FACILICOM Group CEO Eduard Apsit spoke about the safety of high-rise buildings to the Vedomosti newspaper
It's the management company's job
It's the management company's job and the operating services to monitor the serviceability and viability of all high-rise systems, says Eduard Apsit, FACILICOM Group CEO, providing operation services. “As for the safety, for which the operating organization is responsible, it consists of monitoring the serviceability of all building systems, including devices responsible for fire safety, and those elements that interact with fire safety systems in the event of a fire,” he says.
“In our experience, the presence or absence of systems responsible specifically for the safety of people in the building during an emergency depends not so much on the class of the office (A or B), but on the desire of the owners to invest in additional personnel evacuation devices and personal protective equipment,” explains Eduard Apsit.
Security Systems
The so-called basic set of security systems for business high-rises from fire-fighting elements includes fire alarm systems, fire extinguishing systems, fire water supply (automatic fire extinguishing system), special ventilation and smoke removal system, said Eduard Apsit.
Some buildings are equipped with a fire alarm system (voice messages with instructions on how to evacuate). When the fire alarm is triggered, the elevators must operate reliably according to the emergency algorithm: switch to uncontrolled mode, go down to the 1st floor of the building and open the doors.
Alarms
There are many types of fire alarms, but they all operate on the same principle: they react either to smoke or to an increase in air temperature. The type of system depends on the purpose of the room in which they are installed. For example, in offices where documents or goods are stored, i.e. where people will not be present, gas or acid fire extinguishing systems are installed. They operate on the principle of displacing oxygen from the room and thereby stopping the fire from burning. In rooms where people are usually present, foam, powder or water fire extinguishers are used. In office high-rises, water systems are more common. They are more reliable, since they react to air temperature and are activated by a fail-safe mechanical system.
The cost of fire-fighting systems depends not only on the brand of the manufacturer, but also on the specifics of installation and maintenance of the system in a particular building, on the prices of similar systems from different manufacturers, on the degree of automation of the system and on how it will be controlled, says Eduard Apsit.
Rescue systems
The category of rescue systems includes an external fixed ladder (but it spoils the appearance of the building), a stepladder of a fire engine (limited for use in high-rise buildings), mountaineering fire-fighting equipment (the question is whether it is in the premises and whether the employees know how to use it), so-called fire hoses, or evacuation elevators (also the question is whether they are installed in the building).
Individual means of evacuation include mountaineering equipment. For example, such rescue kits are produced, in the office they are installed either on the floor or in a special case on the ceiling. In the event of a fire, the office employee takes the rescue scarf out of the case, puts it on and attaches it with a carabiner to the rescue rope. Using the rope, the person escaping from the fire descends through the window and along the walls of the building to the ground. Such steel cables operate with a reliability of 10:1, and can withstand a breaking load of more than 1.5 tons. The cost of such a gusset can be from 12,500 rubles per employee.
And yet, in the case of a normal household fire, standard fire extinguishing systems cope with the fire. The only question is maintaining their operability.
«Vedomosti», March 19, 2007. Author: Marina Khovratovich