FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
INTRODUCTION.
Newton Building is situated on the main campus of the University. Its accommodation is
spread over four floors and mainly houses the School of Computing, Science and
Engineering. The building has offices, lecture rooms, pool computer rooms and
engineering workshops in it and is of block and concrete construction.
METHODOLOGY.
The fire risk assessment was undertaken using the framework outlined in the British
Standard PAS 79:2007. The process involved a visual inspection of all accessible areas
on a floor by floor basis to determine:
1. Potential sources of ignition.
2. Combustible materials.
3. Means of detection.
4. Means of escape.
5. Emergency lighting
6. Means of fighting fire.
7. Fire safety signage.
8. Procedures and training.
9. Structural features.
10. Hazardous Areas.
11. Significant hazards requiring further control.
12. Risk level
FINDINGS.
1. Potential sources of ignition.
The potential sources of ignition identified in the building are:







Untested electrical appliances / appliances brought in by staff or students.
Welding, brazing and soldering equipment is occasionally used in the engineering
workshops and electronics laboratories.
Staff kitchens and cooking appliances in non-designated spaces.
Photocopiers.
Vending machines in main foyer on 2nd Floor concourse.
Coffee cart in lobby on the ground floor.
Arson, as the building has open access for students/visitors.
Any higher risk processes in workshop or laboratories that may increase the chance of fire
or increase the amount of combustibles or flammables are risk assessed separately.
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FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
2. Combustible materials.
These are primarily:
 Paper files in offices.
 Filing cabinets on corridors.
 Filing cabinets and boxes of files stored on mezzanine in acoustics laboratory.
 A limited amount of petrol is used for fuelling the model aircraft in the Aeronautical
Engineering workshop. This is stored in a metal cabinet in the Technicians office (room
G25) in small quantities of no more than 5 litres.
 Waste paper bins and recycling bins in offices.
 Materials in Engineering workshops areas and in service yard to the rear of the building.
 External bottle store for natural gas.
Due to the nature of the workshops or laboratories work it may be necessary for individual
risk assessments to be undertaken on high risk activities where flammable substances or
large amounts of combustibles are introduced.
Quantities of combustible materials in the building are kept to minimum at all times. For
any extremely flammable or highly flammable liquids that have a flash point below 320c the
maximum amount permitted to be stored in the work room is 50 litres however this should
be much lower in most scenarios.
3. Means of detection.
The building has automatic detection in the form of smoke (or heat in kitchen areas)
detectors as well as manually operated call points in accordance with BS5839 part 1 L4/M.
These points are numerous and situated in convenient locations on corridors and
circulation spaces and in areas of higher risk.
4. Means of escape.
The building is relatively large and has numerous escape routes. The routes from the main
corridors are well signed and easy to locate and follow. Some of the routes from more
remote offices are more difficult to follow, however these areas are of lower occupancy
and are used by staff who are familiar with the buildings layout. The routes through
workshops are prone to being obstructed or narrowed by materials and equipment and the
final exit doors to the rear of the civil engineering workshop were partially blocked.
Storage for academic materials seems to be lacking in the building with offices using
corridors to store filing cabinets and books. Although these are on accommodation
corridors and therefore do not have to be ‘sterile’ suitable alternative arrangements should
be sought for storage to remove these obstructions and fire load from the corridors.
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FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
Stair Capacities.
Newton Building has five main stairwells, the capacities of which are as follows.
Stairwell No (as
marked on plans).
1
2
3
4
5
Width (mm).
Serving # floors.
1500
1500
1500
1500
1500
3
3
3
3
3
Capacity.
420
420
420
420
420
Total. 2100
Buildings stair capacity allowing for the loss of one stairwell. 1680
There are two external stairs from the basement level lecture theatres. These stairs were
covered in litter and leaves and need to be checked regularly to ensure they are safe to
use and free from debris.
Final exit capacities.
Final exit doors from stairwells are all higher capacity than the stairs that lead to them.
There are additional final exit doors leading from the ground and first floors. Their
capacities are as follows.
Door No (as marked on plans).
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q (1st floor)
R (1st floor)
Width (mm).
1350
700
700
700
1800
1300
1300
1600
1300
700
1600
1600
1600
1600
1600
850
700
700
Capacity.
280
60
60
60
370
330
330
330
250
60
330
330
330
330
330
110
60
60
Total. 4010
Although the amount of final exit doors increases the buildings capacity on the ground floor
some are in areas where they are not easily accessible from the main accommodation and
are often situated at the back of workshops. These doors are also difficult to reach in some
circumstances as they have machinery positioned in close proximity which restricts access.
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FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
The figures show that the main restriction on the buildings occupancy is the vertical
escape capacity so the maximum occupancy numbers should be based on those figures.
Disabled Visitors.
Disabled visitors can access the building from the main entrance can reach all floors via
the lift from the foyer. The building is fitted with a deaf alert system and if required staff and
students are supplied with the equipment to use this on induction.
The fire exits from the building have ramps installed and comply with DDA guidelines. This
means that anyone with mobility problems should be able to evacuate from the ground
floor without assistance. Refuge points are located in corridor outside stairwell 2 as there
is limited space on the landings within the stairs for this.
5. Emergency Lighting.
The building is fitted with escape lighting which is designed to enable safe exit in the event
of a power failure. This appears to be adequate from a visual inspection. Emergency
lighting is tested routinely by Estates staff.
6. Means of fighting fire.
Extinguishers are provided on escape routes and in areas of higher risk and are
appropriate for their intended use. These are generally in pairs consisting of one water and
one carbon dioxide extinguisher. Fire extinguishers on corridors are located next to
manual call points. Staff are instructed not to use fire extinguishers unless their escape
route is blocked by fire.
7. Signage.
The building is fitted with a variety of fire safety signs. These include fire exit, extinguisher,
fire-action, call point, etc. The manual fire alarm call point signs and the fire action notices
are compliant with the Safety (Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.
8. Fire Procedures.
In the event of the alarm sounding it will automatically relay to Maxwell control (security)
who in turn will contact the Fire Brigade.
There is a designated building controller and fire wardens are distributed throughout the
building. Training is given to all fire wardens and BCs by HS&W.
Fire drills are carried out annually and performance monitored by HS&W.
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FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
9. Structural features.
The Accoustics testing area is an open layout with rooms off it. There is also a mezzanine
at 1st floor level from this area.
10. Hazardous Areas.
There are areas of the building that could pose a risk to the fire service in the event of a
fire. These are as follows;



The Civil Engineering (Heavy Structures) workshop (G68) contains structures which
may be unstable.
Fuel store in G86 (small amount of petrol <5 litres).
Natural gas and nitrogen store by the car park between Newton and Peel buildings.
These are shown on a plan of the ground floor which is to be stored in the fire box at the
building control point (see appendix).
11. Significant hazards requiring further control.
General Items Identified.
Required action.
See review record for minor actions
Actioned by.
12. Risk level.
The following assessment of risk is based on the building after completion of the additional
controls identified above.
Likelihood
of Fire
X

2
Severity
=

X
Risk Level

3
=
6
Control measures to manage the fire risk in Newton Building are quantified as: Adequate
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FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT – NEWTON BUILDING
DECEMBER 2014
Increasing Consequence
Risk Rating:
5
10
15
20
25
4
8
12
16
20
3
6
9
12
15
2
4
6
8
10
1
2
3
4
5
17-25 Unacceptable – Stop activity and make
immediate improvements/seek further advice
10-16 Tolerable – look to improve within
specified timescale
5-9 Adequate – Look to improve at next
review
1-4 Acceptable - No further action, but ensure
controls are maintained
Increasing Likelihood
Guide to using the risk rating table:
Consequences
1 Insignificant – no impact
2 Minor – minor interruption to activity/process
3 Moderate – some damage to property/business interruption
4 Major – significant internal damage to property
5 Catastrophic –major disaster e.g. loss of life/loss of a
building/impact on surrounding areas
Likelihood
1 Very unlikely – 1 in a million chance of it happening
2 Unlikely – 1 in 100,000 chance of it happening
3 Fairly likely – 1 in 10,000 chance of it happening
4 Likely – 1 in 1,000 chance of it happening
5 Very likely – 1 in 100 chance of it happening
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