With the introduction of BS 9999, particularly Annex E which supersedes BS 5588 part 10, Fire Engineering in covered shopping centres has been updated. Some of the changes are subtle, however an in-depth knowledge of the use and application of this document by the fire engineer is imperative to avoid costly and time consuming changes following the Building Regulations submission. In large, complex shopping centres the loss in trade a fire evacuation may cause can be significant, therefore the principal goal of fire engineering within such centres is to limit false alarms and restrict the number of shops that are required to evacuate in the event of a fire alarm activation. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the egress methodology it is often necessary to use a bespoke smoke control system to increase the escape time, and limit smoke spread to adjacent evacuation zones. Omega Fire can often utilise the roof structure to create smoke reservoirs and natural day to day ventilation for use in a fire situation, this also allows the greatest architectural freedom by limiting the need for unsightly smoke barriers and mechanical ventilation systems.
Central and Eastern European countries continue to develop the number of large retail schemes aspiring to achieve a western shopping experience. Often the local codes do not permit the design flexibilities of the UK and USA guidance, which can create a conflict between the local fire codes and the design aspirations of the client and architect. The engineers at Omega Fire have experience in delivering high profile ‘western design’ Retail schemes throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
In the Middle East and North Africa this type of design is often more acceptable due to the adoption of USA (NFPA) or UK (BS) codes, however local conflicts can still arise. Omega Fire’s engineers have experience of delivering large scale retail projects throughout the Middle East and Egypt and can add value to the scheme while minimising program delays caused by the approvals process.
Retail