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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Safety => Topic started by: Mushy on October 22, 2008, 01:50:25 PM

Title: Deep in the bowels
Post by: Mushy on October 22, 2008, 01:50:25 PM
I stayed at a hotel over the weekend where a friend of mine is assistant manager....being fire safety minded, especially in hotels, I noticed an open fire door next to some accommodation stairs. I asked her what it lead to and she showed me...it went down into the cellar, where they kept beer barrels, wine, gas for the beer....but the thing was it seemed to go on forever! It has little rooms off the main area with assortments of storage items.

Now there was a set of steps at the far end that led outside for the draymens delivery....but this entrance was covered by a grill that was padlocked shut, I would imagine for security reasons.

The travel distance I would guess would be 40 metres from the furthest end to the first floor entrance door...there was detection down there, as well as detection on the first floor

Hasn't there got to be an alternative way out?
Title: Deep in the bowels
Post by: afterburner on October 22, 2008, 02:25:18 PM
Mushy (at a first pass from your description)

at the risk of repeating what you already know, this goes back to the fundemental part of the Fire Risk Assessment. If someone is working down in this basement, sorting barrels and all that, the most likely place for a fire to occur would not be in the basement. It would most likely be somewhere on the floor above, which from your description is the one and only way out. Thus, because of security at the draymens access to the basement the available escape route is effectively a 40 metre (+ the travel distance to a place of safety on the upper floor) dead end condition. (heading towards the fire zone)
Can you eliminate the possiblility of a fire on the upper floor so that there is no threat from a fire? This unlikely outcome leaves you with coming up for a solution for the escape route from the basement. Before spending too much time on it,  40+ metres sounds far to far, so the solution will lie somewhere / somehow with the draymen's access.  

But other solutions will be available ..............
Title: Deep in the bowels
Post by: Mike Buckley on October 22, 2008, 04:32:35 PM
Assistance Message, make pumps twenty, person trapped in beer cellar, bring your own glasses.
Title: Deep in the bowels
Post by: Mushy on October 23, 2008, 07:24:52 AM
Quote from: Mike Buckley
Assistance Message, make pumps twenty, person trapped in beer cellar, bring your own glasses.
No need...if you need 'em your BA mask will have inserts







 ;)