Smoke fire risk assessments

When assessing the risk to the occupants of a premises from fire and the safety of the means of escape, account must be taken of the type and materials of construction of the building, the type and condition of the contents and particularly its flammability, the likely rapidity of spread of smoke and flames and the use to which the building is being put. Fire risk assessments are dealt with in detail in section 4.2.13. 

Fire safety in a particular scenario is improved by decreasing the corresponding level of fire risk or of fire hazard. Technical studies will, more commonly, address fire hazard assessment. Fire hazard is the result of a combination of several fire properties, including ignitability, flammability, flame spread, amount of heat released, rate of heat release, smoke obscuration and smoke toxicity. 

Knowledge of the distribution and density of people is necessary to assess the impact of radiant heat and smoke from fires. This allows an estimate to be made of the risk to which the population in and around the facility may be exposed. Extensive population data is necessary where an estimate of societal risk is required. Where only an estimate of individual risk is desired, extensive population data may not be required. However, it is still necessary to determine the location of the people whose individual risk is being estimated. 

ASTM El537 [142] and ASTM El590 [143] test upholstered chairs and beds in an instrumented test room. Rate of heat release, smoke and carbon monoxide, and mass loss limits are specified for these full-scale product tests carried out for furniture for high-risk public area usage. These tests actually assess the fire performance of a composite construction. including design effects in a simulated end use situation, and are based on the California State tests. 

An assessment (i.e., life loss, property damage, business economic interruption, environmental impact, etc.) of both the probability and consequence of all hazards (e.g., explosion, fire, smoke exposure, toxic vapor releases, etc.) of an activity or condition, i.e., R = f P, C. In the insurance industry, risk refers to the person or thing insured. Risks can be reduced in four main ways Avoidance, Reduction, Retention, and Transfer. 

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