Multi-residential fire safety: Evolving

EVOLVING FIRE RISK FACTORS

Technologies and Habits Figure in 40-year Safety Profile of Multifamily Buildings

THE ADVENT of sprinklers and dropoff in smokers are two of the most influential fire risk factors in multifamily buildings over the past 40 years. A recently released study of U.S. statistics and trends from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) concludes that the combination of improved suppression and ignition source depletion has reduced the likelihood of fire-related fatalities within residential high-rises, and all dwellings in general, since 1980. However, analysts highlight other emerging concerns over the same period, tied to an aging population and new types of household furnishings.

“The NFPA Fire & Life Safety analysis shows that the most successful recipe for fire safety in the built environment is the implementation of fire safety technologies through mandated codes and standards,” assert the study’s authors, Marty Ahrens and Birgitte Messerschmidt. “Most of the common causes of fire are related to human actions or lack thereof. One of the ways to tackle this issue is with continued public education alerting people to the potential dangers of fire and how to prevent them. Another method is reducing the ignition risk by utilizing fire safety standards specific to the products involved.”

The latter tact includes product standards related to cigarette ignition, the ease of operability of disposable lighters, and the ignition point, flame height and uprightness of candles. Notably, annual deaths in the U.S. attributable to playing with fire dropped from 410 in 1994, at the time consumer protection standards for disposable lighters were introduced, to 50 in 2018.

In addition, new technologies, energy efficiency directives and evolving consumer preferences have brought LED lighting to replace the incandescent and halogen bulbs that can become hazardously hot, and to carve out a growing market share for artificial candles. Although not applicable to multifamily buildings, the study’s authors also credit the surging popularity of gas fireplaces for fewer fires due to castoff burning embers or creosote buildup in chimneys of wood-burning fireplaces.

SPRINKLERS BOLSTER SURVIVAL The data shows impressive life safety performance for sprinklers. Overall, Ahrens and Messerschmidt calculate firerelated death rates in the 2014-2018 period were 86% lower in homes with sprinklers, and high-rise dwellers were

particular beneficiaries of that trend. While just 7% of all U.S. homes reporting fires had sprinklers or some other form of automated extinguishing system (AES), they were present in 48% of the reported fires in multifamily buildings, seven storeys or higher.

The report compares four-year periods in three decades — the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s — and finds a relatively steep drop in the number of high-rise fires between the ‘80s and ‘90s, falling from roughly 10,400 per year to 8,700 per year. The number of fires dipped more moderately over the next 20 years, easing down to an annual average of 8,600 by the 2010s.

However, there was a more marked difference in the average death rate during the three periods, from a high of 6 fatalities per 1,000 fires in an average year in the ‘80s, to an average of 5.1 annually in the ‘90s and to 3.4 per annually in the 2010s.

In multifamily buildings with sprinklers or AES, 89% of deaths during 2014-2018 occurred in the room where the fire originated. Looking across the entire universe of multifamily buildings, deaths outside the room of origin accounted for 30% of all fire-related fatalities in 20142018 compared to 49% in 1994-1998.

“The decrease in fire deaths in high-rise buildings follows the increase in the use of sprinklers in these buildings,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt state. “While compartmentation is clearly successful in limiting the spread of fire outside the room of origin, adding the additional safety layer of sprinklers can confine even more fires to the object or room of origin.”

WORKING SMOKE ALARMS Multi-family buildings are also less likely to lack fire safety basics. Ahrens and Messerschmidt cite findings of the American Healthy Home Survey conducted in 2018-2019, which revealed that, among respondents, 8.2% of single-family homes and 2% of multifamily dwellings had no smoke alarms present.

More disconcerting, 20.5% of singlefamily homes and 9.4% of multifamily homes did not have working devices. Looking at reported home fires in 2018, roughly 57% of single-family homes and 28% of multi-family buildings relied on battery-operated smoke alarms, which operated as intended 82% of the time.

“These differences mean that roughly two of every five reported one- or twofamily home fires had no operating smoke alarms compared to less than onequarter of the reported apartment fires,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt observe. “In 1980, working smoke alarms were only four percentage points more likely to have been present in reported apartment fires than in fires in one- or two-family homes. The difference has grown wider over time. This is one of the main factors contributing to the sharper decline in apartment fire deaths than deaths in one- or two-family homes.”

VULNERABLE OCCUPANCIES Demographic shifts could be bringing new fire safety vulnerabilities to multifamily buildings. Ahrens and Messerschmidt foresee potential heightened risk in the increasing numbers of people living alone, particularly if they are seniors and/or have disabilities. Typically, people have a higher survival rate in fire situations if someone else is

also on the scene to alert them to danger, help them evacuate or control the fire.

Death rates due to home fires, measured as the number of fatalities per 1 million people, declined significantly across all age groups between 1980 and 2018. The most improved results were recorded for children under the age of 10, while the lowest overall rate, at just two per million, was registered for youths aged 10 to 19.

At the other end of the scale, the death rate surpassed 10 per million in age cohorts above 50 — at 16 per million for people aged 65 to 74, and topping out at 25 per million in for the 75+ bracket. At the same time, stats from the American Housing Survey show that increasing numbers of people 89+ are living alone, often because a spouse has died or moved to a long-term care home.

“In 2014-2018, 17% of fatal fire victims who were 80 or older were unable to act at the time of the fire. Nearly one-third (31%) had some type of disability,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt report.

The flammability of home furnishings is another major cause of concern. Statistics show that kitchens were less risky places to be during a fire in the 2010s than in the 1980s, while bedrooms and living rooms were much more dangerous. Synthetic fabrics and polyurethane foam padding burn more quickly than the natural materials, such as cotton and wool, that predominated in the 20th century. Research indicates that flashovers can occur in as little as five minutes when some more recently manufactured furnishings ignite.

“Upholstered furniture and mattresses or bedding accounted for 1 and 2% of the reported fires in 2014-2018, but 17% and 12% of the home fire deaths, respectively,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt note. “These are relatively low-frequency, highconsequence fires. On average, one of every 12 upholstered furniture fires and one of every 26 mattress or bedding fires in 2014-2018 resulted in death.”

The prospect of ignition due to smoking is considerably lower now than it was in the 1980s, although smoking remains a major cause of home fires and fire-related fatalities. Ahrens and Messerschmidt chart a 77% decline in fires attributed to smoking in the years from 1980 to 2018 and a 62% decrease in fatalities. In 1980, smoking caused approximately 70,800 fires in U.S. homes versus an estimated 16,100 in 2018.

Total fatalities fell from 1,820 in 1980 to 680 in 2018. However, that translates into a significantly higher death rate in 2018, at 42 per 1,000 fires, compared to 26 per 1,000 fires in 1980.

“Although these fires have become less common, when such a fire has been reported in recent years, it was more likely to be deadly,” Ahrens and Messerschmidt affirm.

In the good news department, it’s estimated that just 17% of the U.S. adult population smokes, compared to 33% in 1980. Today’s smokers also typically smoke fewer cigarettes than smokers of earlier generations, while more smokers habitually step outside their homes before they light up. zz The complete report, Fire Safety in the United States Since 1980, Through the

Lens of NFPA Fire and Life Safety

Ecosystem, can be found at www.nfpa. org/News-and-Research/Data-researchand-tools/US-Fire-Problem/Fire-Safety-inthe-United-States.

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RBC DELIVERS MODERNIZED PAYMENT SOLUTIONS FOR FASTER, DIGITALLY-ENABLED EXPERIENCE

It takes digital solutions to move at the speed of business. And for a growing number of public and private organizations, that means beginning (or continuing) the path to payment modernization. In an industry where business cheques still represent 98 per cent of the overall cheque value in Canada1, faster, more powerful transactions are crucial to adapting to the digital economy. To meet this demand, RBC has embraced the journey of modernizing its payments process by implementing innovative new solutions, and was one of the fi rst to market in Canada to o er real-time payment capabilities to its business banking clients.

“Payments modernization is about giving organizations the digital tools and data insights to improve their payment experience and free up time to spend on the things that really matter to them, like growing their business,” says Michelle Brick, Senior Director, Real-Time Payments Digital Integration, RBC.

MAKING PAYMENTS CLICK Payments modernization is a future-ready response to contemporary business demands. For years, businesses have relied on manual, batch and paper-based processes, which can be prone to delays and human error. In contrast, payments modernization is about using digital tools and infrastructure to automate the payment process and facilitate simple, reliable transactions.

“With modernized solutions likeInterac e-Transfer® for Business or Interac e-Transfer Bulk Receivables, for example, key data, such as invoice details, sender messages, and other information, now travel with each payment,” adds Brick. “That alone is a major time-saving feature that allows companies to simplify their payment reconciliation process and avoid investigative work that’s often manual and time-intensive for many businesses. When we pair that with the ability to safely exchange payments in real-time, we’re providing businesses with a powerful and e cient new way to move and access funds at a speed that matches their business needs.”

Certainly, one of the biggest promises of payment modernization is the use of data to bring greater transparency, accountability, and automation to the payments process.

“The benefi ts are huge for businesses in that it improves the passive nature of the whole invoicing process,” adds Gino Di Paolo, Senior Manager, Product Development & Initiatives at RBC. “Data insights and payment confi rmation notifi cations allow clients to know that the recipient has received their funds and outstanding invoices are being dealt with so that they can continue to focus on other aspects of their business.”

Timing is also a factor. Typically, processing windows were beholden to physical banking hours, and the only way to issue emergency payments outside of brick-andmortar operating hours was with physical cash. In contrast, payment modernization comes with the promise of being able to make payments digitally at any hour, on any day.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 2.0 The property management community is ripe for payment innovation. To that end, payment modernization o ers more reliable, data-driven solutions in lieu of time-consuming and error-prone manual processes.

According to Rod Hunt, RBC Commercial Banking’s Managing Director for Real Estate Lending, the property management sector is still very reliant on manual processes, and at the end of the day, the idea of modernizing payments is about simplifying things for both their vendors and back-o ce teams.

Granted, embracing payment modernization comes with an upfront investment, but as Hunt notes, “Most companies would fi nd that the payback period is extremely short and quite often the investments end up having a higher return than they could get elsewhere.”

MAKING SECURITY THE PRIORITY Going digital has its advantages. However, data, security and fraud prevention remain hot topics when it comes to adopting new technologies and solutions in an increasingly digitized world. Brick says securing digital payments is the utmost priority for RBC as it champions the adoption of payment modernization solutions in Canada.

“Modernizing payments requires a very high degree of trust and confi dence, and we take those expectations very seriously,” she adds. “RBC is committed to helping clients protect their hard-earned capital and mitigate the risk of fraud by o ering e ective, industry-leading solutions without compromising the reliability and security of what clients expect.”

USER-FRIENDLY The most cutting-edge systems and reliable digital networks are only e ective if they’re embraced by everyday Canadians. To that end, the key to getting businesses on board with payments modernization is making the user experience as seamless as possible.

“There are always nuances to consider with each business, but the overriding goal is to make this digital

process as easy to use as possible,” adds Brick.

It also helps that embedding automated processes and digital payment capabilities ensures business continuity. With manual and paper-based processes, the loss of an employee can leave their colleagues or replacements scrambling to learn their processes and pick up where they left o .

“In a lot of cases, there are people who are responsible for manual processes and approach those tasks in their own way. The challenge is that when they leave, it can take time to fi gure out that process and get back on track, whereas automated processes take that key risk out of the organization,” explains Hunt.

MAKING THE LEAP RBC is confi dent that momentum for payment modernization will continue as businesses embrace this new way to pay.

“It’s a big change for the payments industry, as well as the businesses who are making the leap to embrace new, modernized processes and solutions. But it’s an important shift,” says Brick. “We’re operating in an increasingly globalized and ‘always-on’ economy where speed, simplicity and data insights will provide a critical competitive advantage. Embracing digital, real-time payment solutions and adopting new ways of operating will help leading organizations quickly capitalize on new market opportunities and leverage more advanced technologies in the future.”

CHAMPIONING BANKING INNOVATION

RBC is no stranger to upgrading the banking experience. The fi nancial services leader was the fi rst in Canada to launch Interac e-Transfer Bulk Receivables, and more recently, launched the latest fi le format for digital transfers that includes ISO-20022 data.

The bank also o ers RBC PayEdge™ - the fi rst payments platform o ered by a Canadian bank that allows businesses to connect multiple Canadian bank and credit union accounts to easily pay suppliers, contractors and employees. The digital solution allows businesses to pay with multiple payment method options and move funds internationally across more than 130 countries.

RBC was recognized as the winner of the 2021 Celent Model Bank Award for Payments Transformation for its market-leading e orts to deliver such payment innovations and digital banking solutions.