User Manual

6
Siemens Switzerland Ltd
Building Technologies Division
The fire protection concept describes all protection measures which help:
• Reduce the risk of fire breaking out.
• Prevent the spread of flames and smoke.
• Ensure that all occupants are evacuated safely.
• Enable the emergency services to take action.
1.2.3. Fire protection measures
Fire protection measures can be divided into passive measures and active measures.
Generally speaking, passive (structural) measures define a building's resistance and endurance after a fire has
developed, while active measures are aimed at preventing the outbreak and spread of fire and smoke.
1.2.3.1. Passive measures
Although passive protection measures are not the subject of this document, they are extremely important. The
majority of passive protection measures are related to the building structure, construction methods, and materials
used to make a building as fire resistant as local circumstances demand.
The main elements of passive (structural) fire protection measures include:
• Fire compartmentalization of a building.
• Use of materials to prevent building collapse.
• Fire-resistant construction elements to limit spread.
• Provision of fire-resistant escape routes/exits/staircases/elevators.
• Selection of materials to reduce fire load.
• Selection of materials to prevent toxic vapors.
For buildings under construction, most of these measures are defined by national or local codes, especially for
metropolitan and high-rise type hotels with complex escape routes. However, one must bear in mind that in the
case of many older buildings, it is extremely difficult to improve effective passive protection, without first
undertaking drastic reconstruction. Many of these existing hotels are built largely of wood, the interior decoration
including heavy carpeting and furnishings, often enhanced by wood paneling, wall hangings and paintings etc. As
a result, these buildings have a high fire load.
1.2.3.2. Active measures
Having included passive protection methods in a building's construction does not mean that the active measures
can be neglected, reduced, or omitted. Active protection can be divided into organizational, detection and
alerting, evacuation and firefighting measures:
Organizational measures The advantage of many hotels is that they are able to summon professional help
relatively quickly in emergency situations. Despite this fact, all hotels should aim
at achieving a high level of competence in dealing with emergencies and in
recognizing potential sources of danger, independent of outside assistance.
Organizational measures include:
• Staff training (prevention and intervention).
• Provision of alarm and emergency plans.
• Periodic maintenance and checking of fire-fighting equipment.