The government response to the Grenfell Inquiry final report was expected as NSC went to press, which the entire construction industry will be paying very careful attention to.
Among recent changes has been to move responsibility for fire safety from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of a more coherent approach. The Grenfell Inquiry report recommended that building safety responsibilities should be consolidated under a single Secretary of State, and now they will be, under deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
Prime Mister Sir Keir Starmer said in a written answer to a parliamentary question that the Building Safety Regulator – currently part of the Health and Safety Executive and so sponsored by the Department of Work and Pensions – would be united within MHCLG alongside responsibility for fire safety assessment, currently with the Home Office, and the construction products regulator, currently within MHCLG.
More tightening of fire safety related requirements can be expected. The constructional steelwork sector of course welcomes any moves that will contribute to enhanced fire safety. Steel has a demonstrably robust performance in fires, but the BCSA has always held that this enviable track record will never be used as an excuse for complacency. One piece of evidence that the steel sector does not stand still as far as safety is concerned is in your hands with this issue of NSC, the print version of a new guide to fire protection of constructional steelwork.
The Steel Construction: Fire Protection brochure has been produced to remind architects, engineers and contractors of the exceptional performance of properly designed steel framed buildings in fires, and to outline how to capture that ability. Misconceptions may have arisen in the minds of some about how steel performs in real world fires, which should be dispelled when this brochure is read and understood.
Further technical details about the proven performance of steel in fires and how fire engineering can help maximise building safety are available on the free-to-use steelconstruction.info website. All the information that designers need to confirm how careful design, selection of appropriate coatings and adherence to regulations can produce safe buildings will be found there.
Boundary elevations have a track record of stopping fires from spreading to neighbouring properties. Increasingly, however, questions are asked about the resistance of the cladding and secondary steelwork when assessed using the EN 1993-1-2 standard fire curve. In this issue of NSC you can read about an industry response to that, in the shape of a new technical specification on the design and detailing of boundary elevations.
The specification was prepared by an industry group that included steelwork contractors, responsible for the main frames, secondary steelwork manufacturers, responsible for the light-gauge steelwork, cladding manufacturers who are responsible for the integrity and insulation of the cladding (composite panels or built-up systems), plus the BCSA and Steel Construction Institute’s in house experts
We also include a project profile of the first building to have adopted the updated approach in its design and construction, providing a fire engineered boundary wall for a large industrial/warehousing development at Beckton, east London that has achieved EPC A-5 and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings. As fire safety scrutiny and requirements tighten, the steel sector is ready to keep responding.
New guidance and specification show steel’s not standing still on fire protection
The government response to the Grenfell Inquiry final report was expected as NSC went to press, which the entire construction industry will be paying very careful attention to.
Among recent changes has been to move responsibility for fire safety from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as part of a more coherent approach. The Grenfell Inquiry report recommended that building safety responsibilities should be consolidated under a single Secretary of State, and now they will be, under deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
Prime Mister Sir Keir Starmer said in a written answer to a parliamentary question that the Building Safety Regulator – currently part of the Health and Safety Executive and so sponsored by the Department of Work and Pensions – would be united within MHCLG alongside responsibility for fire safety assessment, currently with the Home Office, and the construction products regulator, currently within MHCLG.
More tightening of fire safety related requirements can be expected. The constructional steelwork sector of course welcomes any moves that will contribute to enhanced fire safety. Steel has a demonstrably robust performance in fires, but the BCSA has always held that this enviable track record will never be used as an excuse for complacency. One piece of evidence that the steel sector does not stand still as far as safety is concerned is in your hands with this issue of NSC, the print version of a new guide to fire protection of constructional steelwork.
The Steel Construction: Fire Protection brochure has been produced to remind architects, engineers and contractors of the exceptional performance of properly designed steel framed buildings in fires, and to outline how to capture that ability. Misconceptions may have arisen in the minds of some about how steel performs in real world fires, which should be dispelled when this brochure is read and understood.
Further technical details about the proven performance of steel in fires and how fire engineering can help maximise building safety are available on the free-to-use steelconstruction.info website. All the information that designers need to confirm how careful design, selection of appropriate coatings and adherence to regulations can produce safe buildings will be found there.
Boundary elevations have a track record of stopping fires from spreading to neighbouring properties. Increasingly, however, questions are asked about the resistance of the cladding and secondary steelwork when assessed using the EN 1993-1-2 standard fire curve. In this issue of NSC you can read about an industry response to that, in the shape of a new technical specification on the design and detailing of boundary elevations.
The specification was prepared by an industry group that included steelwork contractors, responsible for the main frames, secondary steelwork manufacturers, responsible for the light-gauge steelwork, cladding manufacturers who are responsible for the integrity and insulation of the cladding (composite panels or built-up systems), plus the BCSA and Steel Construction Institute’s in house experts
We also include a project profile of the first building to have adopted the updated approach in its design and construction, providing a fire engineered boundary wall for a large industrial/warehousing development at Beckton, east London that has achieved EPC A-5 and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings. As fire safety scrutiny and requirements tighten, the steel sector is ready to keep responding.