Setting the standard

For those who manage the hospital facilities the safety of the building – and those in it – is of primary concern. Whether occupants are patients, visitors or staff they need to ensure that the facilities offered by the hospital do not pose any undue risks or faults. Kitemark® certified products or services can help you demonstrate that you have applied best practice, shown due diligence and mitigated as much risk as possible.

Fire detection
Where evacuation of occupants is a complex, difficult, distressing and, sometimes, dangerous exercise fire detection is a key factor.
    
Fire Alarm Systems: Every year the fire service responds to a huge number of false alarms generated by automatic systems. This is a big drain on resources and means the response to a real fire may be adversely affected because appliances and crews are dealing with false alarms.
    
Much of the problem with false alarms can be traced to alarm systems that are poorly designed, installed, commissioned and maintained. This usually happens when inexperienced suppliers have been used and explains why the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) recommends that fire and rescue services require the use of 3rd party certification schemes.
    
The guidance from CFOA needs to be considered alongside the recently introduced Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO). This makes it clear that the responsibility for fire safety lies with the users, occupiers and owners of buildings and not with the fire service. For hospitals this means that those who specify or purchase the alarm systems would be well advised to use only 3rd party certified suppliers otherwise it may prove difficult to show that they have met their obligations for ‘due diligence’ under the RRFSO.
    
CFOA further recommends UKAS approved certification schemes and one of the most widely recognised of these is the Kitemark for Fire Alarm Installers operated by BSI. Because the Kitemark scheme is in a modular format, allowing companies to gain certification in any or all of the elements for which they are qualified i.e. design, installation, commissioning or maintenance, it is particularly beneficial to specifiers as it allows them to instantly know the capabilities and range of services available from a particular supplier.

Detectors
Smoke detectors or sensors are sensitive to smoke in the surrounding atmosphere. Photoelectrical or optical smoke sensors use a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and a photodiode sensing element. Smoke particles entering the chamber cause the LED light to scatter, this triggers an alarm status. Ionisation smoke detectors use an ionisation chamber where smoke particles enter the chamber, attach themselves to the ions and so impede the generated current flow, which causes the alarm to trigger.
    
Heat detectors, detect changes in ambient temperature and send an alarm state to the control and indicating equipment – the main switchboard of the fire detection system. Rate of rise detectors measure the speed with which the air temperature rises and fixed temperature detectors react when a set temperature is reached.
    
These detectors fall into two categories and the difference affects a hospital’s ability to handle any fire effectively. Addressable detectors offer a more intelligent response by sending information to the central control system that will show you exactly where in the building the fire is, what fire extinguishing system was triggered (eg water mist), how the fire was detected (eg manual call, or specific detector type). This information may be sent directly to the local fire service to ensure immediate response. Conventional detectors will also send information to the central control system but it may only give the approximate location of the fire.  
    
Sounders or fire alarm devices are the fire detection and alarm system’s means of alerting occupants to potential or imminent danger from fire. Sounders may vary in size and shape and the sounder output varies in level, frequency range and temporal pattern. However, all must comply with the requirements of the same product standard BE EN 54-3:2001.
    
There are two types of sounder – outdoor and indoor. The main difference between the two being the level of protection against the ingress of water or foreign bodies by using rubber seals, exterior housing design and the severity level of the environmental tests performed. The majority of sounders are designed for connection to fire alarm system control panels and are usually rated to operate from a 24V supply. There is, however, variation across different fire alarm systems and fire alarm equipment manufacturers.

Fire fighting & suppression
All fire fighting should be left to professionals. However, there may be instances when a fire discovered at a very early stage can be quickly extinguished with a suitable fire extinguisher and so avoid a major evacuation. For hospitals this can be vital in the maintenance of a smooth and safe service for patients and staff as prompt action can prevent the fire escalating into a full scale incident.
    
All fire extinguishers must be coloured red regardless of content with the exception of a patch occupying no more than 5 per cent of the surface area, which indicates the type of extinguishing content. RED for water, BLUE for powder, YELLOW for foam and BLACK for Carbon dioxide. It is crucial that all extinguishers are tested to the appropriate standards and that they carry the correct certification marks. The Kitemark® shows that the product has been tested to the relevant standard BS EN 1866-1 and being Kitemark®-certified qualifies the product for CE marking compliance against the Pressure Equipment and Marine Directives.
    
Water mist systems have regularly proved to save life when used in fire incidents and operate in a similar way to standard sprinkler systems. However, when activated, instead of a heavy spray, they produce a fine mist of water. The steam that is produced effectively uses the energy of the fire against itself, by cooling down hot objects and creating an atmosphere which does not support combustion. The three types of mist system are a) low pressure up to 12.5 bar, b) medium pressure 12.5-35 bar and c) high pressure over 35 bar.
    
Fire blankets are an effective method of smothering fire on a person, for example, if their clothing should catch light during a fire. Some fire blankets can be multi-use and this should be clearly indicated on the packaging. If a blanket is for single use it must not be re-used as the blanket’s capabilities will have been compromised. There are fire blankets specifically for industrial use.

Evacuation
Emergency luminaires (lights) are a vital health and safety component of any public building. They provide a degree of illumination in the event of a power cut or fire. Most importantly, if sited correctly, the emergency lighting will provide a degree of illumination in what could be a smoke filled building, indicating the location of an exit or simple orientation which would enable the occupant to determine his or her location in the building.
    
This is particularly important in hospital buildings that are complex in layout and where the occupants are not likely to be familiar with the location of exits. In an emergency situation you will need to evacuate people with varying degrees of mobility and being able to see or be guided by a level of lighting will prove essential. Kitemark® certification is available on the actual system installation as well as a range of actual lighting products.

Different environments
Because hospitals have many different environments with varying levels of electronic equipment, all systems and products used within the hospital must do so without impairing the function and performance of other equipment. While some equipment can be prohibited – such as mobile phones – others, such as smoke detectors, sounders, power supply equipment, control and indicating panels must be able to operate efficiently and effectively without causing disturbance or interference with other equipment. Kitemark® certification means that these products will have been tested in BSI’s Electromagnetic Compatibility laboratory to ensure that no interruption or interference occurs.
    
Kitemark® certification is a distinctive symbol of quality and trust on many products and services that have a direct relevance to protection and safety. It has been reassuring businesses, specifiers and end-users for over 100 years. As a voluntary certification mark it very clearly identifies those companies and products that are committed to delivering safety, quality and consistency.

For more information
For more information on Kitemark® products and services visit www.kitemark.com or call 08450 765600. For further information on BSI Product Services, a part of BSI Group, please visit www.bsigroup.com.