WHILE UK fire safety regulations are among the most stringent in the world, a series of high-profile fires which recently hit the headlines have highlighted the importance of achieving greater levels of security and safety across all timber-frame construction sites.
As a trade organisation which represents over 300 companies and around 80% of the timber frame industry’s output, the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA) has a significant responsibility to ensure that it does everything within its power to address the risk of fire on timber-frame construction sites, and protect the reputation and adoption of timber frame as the most sustainable mainstream construction method in the UK.
SiteSafe initiative
Singularly, the UKTFA’s most critical scheme this year is the SiteSafe initiative. A mandatory requirement of membership, the initiative goes beyond current legislative procedures and relies on collaborative working of the entire construction supply chain to reduce the risk of fire on timber-frame construction sites. The initiative ensures that manufacturing member companies of the UKTFA working on large buildings of four-storeys or more (and/or with an aggregate floor area of more than 2,500m2) give clear fire safety information and assistance to the principal contractor on construction sites.
Implemented through a three-stage process, the SifeSafe initiative starts from the preconstruction planning stage through to the erection of the timber frame on site, followed by the final handover of the structure. In addition, the initiative will ensure that all contractors involved in timber-frame sites are fully briefed on identifying fire risks during the construction phase.
While the responsibility for addressing actual fire risks lies with the principal contractor, SiteSafe provides a framework through which any risk can be consistently communicated so that appropriate action can be taken.
Responsibilities of UKTFA member companies include:
• implementing SiteSafe across their business
• embedding SiteSafe within the company’s audited business process procedures – for example, ISO 9001, for member companies that do not have ISO 9001, the SiteSafe compliance will be audited by the UKTFA auditor at a nominal cost to the member company
• all identified major non-conformances to SiteSafe are to be notified to the UKTFA by the independent auditor – for example, BM TRADA Certification or a UKTFA auditor. This is to be written in each member company’s procedures
Robust actions
It is also compulsory under the SiteSafe initiative for timber-frame companies to register their larger sites with their local fire authority – a move which has been welcomed by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA). Peter Holland, CFOA vice-president and chief fire officer of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, encouragingly says that a timber-frame construction site that is applying the SiteSafe initiative is doing all it can to minimise the risk of fire on site.
In addition, Mr Holland says that the UKTFA has developed a set of working practices that embrace legislation in such a way that SiteSafe is non-invasive, yet adds a robust layer of actions throughout the construction process to minimise the risk of fire. However, as Mr Holland confirms, SiteSafe will only be successful if contractors recognise that managing fire is not singularly the responsibility of just one organisation. By addressing this, and by keeping the local fire service ‘in the loop’ throughout the construction of a timber-frame building, the fire service will be able to develop a response and action plan that previously it would not have been able to.
Effective site management
Although timber frame fires are rare, the overall message here is about reducing the possibility of a fire event through strict site management and good site security – a practice which is applicable to all sites and to all construction methods.
Recent figures highlight that, collectively, the construction industry suffers insurance losses of about £400m a year – around £1m every day. Significantly, two out of three fires in construction industry premises are started deliberately, with motives ranging from revenge to fraud, crime concealment and vandalism.
Beyond the SiteSafe initiative, the UKTFA is looking at means of reducing arson and fire risk at construction sites through new technologies and work practices. For example, the Sidey secure window system, which is pre-installed in wall panels, enables a site to be compartmentalised, so that a building’s sections are completed with roofs and party walls while the next area of frame is erected. In addition, the UKTFA is liaising with treatment suppliers on fire retardants, including temporary construction site sprinklers, and, as another aid for firefighters, a type of fire performance labelling system for buildings – dubbed, ‘the building equivalent of Hazchem labels.
While timber is a combustible product, it should be remembered that all building materials are vulnerable to fire and that every building material has its weaknesses. Steel, for example, can buckle in severe heat, while brick and stone can flake and disintegrate. Equally, however, each mainstream method of construction in the UK, including timber frame construction, has its specific strengths and benefits.
The fire safety of a building is far more complex than simply the combustibility of a material, since the characteristics of the entire building system need to be taken into account. Do architects, builders, developers and building authorities know how to overcome any material weaknesses, maximize its strengths and generally use such materials so that a building is safe, robust, durable and fit-for-purpose throughout the entire construction process? Of course, the answer is yes.
Acceptable method
The UK has extensive experience of building with timber and has some of the most stringent building regulations and standards in the world. These regulations do not differentiate between types of construction. Indeed, timber buildings meet exactly the same fire safety standards as masonry or steel-framed buildings.
Technical experts, such as the National House Building Council, Zurich Insurance, the Timber Research and Development Association and BRE consider timber frame to be a perfectly acceptable method of building. Even the most expert risk assessors, including mortgage lenders and insurers accept that well-built timber-framed homes are as safe and reliable an investment as brick and block homes. However, there is absolutely no room for complacency. Poor workmanship and faulty design will jeopardize the fire performance of any homes, and this can put lives at risk. For example, timber frame will burn faster and more completely when panels are incomplete. However, timber-frame construction is fast, so full fire protection is reached quickly.
Of course, it would be easy to point to timber-frame fire risk as a reason to reject timber, but that would be missing the point and focusing on short-term issues, rather than long-term benefits. While not underestimating the impact of timber-frame fires, the long-term benefits of using timber-framed construction methods to provide high-quality affordable homes with excellent environmental performance far outweigh the short-term risks. However, the UKTFA is determined to ensure that nobody can ignore this safety message
Geoff Arnold is chairman of the UKTFA