Fire Engineering Design Context & Legal Base in Europe
Environmental
Impact
| Any
effect caused by a given activity on the environment,
including human health and safety (and welfare), flora,
fauna, soil, air, water, (and especially representative
samples of natural ecosystems), climate, landscape and
historical monuments or other physical structures or
the interactions among these factors ; it also includes
effects on cultural heritage or socio-economic conditions
resulting from alterations to those factors. |
1994
Energy Charter Treaty (EU)
and 1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment
(UN) |
The
'Precautionary Principle'
(A Working Legal Concept in the European Union)
Where
there is uncertainty as to the existence or extent of risks
of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, or
injury to human health, adequate protective measures must
be taken without having to wait until the reality and seriousness
of those risks become fully apparent.
Relevant
Performance Indicator
To
advance the principle of sustainable development
, and in order to provide a high level of protection
and improvement of the quality of the environment ~
by the year 2010, every new building shall be designed,
constructed and managed so as to ensure the least adverse
environmental impact in the event of fire.
[
Underlined text is a direct quotation from the 1997 E.U.
Amsterdam Treaty (97/C 340/01) ]
Fire
Training & Education
At the very least, an appropriate module on 'environmental
protection' should now be incorporated into all levels of
education and training courses on fire safety, protection
and engineering.
Technical
Guidance Note 95 /104 (a)
Competent
Persons
(Fire Safety Design & Engineering)
Click here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 69kb)
See
Principle 18 of the European Charter on Sustainable
Design & Construction.
European
Charter 2000 Update - Presented at the Sustainable Building
2000 International Conference in Maastricht, The Netherlands
22nd - 25th October, 2000
Click Here to Download
PDF
(PDF File, 105kb)
Contaminated
Fire Scene Water Storage and Treatment
The
following must be included in the general description of
'contaminated fire scene water' ........
|
(a)
|
Water (with / without additives) and any other liquid
in portable fire extinguishers used during
a fire incident ; |
|
(b)
|
Water (with / without additives) and any other liquid
used for the purposes of fire suppression,
e.g. sprinklers ; |
|
(c)
|
Water (with / without additives) and any other liquid
used for the purposes of firefighting ; |
|
(d)
|
Water (with / without additives) and any other liquid
used for the purposes of cooling other adjacent
buildings or structures during a fire, or the remnants
of the 'fire building' after a fire has been extinguished
; |
|
(e)
|
Likely rainfall in the vicinity of the 'fire
building' - during and after the fire - calculated
on the basis of a 50 year return period ; |
|
(f)
|
Unless shown not to be contaminated - water (with
/ without additives) and any other liquid run-off
from surfaces, hard or soft, in the vicinity
of a 'fire building' ; |
|
(g)
|
'Fire scene water', stored on site from a previous
fire, which has not been properly tested and
treated ; |
|
(h)
|
Unless shown not to be contaminated - water (with
/ without additives) and any other liquid used in
the testing / commissioning of a fire protection
system ; |
|
(i)
|
A suitable safety factor. |
Some
Terms Necessary for 'Contaminated Fire Scene Water'
Calculations
| Ignition
: |
The
commencement of a sustained process of combustion.
|
| Fire
Control : |
All
measures, minimizing harmful environmental impacts,
necessary to direct, restrict, suppress and terminate
the spread of fire in a building.
|
| Fire
Extinguishment : |
All
measures, minimizing harmful environmental impacts,
necessary to quench and effectively put out a
fire within a building and/or its immediate surroundings.
|
| Cooling
Phase of a Fire : |
That
period, following 'fire extinguishment', during
which the remnants of a 'fire building' cool down
and return to ambient temperature.
|
| Fire
Building : |
The
building of fire origin.
|
Calculating
the Volume of 'Contaminated Fire Scene Water'
The
duration of a fire incident lasts from the time of
Ignition to the end of the Cooling Phase
of a Fire .
If
a building is located in a Seismic Zone, or in an
area where there are likely to be hurricanes or tornadoes,
special consideration must be given to the design,
construction and protection of 'contaminated fire
scene water' handling and storage facilities on site.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
of Fire Safety Related Products, Components & Systems
Life Cycle Assessment (EN ISO 14040) is defined as the
'compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the
potential environmental impacts of a product (and/or service)
system throughout its life cycle'.
One other definition from the 1994 European Energy Charter
Treaty is useful in fleshing out our understanding of LCA
.......
Energy Cycle : The entire energy chain, including
activities relating to prospecting for, exploration, production,
conversion, storage, transport, distribution and consumption
of the various forms of energy, and the treatment and disposal
of wastes, as well as the decommissioning, cessation or
closure of these activities, minimizing harmful environmental
impacts.
Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (EN ISO 14040) is then
that 'phase of life cycle assessment involving the compilation
and quantification of inputs and outputs, for a given product
(and/or service) system throughout its life cycle'.
Since there are so many unknowns, it is essential to include
statements of measurement and calculation uncertainty at
appropriate stages in the analysis .
Under the Requirements and Working Rules of CEN
(European Committee for Standardization), EN ISO
14040 : Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment
- Principles and Framework should now be the national
standard in most European countries, with any other conflicting
national standards or parts of national standards having
been removed.
Life Cycle Analysis
of fire safety related products and systems is but a small
part of a much larger picture concerning a sustainable approach
to the planning, design and construction of the 'built environment'.
See Sustainable
Human and Social Development .
Fires in
Municipal, Hazardous & Industrial Landfill Waste Sites
Landfilling
of municipal, construction, hazardous and other industrial
waste is a controversial subject throughout Europe. Stringent
European Union legislation exists to deal with the issue.
However, operation of this legislation at national, regional
and local levels may not always be adequate.
Householders
and business owners generally do not support the insertion
and/or development of landfill sites in their own locality
due to reasonable fears concerning noxious fumes, vermin
infestation, health and environmental impacts, and depreciation
of property values.
Although
relatively uncommon, fires in landfill waste sites are ongoing,
complex problems which have existed for decades. Fires receive
substantial media attention when they do occur, and also
have the potential to become politically and commercially
very damaging. Landfill fires can cause serious harm to
the environment, and injury to public health, when toxic
pollutants are released into the air, water and soil.
See
the 'Precautionary
Principle' - a working legal concept in the E.U.
Landfill
waste fires are particularly challenging for Fire Services.
A large fire normally requires numerous personnel and a
significant amount of time before it can be contained and
controlled. This places a strain on the resources of a local
authority or jurisdiction, especially one dependent on volunteer
staffing.
Local
politicians, landfill waste site operators, members of the
Fire Services, and community residents should learn as much
as possible from past experiences in order to prevent and
mitigate future landfill fires.
May
2002
US Fire Administration - Federal Emergency Management Agency
Landfill
Fires - Their Magnitude, Characteristics and Mitigation
Click
Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 584kb)
Fire & Sustainable Development
February 2006 - White Paper
US California Climate Change Center
Fire & Sustainability:
Considerations for California's
Altered Future Climate
Prepared by: Max A. Moritz & Scott L. Stephens
University of California, Berkeley
Click Here to Download PDF
(PDF File, 184kb)
