Project:
Fire safety inspection of internal compartmentation to medium rise apartment block
Location:
South-West
In Brief:
Easton Bevins were instructed on behalf of the management company to inspect the condition of the internal compartmentation within a medium-rise apartment block. The block managers, who were the responsible person under the RRO, required a survey of the communal areas within the building to check the fire safety. Following our appointment, we undertook a plan check which allowed us to identify the location of the compartment walls. We agreed location inspections based on the information provided and arranged for a local contractor to assist with the inspection.
The purpose of the inspection was to confirm if the integrity of the compartment walls were as required under the building regulations, or if, due to poor workmanship and/or maintenance, the integrity had been affected. Should the walls not comply with building regulation requirements, there is a risk a fire will spread uncontrollably through the building which will impact the safety of the residents.
We have included images showing breaches of building regulation requirements that were found during the inspection. Following the survey, we provided advice to our client and produced a specification of work detailing how to remediate the issues.
The top three images on the right show penetrations through 60-minute compartment walls. The walls should provide 60 minutes of fire integrity, however the openings will permit the spread of fire and smoke across compartments.
The bottom right image shows poorly constructed plasterboard linings to the inside face of a compartment wall. The visible gaps will allow a fire to spread through this section of wall.
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