38 | February 2024
ADVERTORIAL
Fire reaches all corners of a building – so should your safety strategy The dangers of fire in buildings have been well documented in recent years, particularly in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire
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his tragic event and the following enquiry brought about a change in the law, demanding a more rigorous approach to the testing and compliance of fire safety assets. A robust fire safety strategy was no longer simply a matter of meeting a set of objectives set out by the government; it was now life-critical, the difference between the safeguarding of people, buildings and business and potential disaster. PTSG Fire Solutions Ltd is the largest independent business division of Premier Technical Services Group Ltd (PTSG), one of Europe’s largest providers of specialist services. Established in 2016 (nine years after the Group’s founding year of 2007), it was already providing the design, installation, servicing, maintenance and commissioning of dry and wet risers at the time of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017. Police confirmed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault in one of the apartments, which soon got out of control largely because of the building’s flammable cladding. However, as fire safety expert and Managing Director of M&P Fire Protection, Paul Atkins, told BBC London at the time: “If there’d been a sprinkler system the fire would have been deluged before it got to the cladding. “People would have had plenty of time to leave the building. To date, no one has died in a fire with a sprinkler system in the household.”
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The growth and development of PTSG Fire Solutions Ltd M&P Fire Protection subsequently became part of PTSG Fire Solutions Ltd, as the Group set about building a department of highly experienced engineers delivering a portfolio of services that could meet the complete fire safety requirements of building owners and managers. By January 2023, when the Fire Safety (England) Regulations were Introduced under Article 24 of the Fire Safety Order, PTSG Fire Solutions Ltd comprised a mechanical fire business including UK Dry Riser Maintenance, UK Dry Riser Installations, UK Sprinklers, M&P Fire Protection and Pure Power; electrical fire and security services provided by Trinity Fire and Security Systems; and a comprehensive portfolio of passive fire services delivered by Neo Property Solutions and Indepth Services.
Fire detection and active fire suppression systems, such as fire alarms, sprinklers, dry risers and fire extinguishers, are highly visible in buildings and their function and effectiveness are well known. Passive fire systems, including fire compartmentation, fire and smoke dampers, fire curtains and cavity barriers are less visible or even completely concealed. Perhaps as a result, their maintenance is often further down the list of priorities for duty holders. However, the effectiveness of a building’s fire safety strategy depends on a comprehensive and well-maintained combination of these systems. The failure of just one of these systems as a result of lapsed testing could be extremely damaging in the event of a fire.
15/02/2024 09:58
