high-rise building fire automation.
Architects argue, some city residents protest, but it is already obvious to all of us today: high-rise buildings will be in megacities. The main reason, of course, is the lack of land for development. The same Moscow has long gone beyond the Moscow Ring Road, and residents of Lyubertsy near Moscow are separated from residents of the Moscow district of Zhulebino by only a roadway.
And high-rise buildings, or as they are called in regulatory documents, high-rise buildings require a special approach not only in design, construction and operation, but also in organizing their fire protection. It is clear that a fire escape, even in a modern design, by definition cannot have an infinite length. Those that are in service with the fire department today reach a maximum of the 16th floor of a high-rise building. Meanwhile, high-rise buildings are characterized by rapid vertical fire development and greater complexity of rescue operations on the upper floors.
In short, it was necessary to develop modern approaches to ensuring fire safety of high-rise buildings. At the end of December 2005, the Moscow Government Resolution No. 1058-PP approved regional standards for urban planning design «Temporary standards and rules for the design of multifunctional high-rise buildings and building complexes in the city of Moscow MGSN 4.19-2005». Designers, builders and operators received the regulatory framework they so badly needed.
This document — and this is its fundamental provision — requires that all high-rise building security systems constitute a single complex, performing such functions as control of engineering equipment, operational communications and telecommunications, monitoring the condition of building structures, active fire protection, security and alarm signaling, access control and management, security television, information protection.
The provisions of one of the sections of the document, entitled «Comprehensive security systems and anti-terrorist measures to protect high-rise buildings», clearly require that all life support and security systems of high-rise buildings must constitute a single complex.
The height of the fire compartments into which a high-rise building must be divided must not exceed 50 m for residential buildings and 90 m for administrative and other buildings. The building is divided horizontally into storey fire zones.
Each of these sections must have its own autonomously operating automated control system for active fire protection (ACS APZ), and the control equipment is located in an isolated room, the door to which must have a fire resistance of at least 180 minutes. In addition, the sections are separated by ceilings with a fire resistance of at least 240 minutes or technical floors.
Mandatory provision of autonomous operation of the ACS APZ of each section is a truly very interesting innovation for our country. The implementation of this requirement will certainly help to significantly increase the efficiency of fire protection of the entire building.
An automated control system for active fire protection of a high-rise building is based on addressable analogue equipment. Its functionality should ensure the fastest possible response of the system to any alarm event. At the same time, if necessary, it should be possible to transfer the system to remote control in manual mode. In addition, all events are documented with the provision of detailed reports. In general, the term «active fire protection» itself implies the implementation of a whole range of measures. That is, it is not enough to simply install the system and teach operators to operate it competently and effectively. It is also necessary to ensure the implementation of a whole range of organizational measures, regular personnel training, etc.I would like to draw special attention to such important aspects for high-rise equipment as, for example, the use of non-flammable cables and low-flammability and smoke-proof plastics. The designer will do the right thing if, when equipping the system with peripheral equipment, he chooses addressable-analog highly sensitive detectors: optical, thermal and ionization. Depending on the purpose of the facility, it is also possible to use linear thermal and aspiration fire detectors with laser processing of the air collected for analysis.
The ACS APZ integrates automatic fire extinguishing systems, smoke protection, automation of fire water supply, and gas control. An important component is the system for transmitting information to the control center of the city fire service, warning, and evacuation management. Integration with video surveillance and audio monitoring systems allows the ACS APZ to acquire «hearing» and «sight», which, naturally, significantly increases the efficiency of its work.
More and more often, one of the components of the system is the means of detecting people, which for multi-story buildings, the area of which is many thousands of square meters, you will agree, is a very urgent task. If necessary, other systems, such as detection of toxic substances, can be included in the complex ensuring the safety of a high-rise building.
The ACS APZ (which is a hardware and software complex with a common database and a single information field) receives all the necessary information from detectors, gas analyzers, and television cameras installed at the facility. It is processed, and based on the results of this analysis, a decision is made on this or that interaction with the actuators, which occurs according to the algorithms embedded in the program: activation of fire extinguishing systems (water, foam, gas, or powder), smoke removal, notification and management of the evacuation of people, transmission of information to the control center of the city fire service, etc.
The reliability of the ACS APZ is determined by such indicators as prompt response to any alarm event, 100% control over the operation of actuators, the ability to recognize and correctly respond to false alarms, the possibility of backup and duplication of control.
If the capacity of the addressable analog station is sufficient to control the fire compartment, each fire zone is monitored and controlled by a separate ring addressable fire alarm loop. All autonomous addressable analog fire alarm stations are integrated into a single network.
A few words about communication lines. It was already mentioned above that non-flammable cables should be used for them. The loops are laid out in different risers of interfloor communications and in different cable trays inside the fire compartment. The cable is mounted in metal pipes.
It is also important to take into account the following point: the requirements for the topology of address communication lines are quite strict. If the lines have a linear topology, then branching is not allowed. In others, branching is allowed, but they must be of a strictly defined depth and length. If the communication line has a ring structure, it must be reduced to a ring for guaranteed operation.
The scope of a magazine article is, of course, narrow and does not allow us to tell in detail about all the features of the design and installation of automated active fire protection control systems. Facilities are being built, and not only in Moscow or St. Petersburg, designers and installers acquire invaluable experience, which, without a doubt, will be used when equipping other facilities.