User Manual

6
2 Fire Safety
The focus of this document is on minimizing one of the
greatest single threats to educational facilities – FIRE.
Fire safety is a wide-ranging topic covering all aspects of
fire prevention, life safety and fire damage mitigation.
2.1 Fire damage costs
According to official statistics, the number of injuries
caused by fires in schools is very low and thankfully the
number of fatalities has been extremely low. However,
this should in no way lead to complacency as there are
still too many fires occurring in school premises which
could be prevented. Figures from the UK show that each
year over 2000 schools suffer fires that are large enough
to require intervention by the local fire services and the
direct cost of these fires was estimated at over € 70
million. These figures only tell part of the story, however,
and with a little closer inspection we find the following
aspects:
 Official statistics do not include the numerous small
fires that were dealt with internally; many of which
could have been prevented if “best practices” had
been followed.
 The actual costs to the schools and their students are
considerably higher than the direct costs tell us.
In addition to the damage caused to the buildings
themselves, the consequential losses such as course
work, records and teaching aids may have a long-term
effect on students which cannot be measured in
monetary terms.
 A high proportion of school fires are started
deliberately: in some countries this is estimated to
account for as many as 70% of all school fires.
The following paragraphs describe a number of
prominent cases where fires have resulted in extensive
damage to university buildings. These examples highlight
the vulnerability of the infrastructure in higher education
premises and the long-term effects of damaging fires.
Case 1: Fatal accident in Seton Hall university, USA
In 2000 three students were killed and fifty others injured
in a fire in student accommodation. The cause was
identified as arson. The coroner’s report stated that the
severity of the incident was made considerably worse by a
general false-alarm complacency resulting from an
excessive number of false alarms in recent history.
Case 2: University of Nottingham, England
In 2014 a £ 20 million laboratory building was completely
destroyed during the construction phase (when approx.
70% complete). Although no figures are available for the
consequences of the estimated 2-year delay in opening
the laboratory these additional costs are certainly not
inconsiderable. The probable cause was identified as a
fault in the temporary electrical supplies on the site. As
fire doors had not yet been installed and the glazing was
still missing in certain areas, the fire was able to rage
through the building unhindered.
Case 3: University of Galatasaray, Turkey
In 2013 a valuable library in one of the university’s
historical buildings was completely destroyed as fire raged
through the upper floors causing the roof to collapse. The
source of the fire was determined be have an elevator
cable, which caught fire due to overheating. Returning
the building to its original state is expected to cost several
million Euros.
University of Galatasaray, Turkey shown after the fire that destroyed
the upper floors of the historical building.
Case 4: Uni Vaihingen, Germany
In 2014 a fire caused considerable damage to lecture
theaters, laboratories and offices on the Vaihinger
University campus in Stuttgart. The direct cost was
estimated to be € 2.5 million, although this does not
include the additional costs of finding alternative seminar
rooms while the renovation work on the damaged
building was being completed. The cause of the fire was
identified as a defective gas pipe.