Fire safety in hotels
When we go on vacation or a business trip we stay in various accommodations, we consider them safe by definition. To be safe, they must contain security systems designed according to industry standards and properly maintained.
Fire protection systems in lodging are a set of measures and technologies used to prevent and suppress fires and protect people and property in the event of a fire. Some examples of fire protection systems that can be used in accommodation facilities include:
- Fire alarm systems – systems that are activated in the event of a fire and warn people in the building to evacuate and that it is necessary to alert the fire brigade to put it out.
- Fire suppression systems – systems used to extinguish fires, such as sprinklers or gas extinguishing.
- Building construction measures to prevent fire spread. For example, fire-resistant doors and walls, elements used to protect rooms in case of fire and limit the spread of fire.
- Emergency exits – markings and signs that help people evacuate the building in case of fire.
- Emergency lighting that lights up evacuation exits in case of power loss to allow people to evacuate safely.
- Fire dampers in ventilation systems, which prevent smoke from spreading into spaces not affected by the fire.
- Hydrant network is a system of hydrants used to extinguish fires by trained people, and can be external or internal.
Some of the systems are passive and do not require electrical power and control, while others are active and report, react or perform certain actions in the event of a fire. In Croatia, fire protection is regulated by the “Pravilnikom o zaštiti od požara ugostiteljskih objekata NN10/99”. In the following post, there are more details about the electrical part of the mentioned systems.
Fire alarm is a system that, as the name suggests, reports that a fire has occurred as soon as possible. The fast reporting of a fire creates the possibility of saving people and preventing significant economic loss. According to the “Pravilnikom o zaštiti od požara ugostiteljskih objekata NN10/99”, all hospitality facilities in which more than 100 people can stay must have a fire alarm system. This means that the entire building must be covered with a network of fire detectors, with the exception of spaces that do not need to be supervised , depending on their fire load and other conditions specified by the norms. Therefore, if you stay in smaller hotels or apartments, the host is not required to have a fire alarm system.
Stable fire suppression systems are systems that can detect a fire on their own or with the help of a fire alarm system and then automatically start extinguishing the fire. Water (sprinkler), foam and gases (CO2, FM200, NOVEC, etc.) are used for extinguishing.
Emergency lighting is a part of technical protection and a system that the normal building user cannot easily detect until the power fails and the general lighting goes off, and the emergency lighting comes on. This means that emergency lighting has two power sources, so when the primary power source is turned off, the secondary power source turns on. The secondary power source, which is independent of the primary power source, allows emergency lighting to illuminate important surfaces when the primary power source is not functioning. According to the “Pravilnikom o zaštiti od požara ugostiteljskih objekata NN10/99”, a accommodation facilities must have emergency lighting, with the following exceptions: camps, holiday homes and apartments, rooms for rent and restaurants with up to 50 people places to sit or having a floor area of less than 50 m², and located on the ground floor. The emergency lighting lamps must have an autonomy of two hours.
Fire dampers (PPZ) are elements that ensure that in the event of a fire, smoke and fire do not spread to uninvolved areas on the borders of fire sectors. They can be active or passive. Active ones must have electrical power, control and management. They can, if they are not destroyed by the fire after they are closed, be reopened and used again. While passive PPZ do not need electrical power, they work based on temperature, but after they are closed, they must be replaced. In the event that the object has 3 or more dampers, they must be of the active type and controlled by the fire alarm system.
When it comes to powering the fire protection system, it is important to understand which systems need under fire circuit integrity for power supply and which do not. A good example of a system that does not need circuit integrity for power supply is active fire dampers. In the event of fire they need to be closed immediately after the fire is reported and do not need to be re-opened until the fire is extinguished.
On the other hand, the remote emergency power off switch must have an under fire circuit integrity cable because it is important to turn off the power at the desired moment of the firefighters, not at the moment when the fire affects the subject cable. Under fire circuit integrity power means that cables and cable carrying system must be preserved in a certain period of time (e.g. E30, E60 or E90). The cable carrying system (e.g. cable trays, ducts and clamps) must also meet the same preservation of functionality as the cables in order to ensure that the entire power supply is secured during the fire.
In the first 30 minutes (E30) after a fire breaks out, it is very important to ensure the preservation of the function of the following systems to enable the building to be quickly evacuated:
• emergency lighting
• fire evacuation elevators
• fire alarm
• warning and instruction devices
• smoke exhaust devices
In the first 90 minutes (E90) after a fire breaks out, it is very important to ensure the preservation of the function of the following systems as support for fire fighting:
• water supply pumps for firefighting
• mechanical smoke exhaust devices and pressure smoke exhaust systems
• firefighting elevators
It is also important to point out that the secondary power supply (UPS and/or aggregate) must not be endangered in the event of a fire on the mains supply. This should be ensured by fireproof separation of the two power supply systems.
Firestopping closes penetrations through walls, ceiling or floor, which are specified by the fire protection elaboration as the boundaries of fire sectors. Penetrations are for the passage of electrical installations, and if not properly closed after installations are made, they can become passages through which fire and smoke can pass into another fire sector of the building. To accurately specify the firestopping it’s important to provide information on the dimensions of the penetrations and the amount of electrical installations that pass through. The firestopping needs to be carried out in accordance with the relevant standards (HRN EN 13501-2 and HRN EN 1366-3).
Fire protection systems are important because they help prevent fires and reduce the risk of injury and damage in the event of a fire. They also help ensure that people in the building can safely evacuate in the event of a fire. To make the entire building safe from fire, all fire protection measures from technical systems, passive building construction measures and organizational measures must be considered holistically. Not all systems can be implemented in all buildings, and therefore alternative measures can be found through holistic consideration.