the option to relay diagnostic information to a remote service company via the telephone network
- be capable of controlling (select) dampers (or) door actuators and roof ventilators and connecting directly to dedicated detectors and break glass switches
The design, manufacture, installation, wiring and commissioning of the complete system shall be carried out by one specialist company and their approved sub-contractors. The specialist company shall be responsible for gaining Building Control approval for the system.
The specialist company shall be a BSI registered firm for the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of smoke control systems in accordance with ISO 9000. Proof of certification shall be provided with tender submission.
