Fire Engineering

Fire Engineering is a central component in the successful design of buildings. RPS’s expert team of Fire Engineers work with clients and design teams to develop creative design solutions that secure the safety of building users, ensure business continuity and improve asset protection.

With demands for more bespoke and innovative buildings and a trend towards performance based design, fire safety guidance documents now acknowledge that fire safety engineering may be the only viable approach to achieving a satisfactory standard of fire safety in certain buildings.

With an enviable reputation for the delivery of technical excellence, RPS fire engineers approach every project with the aim of adding value and challenging restrictive design practices.
RPS offers an alternative approach from the application of restrictive standard guidance to achieving Building Regulations compliance. When introduced early into the design process, our service can assist to realise innovative architectural aspirations and can significantly enhance cost effectiveness through the use of fire engineered approaches.

Our aim is to provide an imaginative approach to complying with statutory fire safety obligations and to seek to provide practical solutions which accommodate our clients’ needs within a cost-effective framework.

Services we provide:

Fire Safety Engineering Analysis

Fire Strategy Reports

Fire Strategy Drawings

Advice on general fire safety issues

Interpretation of standard guidance documents

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling

Evacuation Modelling

Fire Risk Assessments

Fire Safety Management Strategies.

Case Studies

Distribution Warehouse

Distribution Warehouse

Andover

Co-Operative Group

RPS was appointed by Co-Operative Group to provide Fire Engineering advice on this food distribution warehouse in Andover.

The £30 million development covers an area of 470,000 ft² and was constructed within a 37 week programme to handle 1.3 million cases of fresh, frozen and ambient products to 400+ stores in West London and South of England.

Given the scale of the building there were a number of aspects of the design that could not comply with standard fire safety guidance including very significant extensions in travel distance within the main warehouse. RPS prepared a detailed fire strategy report for the development and using fire engineering techniques was able to demonstrate that, despite the complexity of the design, it complied with Building Regulation requirements without the need for any alterations to the building form or construction. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to justify extended travel distances. RPS was also engaged to provide advice on local fire safety regulations and we were able to demonstrate to the Approving Authorities that no additional provisions such as smoke control systems, that would typically be required, were necessary.

London Southend Airport Terminal

London Southend Airport Terminal

Stobart Air

RPS provided Fire Engineering services on this £10million terminal development at London Southend Airport.

The new airport terminal is a two storey building and includes the following specialist areas:

Check in concourse, arrivals concourse and retail space on landside

Departures concourse, customs, passport control, baggage reclaim, retail space and departure gates on airside

Security facilities

Office accommodation

There were a number of aspects of the design that did not comply with standard fire safety guidance including means of escape and compartmentation provisions. The means of escape deviations from standard guidance were amplified due to the complex landside and airside security arrangements common in airport terminals. RPS developed a bespoke fire strategy to address these issues and using fire engineering techniques demonstrated compliance with the Building Regulations without the need for alterations to the building form or construction. Smoke control and automatic fire suppression was adopted in areas of high fire loading and these active fire safety installations were used to support the fire strategy for the building. These bespoke design aspects were assessed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

South West Acute Hospital

South West Acute Hospital

Co. Fermanagh

Western Health and Social Care Trust

RPS was appointed by FCC Infrastructure and Interserve to fulfil the role of Fire Engineering Consultant on this 380 bed acute hospital.

The £267 million project was Northern Ireland’s first Private Finance Initiative (PFI) hospital and it opened in 2012. The size and scale of this hospital project redefined the provision of hospital care in the UK and Ireland and achieved new standards for hospital design and amenity.

The fire strategy for the hospital is based on the “Hospital Street” concept. The street runs for the full length of the building, broken up by a central atrium space, and is parallel to a landscaped courtyard known as the linear garden. The street acts as a primary means of escape from the building in the event of a fire and also serves as a protected mustering point for the fire brigade. The main entrance to the hospital brings visitors into a three storey atrium complete with retail and restaurant facilities. Fire Engineering techniques were used extensively in the design of the building and in particular smoke control provisions in the atrium, fire fighting facilities, compartmentation and sub-compartmentation proposals and extensions in travel distance. RPS provided advice to the design team from the concept stage through to the conclusion of the construction phase of the project.

Titanic Foundation

Titanic Quarter

Titanic Foundation

Belfast

The Titanic Building is a major visitor attraction centred on the theme of the Titanic and RPS was appointed to act as Fire Engineering Consultants on this iconic building.

The building presented a number of challenges in terms of fire safety and its innovative architectural design meant that the application of standard fire safety guidance could not be applied and would not have provided cost effective design solutions. RPS prepared a detailed fire strategy report for the development and engaged with the design team and the approving authorities throughout the design development stages of the project. Challenges faced included maintaining stair sizes to a minimum to allow the useable floor area for exhibits and retail outlets to be maximised. In addition the central atrium space is a focal point in the building and acts as a primary circulation space. As this space is heavily occupied and forms part of the escape route from the building advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling was undertaken to demonstrate that the visitors in the building would remain safe in the event of a fire.