SAFETY
CAN FIRE RESISTANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY COEXIST? With climate change causing higher temperatures across the world, there is increasing emphasis on sustainability in the built environment. But, as the Grenfell Tower disaster showed, initiatives to improve sustainability and energy efficiency can sometimes undermine effective fire safety. So, can sustainability and fire resilience coexist?
HAJNAL NAGY FPA Australia
Sustainability features highly in modern building design, and architects and engineers are keenly focused on the efficient use of energy and materials to reduce a building’s footprint. While the fire industry has been largely on the periphery of some of the debates, there is a growing call for the sector to improve its own services and to adjust its strategies to deal with any increased fire risk arising from these new designs. But there is an ever-present tension between environmental sustainability and safety that must be balanced so people can continue to be protected along with the planet.
When principles collide
The Grenfell Tower fire arose in part from this tension between sustainability and safety. An apparent desire for greater, cost-effective energy efficiency saw poor construction methods and the use of cheap, combustible cladding panels that, when ignited, caused the 28
FIRE AUSTRALIA
ISSUE ONE 2022
fire to spread rapidly. The incorrect use of the panels, and insufficient strategies to mitigate their risks, potentially exacerbated a disaster that started with a faulty fridge. Using panels with a fire-retardant core, at an increase of only £2 per square metre, would have reduced the risk to the building occupants; thus the cheaper version installed on the tower effectively put construction savings and energy efficiency concerns ahead of safety. Clearly, builders and designers need to look more holistically at their designs, so that they do not only achieve environmental goals, but also ensure buildings and their occupants are protected.
The push for sustainability
Many people equate the sustainability of a building’s design with its ability to deliver energy efficiency or reduce embodied carbon. But sustainability has long been defined as having three pillars— economic, social and environmental— and a focus solely on environmental concerns could ultimately lead to all
three pillars being undermined. This is why fire resilience is of paramount importance and why it should be central to any design. Without fire resilience, any blaze could: allow smoke, toxic gases and particles to contaminate surroundings and have adverse effects on people’s health have a damaging effect on the community, disrupt public services or social activities or destroy critical infrastructure damage resources and infrastructure, causing financial loss both for businesses and occupants. The construction of fire-resilient buildings can reduce these impacts and limit the disruption fires may cause, minimising the need for repairs or reconstruction. At a time when society is experiencing increased demands for resources, it is essential that designs seek to protect buildings from fire. Put simply, a drive for sustainable infrastructure and green technologies should not be allowed to place buildings and occupants at higher risk.
