Emergency planning is also an important element and its connection with fire safety arrangements must be clearly dealt with in the study and the report. Fire safety studies should be carried out as early as possible in the detailed design stage of a facility, with modifications to the design incorporated as necessary. Such studies are required as part of the overall safety assessment of development and building proposals and are also used in the fire safety assessment of existing installations.
Basic fire safety issues should be considered early in the planning and design of a development. Therefore, fire safety studies should be carried out as early as possible in the detailed design phase, with modifications incorporated into the design as necessary. The justified level of detail for each element of a fire safety study will vary with the nature and scale of the development.
The fire safety study should be seen as complementary to the other risk-related studies shown in Figure 1. This ensures that the fire safety system is specifically designed to address the needs of the facility. The principle of a fire safety study is that the fire safety 'system' should be based on specific analysis of hazards and consequences and that elements of the proposed or existing system should be tested against that analysis.
It is important to address the possibility that the site is exposed to off-site hazards.
Analysis of Consequences of Incidents
Reference to other studies such as HAZOPs can also be useful in hazard identification.
Fire Prevention Strategies/Measures
Analysis of Requirements for Fire Detection and Protection
Loading and unloading facilities for road and rail vehicles and ships should be fully covered in the survey. For example, it is generally best to let LPG jet fires burn rather than extinguish the fire and allow for the possibility of a vapor cloud explosion. The type of extinguishing or control medium must be carefully considered, as not all fires can be.
Another consideration is that water may be used to cool exposures, but another medium is used for extinguishment or control. If, for example, water degrades the applied foam, the design foam application rates must allow for foam degradation or alternatives to the cooling water used (eg insulation of vessels to be protected). The need to control spillage and drainage from the area in the event of a fire should be built into the analysis, including the need to contain or limit the runoff of contaminated firefighting water.
Design features identified through analysis of fire prevention measures (such as stacking of pressure vessels, increased separation distance, and integrated safety features) may reduce the need for fire protection. For example, reducing the number of tanks in each pooled area can reduce the demand for foam and/or water. The emphasis on hardware in this part of the study process should not obscure the fact that the hardware is only as good as its maintenance and operation allows.
Detection and Protection Measures to be Implemented
From this point, the detailed selection of detection and protection measures to be implemented can be made, or the suitability of existing measures can be assessed.
Fire Fighting Water Demand and Supply
Containment of Contaminated Fire Fighting Water
Further information is provided in the New South Wales Government's best practice guidelines for polluted water retention and treatment systems, available from the department.
First Aid Fire Protection Arrangements and Equipment
The report must clearly demonstrate that the firefighting measures are sufficient to address the identified fire scenarios. The report shall provide sufficient information on each element to enable an assessment to be made of the adequacy of the fire prevention, detection, protection and suppression measures, either read separately or together with available documents with clear references.
Study Title Page
Table of Contents
Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations
Glossary and Abbreviations
Scope of Report
Description of the Facility
Hazards Identified
Consequences of Incidents
Fire Prevention Strategies/Measures
Details of Detection and Protection
Such drawings should be bound with the report or enclosed in a securely secured bag or case.
Detailed Drawings of Fire Services Layout
Detailed Hydraulic Calculations for Fire-Fighting Water
Arrangements for Containing Contaminated Fire Fighting Water
First Aid Fire Protection
The location of fire extinguishers, hose reels, etc. shall be clearly shown on the site plan or other drawings included in the report as appropriate.
Codes and References
Appendices
This will include a detailed analysis of a fire system, pipe head losses and many other details not addressed in this simplified calculation. It is important that the assessment of the worst demand takes place under all conditions of fire and wind. For the Acme site, a worst-case demand might involve a warehouse with a sprinkler system design discharge rate of 32 gallons/second; a need for two handlines for firefighting at 15 litres/second each and two monitors for cooling, say, at 50 litres/second each.
For tank farms, the relevant Australian standard, AS1940-1988, requires a minimum of four liters at 400 kPa and 12.5 liters of foam solution per square meter of net surface area of the tank composition. If a flood system is proposed for tank cooling, the requirement is for the worst case. The worst case tank will see half of the other tanks, so the system will require enough cooling water for 5 x 0.5 tank area.
The possibility of a fire in the tank affecting the warehouse should also be considered, and the size of the tank and its distance from the warehouse should be taken into account. Deluge systems Cooling effect Where very rapid development and spread of fire is expected. Thin steel with insulation on the side facing away from the fire can reach a high enough thermal stress level to cause structural failure.
50% chance of death for a person inside a building and 15% chance of death for a person outdoors. AS 1020 SAA Code for Static Electricity AS 1216 Class Marks for Dangerous Goods AS 1221 Fire Hose Reels. AS 1850 Classification, assessment and performance testing of portable fire extinguishers AS 1851 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment (set) AS 1940 Storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids AS 2118 Automatic fire sprinkler systems.
In addition to Australian Standards, publications by the British Standards Institution, the American Petroleum Institute and the FPA may be useful. The Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail is an important reference. RE: Mains pressure enquiry: 26 Tom Street, I5m west of corner of Tom Street and Savage Road, Bradstow.
We strive to maintain a minimum pressure of at least 15 meters in our water supply, except during firefighting. Although the above minimum pressure heads may be higher than 15 meters, these higher pressure lines may not always be available.
Hazardous Industry Planning Advisory Papers (HIPAPs)
Other Publications
