Fires are mostly caused by human error and fire usually starts small before it becomes large and uncontrollable if the proper action is not taken or if the fire spread mitigations are not in place. The fire spread mitigations are fire detection and alarm, fire extinguishing and fire control, and passive fire safety. All these need to be maintained and malfunction of one of those systems can cause fires to develop.Most building design aspects have a fire safety component so does fenestration design. Fenestration design can have an influence on the vertical fire compartmentation, fire spread, and in some cases the fire escape. The façade designers are now liaising more and more with the fire engineers to make sure that their design meets the safety standards.Fireproofing of materials; making sure that separations (walls, doors, other openings) are made in such a way that fire and smoke cannot pass for a certain time period and making sure that building materials do not contribute to the fire spread all fall under the umbrella of passive fire protection. Active fire protection measures that require a certain action which can be for instance make a sound when smoke or heat is detected or release of fire extinguishing products in case fire is detected.The current fire safety codes in the various jurisdictions in the Middle East have become well developed regarding façade fire safety in the last couple of years. The main reasons are that there are a lot of high-rise buildings or buildings with special façade features that are constructed and still being constructed and, unfortunately, several façade fires happened in recent years.As a result of a number of façade fires, the UAE fire code has been overhauled in its 2018 edition. There is also an ever-increasing awareness not only with the various civil defense authorities but also amongst the building owners, property developers, contractors, and designers when it comes to fire safety. People start to understand that building that is not fire-safe have significantly less value.
https://wfmmedia.com/fire-safety-design-to-reduce-the-risk-of-fire-spreading/
