You cannot underestimate the responsibility of hoteliers. Competition in the sector is fierce, and outstanding service is essential to the customer experience. However, this doesn’t detract from the responsibility hotel management takes on for the safety and well-being of every guest, even while they sleep.
In this article, I will share with you:
- The basics of fire protection systems within hotels
- The crucial role fire dampers play in maintaining the fire compartment
- The need for fire damper maintenance
- How standards and best practice are desperately needed
- How shoddy remedial work renders the entire fire compartment useless
- How my team saved a hotel owner £60,000 on unnecessary works
- How to protect yourself and your hotel from rogue traders
Health and safety tragedies in hotels
There have been several significant health and safety tragedies around the world. One that immediately springs to mind is the collapse of two suspended walkways in the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City, Missouri; 114 people lost their lives, and a further 216 were injured [1]. At the time, it was the worst structural failure in US history [2].
From conversations with hotel owners, I know that the structural integrity of their building is not their primary concern. One of the greatest fears they have is fire. Unlike most multi-occupant buildings, the threat of fire in a hotel is intensified. You see, the transient nature of hotel guests means educating them on preventing fire and taking appropriate action if a fire breaks out is a never-ending battle. Add to this the privacy afforded to all hotel guests – I’ve heard about guests using camping stoves and disposable BBQs in their rooms; crazy but true.
The role of fire suppression systems in hotels
Most hotel owners rely on the building’s fire suppression system to protect the guests, building and business. However, even with the benefits of modern systems fire can spread rapidly, with lethal consequences.
Sprinklers, fire extinguishers and fire exits are reassuring symbols for hotel guests, but it is often the unseen fire protection that can have the most significant impact on the containment of smoke and fire.
How fire compartments contain a fire
Breaking up a large structure into smaller areas, each with independent fire protection, works as a passive system for the whole structure. The idea is to contain fire and smoke for as long as possible in each compartment, preventing the spread to other areas of the building.
A compartment requires a continuous fire-rated perimeter – in practice, this means walls, floors and ceilings are constructed of fire-rated materials. However, all buildings need services such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning to pass between each compartment.
How to bridge the fire compartment and maintain its integrity
The answer is fire or smoke dampers, positioned within fire-rated walls and ducting. Their role is simple: if a fire breaks out, a fusible link is released and the damper closes. The result is a continuous barrier around the compartment.
The need for guidance on maintenance
A study by the British Research Establishment (BRE) in 2005[3] was commissioned in response to the need for guidance on best practice for the installation and maintenance of fire dampers in ductwork. Fourteen years on, and the industry is still without clear direction.
My colleagues and I in the industry are actively taking steps to improve the standards of fire and smoke damper testing and reporting and, more importantly, remedial works when undertaken to rectify faults.
The devastating results of a faulty fire compartment
As the former chairman of the Ventilation Hygiene Group at the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), my colleagues and I have discussed at length the devastating impact faulty dampers can have. The facts speak for themselves.
In the BRE report, they highlight several fires where lives were lost due, at least in part, to faulty or non-existent fire dampers.
- In 1974 a failed curtain-type damper at a hotel in Virginia Beach resulted in fire spreading into a corridor; a hotel team member lost their life.
- In 1965 in a hotel in Newark fire spread rapidly as a result of fire dampers not being installed. Two people died in the fire.
- In 1981, fire spread rapidly through a high school in California through the ventilation shafts.
The report goes on to highlight several areas that could have contributed to these events. One was the lack of servicing of gravity type dampers and failure of dampers to close due to faulty mechanisms.
Laws and standards
A wide range of relevant rules and standards apply to the installation and testing of fire dampers, including:
- The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
- BS9999:2017.
- Grey Book – Association of Specialist Fire Protection.
- BESA DW 145 – Guide to Good Practice for the Installation of Fire and Smoke Dampers.
- BESA VH001 – Technical Bulletin.
The Fire Safety Order 2005:2005 No1541 requires a Responsible Person to be designated for all properties. The Responsible Person must;
- Take such precautions as will ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of any of their employees; and,
- In relation to relevant persons who are not his employees, take such general fire precautions as may reasonably be required in the circumstances of the case to ensure the premises are safe.
It is this person’s responsibility to ensure a risk assessment be undertaken for all aspects of fire risk and measures put in place.
However, is this enough? I would suggest not.
A lack of guidance is leaving hotel owners vulnerable
Regulation within our industry has been woefully lacking, leaving hotel owners and facilities engineers vulnerable to poor workmanship and inadequate service.
Let me share with you just some of the horrifying poor practices my team have uncovered.
Untested dampers leave the whole building non-compliant
During an inspection we carried out earlier this year, my operatives discovered over 100 dampers that were inaccessible for testing. This came as a shock to the owner of the building who believed they were fully compliant.
Leaving any dampers untested, or failing to complete remedial works puts the entire building at risk.
You could leave just one single or hundreds of dampers untested – either way, the entire system is noncompliant.
Short of witnessing the testing first-hand, what more could the building owner have done?
Mind the gap
We are regularly horrified to find significant holes, yes, large open holes, around dampers, rendering the entire fire compartment ineffective. Moreover, the problems don’t stop there.
For instance, when a damper is installed or replaced, we have found the new damper held in place with large amounts of builder’s foam, mastic, basic non-fire-rated plasterboard and other materials. Again, in the event of a fire, the results could be catastrophic.
Out of sight, shouldn’t mean out of mind
All of these issues are mostly undetectable. Contractors are often working in unseen areas of a building, but out of sight should not mean out of mind.
How can you, the hotel engineer, protect yourself from poor workmanship? My advice is ridiculously simple: photographic evidence of repairs should be mandatory. You can inspect the repair work first-hand without the need to physically check the worksite.
Furthermore, if works are required, you can seek the advice of fire safety consultants who can verify that the original fire rating of the compartment is intact.
The remedy to poor, or non-existent, remedial works
Of course, all this requires corrective actions to have been undertaken. I’m shocked that so many ‘professional’ damper testing agents will inspect and test dampers and leave behind a report showing which dampers have failed without advice or instruction on the steps required to achieve compliance. To me, this is a job half done. The aim surely is to work in partnership with hotel management to reach compliance in the shortest, most cost-efficient way?
Not to provide remedial assistance, in my opinion, is to leave your client vulnerable. It’s unprofessional, inadequate and lacking. The best way to avoid this situation is to ask your contractor in advance what assistance they can and will provide.
Let’s not leave this to chance
While no advancement has been made on the legislative front, my colleagues at BESA and I are producing guidelines and best practice advice for those involved with the testing and repair of fire dampers. Any hotel maintenance engineer seeking a contractor for fire damper testing should ask which codes of practice or standards they work to. Also, ask to see an example of their testing report – this should be detailed and include photographic evidence.
The VH001 standards my peers and I have been developing provide multiple layers of reassurance. Primarily, in the methods of conducting testing.
One key factor we have addressed is the use of lubricants in the testing process. Historically, lubricants were used for the smooth running of the damper curtain; however, the highly combustible nature of most lubricants and the adherence of dust makes this ill-advised. The VH001 standard addresses the need for lubrication in certain circumstances, but restricts use specifically to PTFE, a synthetic lubricant which does not attract dust and debris. Build-up of these materials could cause the failure of a damper.
Recently, my team saved a building owner over £60,000. He had been quoted for the replacement of 40 dampers. The price was fair for the work. However, the dampers were not at the end of their life. They required lubrication to free the damper from years of dust and debris build-up, which was preventing the curtain from closing. Our team successfully gave 90% of these dampers a new lease of life, taking care to thoroughly clean the damper with degreasing agents and leaving only a light coating of PTFE, the approved lubricant, when resetting it.
Protect yourself and your hotel
Without standards and guidance, it leaves so much to chance and I guarantee if the regulations remain so lacking the opportunists will always be lurking in the wings.
So, how can you, the chief engineer or hotel owner, protect yourself against rogue traders?
The most effective deterrent is education, and I hope that while I have shared just some of my knowledge with you in this article, it is enough to open your eyes. If you know what to look for you can protect yourself and your business.
What’s your experience?
I want to hear from you. If you have any stories that would assist others, please let me know. Connect with me on LinkedIn and share your experiences.
[1] To Engineer is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, Henry Petroski
[2] The Disaster That Changed Engineering: The Hyatt Regency Collapse, Grady at Practical Engineering guest video on Tom Scott YouTube Channel
[3] Building Research Establishment Ltd (BRE) – Examination of the fire resistance requirements for ducts and dampers, 2005