Jane Embury looks at the culture of fire safety Over the years, fire deaths in the UK have decreased dramatically. In 2001/02 there were 583 deaths. In 2018/19, 318. Last year, during lockdown, it was 243. Many of those deaths happened in residential properties, but not all. That’s why we must keep a clear focus on […]
escape routes
Simpler planning = better planning?
Jane Embury asks whether a rush to build will lead to a better built environment The UK government has announced major reform to the planning system. Critics of the current system say that it’s unwieldy, cumbersome and takes too long time for decisions to be made. In response, the government wants significant deregulation, something that […]
Building compartments from glass
In the first part of this article, Jane Embury, looked at the growing culture of fire safety. Here she looks more closely at compartmentation. Effective fire safety provides safe evacuation and the minimum of financial loss. In turn, that better ensures business continuity. The key to achieving that is compartmentation, with fire contained in a […]
Designing in fire safety
In a two-part article, Jane Embury looks at fire safety. In this first part, she welcomes a new culture to put safety first. A safe building, particularly a complex one, will have been designed from the outset with safety firmly in mind. Responsible designers and contractors will have responsible people in place to ensure that […]
60 minutes, evacuation and 9/11
In the first part of this article, Jane Embury looked at a worrying trend by some contractors to reduce fire glazing specifications from 60 to 30 minutes. Here she looks at other evacuation factors, including research from 9/11. Earlier this week, I raised the issue of some contractors compromising on fire safety. Their justification is […]