Page 225 - THE FIRE STATION

223
FIRE SAFETY
Ghislain André and Denis Mélotte
COMPARTMENTALISATION AND EVACUATION
All fire safety regulations in Belgium are based on the concept of
compartmentalisation: the idea is to confine a fire to the compart-
ment in which it breaks out and to prevent it from spreading, while
at the same time allowing the building’s occupants to be evacu-
ated via safe passageways and staircases.
The building is thus subdivided, by means of firewalls, into com-
partments, each of which must be served by at least two staircases
connected to emergency passageways and exits. Compartmentali-
sation thus plays a major role in a building’s architecture, deter-
mining such elements as the number and positioning of staircases,
the layout of corridors, and the position of passageways between
compartments.
The fire station is considered as a medium-sized building in the
sense of the Base Standard 1 applied in Belgium, as the top acces-
sible floor is 14.75 m (i.e. less than 25 m) away from the lowest
floor accessible to rescue vehicles, i.e. the floor with the staff and
public entrances (level 0).
As each floor is used for different purposes, each has its own com-
partmentalisation design.
Level 0
The parking compartment takes up more than half of the surface
area of this floor, on the west side.The compartment on the east
side covers the storage rooms and the main technical rooms.
Between the two, the evacuation path crosses the whole build-
ing from north to south. It receives occupants coming down the
four emergency staircases from the upper floors, directing them
either southwards to the unloading bay located near the staff and
visitors’ entrance, or northwards to the tunnel which ends with an
outside staircase close to the training tower.
In the case of a fire on the parking deck, a total of 8 fire screens will As Level 3 is used more, a supplementary staircase has been
close automatically. Several closure scenarios have been defined,
allowing the fan located in the tunnel to the north of the building
to always be able to evacuate the smoke wherever the vehicle on
fire is located. Compensatory air comes in through the entrance to
the parking deck as well as through the central atrium.
Level 1
The vehicle garage and workshops make up a single large com-
partment (4.938 m²). Such a large surface area requires specific
smoke extraction precautions. In the case of an alarm, 12 of the
garage’s 48 folding doors will open to let out the smoke.
In the centre of the floor, the living quarters compartment is
separated from the garage through airlocks (marked bright yellow
on the plan).To avoid any fire precautions hindering emergency
responses, certain service premises, although geographically part
of the central core, are included in the large vehicle garage com-
partment.
To further prevent hindrance, the airlocks giving access to the
emergency vehicle garage are equipped on the garage side with
two-way fire doors with portholes and, on the inside corridor side,
fire doors kept in an open position by magnets.
Level 2
The central core makes up a compartment completely surrounded
by the two-floor vehicle garage. It is separated from the latter by
fire walls, a number of which are glazed.
Level 3
Compartmentalisation takes account of the floor’s four different
functions, each with different fire safety requirements: the adminis-
trative area, the rest area (including the training rooms), the sports
area (gym) and the technical rooms.
Level 4
Here as well, compartmentalisation takes account of the functional
layout: the kitchen and canteen, the greenhouse and conservatory,
the top part of the gym (same compartment as on Level 3) and the
technical rooms.
VERTICAL PASSAGEWAYS
The number and layout of the emergency staircases are deter-
mined by the distances to be covered in the case of evacuation.
Three staircases have thus been included, linking up the technical
rooms (axes 11 & 12)Together with the public staircase near to the
atrium (axes 1/9), they serve all floors and open out onto the large
north-south passageway on Level 0.
included (axes D/6).This goes down through Level 2 to Level 1,
where occupants then take the evacuation path to the central
compartment.
The fire precautions are rounded off by the “fireman’s poles”
characteristic of all fire stations.These are located in their own
wells and are treated in the same way as stairwells (fitted with fire
walls and doors). One pole takes firemen down from Level 4 to the
vehicle garage on Level 1 (axis D/7), while another, used by fire
officers, starts on Level 2 (axis J/7).
1 – Royal Decree of 7 July 1994 and its amendments, setting fire
and explosion prevention standards to be fulfilled by new buildings,
Annex 3/1: Medium-sized buildings.