Basement Car Park

[kurnal]

Jon
Gone? I dont think so. Still alive and kicking in para 18.13 on page 116.

 And I am relying on this for a current Job just going in for building regs so hope it doesn't evaporate!

[exfire]

GB, have you looked at ventilation options, as in use jet/impulse fans to provide normal ventilation for CO emmissions, which can be linked up to smoke detectors. These systems typically achieve 6 air changes per hour for normal venting and double up for a fire situation. The idea is that the buoyant smoke is guided to fresh air to allow for escape and give the fire service a clear approach. These systems are in wide use and are proven. Regarding sprinklers in car parks, has everyone forgotten that cars have roofs and the sprinklered water cannot be guided through the windows or under the bonnet. I can offer more info if you wish to email me.

[Jon Barrett]

Well spotted Kurnal!

But why did they remove this note from section 11?!

On a live project, Building Control, and particularly the Fire Brigade, are fighting hard to get sprinklers introduced into basement car park areas on the back of the BRE research that has recently been initiated due to concerns about the fire load presented by modern vehicles and recent car park fires.

Sprinklers would be effective in controlling fire in car parks - remember the reason for employing sprinkler is to contain the fire (that's why we use a fire size for sprinklered fires i.e. we don't expect them to be put out just contained). Why sprinklers would be helpful in a car park is that they would prevent fire spread to adjacent vehicles - this is the critical issue. Dealing with a fire involving only one fire is the objective therefore the fact that cars are designed to prevent the entry of water is irrelevant.

There are test videos available that show fire spread from one vehicle to the next, although due to the spacing of vehicles (and good ventilation) fire spread would be fairly slow (as identified in european test data). News stories tend to sensationalise car park fire stories and don't present all the facts - i.e. fires involving garages below ground with high levels of compbustibles (over and above the car itself) have been reported as 'car park' fires when they shouldn't be lumped together.