regulations & standards

Grenfell Firefighters – Serious Health Disorders Resulting From Smoke Inhalation Both Inside & Outside The Tower. Does Anybody Care ?!?!?

Posted 2025-01-10 by CJ Walsh

2025-01-10: DOES Anybody Care ? AHJ’s ? Fire Service Administrations ? Civil Society ?

Frontline Firefighters (and their long-term Health) are severely ill-treated as a disposable asset in far too many societies around the world … a shameful reality … completely and utterly unacceptable !!

Sustainable Fire Engineering (SFE) facilitates the realization of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for ALL

Resilience: The ability to function reliably during normal conditions, to withstand, adapt to or absorb unusual disturbance, disruption or damage, and thereafter to quickly return to an enhanced state of function.

Does it not make the utmost sense, therefore … if there is a Fire in a #Building or #Facility … that healthy, disciplined, expertly trained … and properly equipped, protected and resourced (under competent leadership and management) … #Firefighters would arrive quickly at the #FireScene and effectively extinguish the #Fire before it causes too much damage to property and harm to people … thus enabling the rapid and economically-efficient re-commencement of that building’s / facility’s functioning ??

Firefighters are an Invaluable Social Asset in a Resilient Built Environment !

Firefighter Safety Must Urgently be Included as a Functional Requirement in ALL Building Fire Codes

THE GRENFELL TOWER FRONTLINE FIREFIGHTERS

In its January 2025 issue, the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (JOEM) published the following Paper :

Grenfell Tower Fire – Toxic Effluents and Assessment of Firefighters’ Health Impacts

by Anna A. Stec, PhD ; David A. Purser, PhD ; and T. Richard Hull, PhD.

[ Click Title Above – PDF File, 175 Kb ]

Objective: This study assesses the health symptoms and longer-term health outcomes of Firefighters who attended the Grenfell Tower Fire in June 2017.

Methods: All available data sources were analysed, including databases published by the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, the Firefighter Cancer and Disease Registry, incident logs, and sickness reports up to 3 years post-fire.

Results: More than three times as many firefighters who reported exposure to smoke during the fire also reported digestive and respiratory diseases following the fire, compared with those not reporting exposure to smoke. Other more complex relationships are reported among smoke exposure, immediate health symptoms, and longer-term health outcomes.

Conclusions: The incident’s urgency led many professional firefighters to operate without Respiratory Protection Equipment (RPE), resulting in debilitating health effects.

Paper Introduction …

Recently, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer ( https://www.iarc.who.int ) classified the firefighting occupation as Carcinogenic to Humans – Group 1. Studies show that the incidence and mortality of cancers and other diseases among firefighters are higher compared with the population they serve. Recent data from UK Studies revealed that more than 4% of surveyed firefighters have received a cancer diagnosis.

Furthermore, the age-specific cancer rate was up to 323% higher for firefighters aged 35 to 39 years, when compared with the general population.

Firefighter exposure to fire effluents occurs through different phases of fire intervention (e.g. attack, knockdown) and in firefighters’ work environments, such as fire stations, vehicles, and firefighter turnout gear. These residues may be inhaled or ingested via hand-to-mouth contact, depending on hygiene practices after firefighting. Moreover, they have been detected on firefighters’ skin due to gear penetration, contact with contaminated gear, or contact with exposed skin areas such as the face and neck.

With the exception of the Fire Department of New York World Trade Centre Health Programme ( https://www.fdnywtcprogram.org ), there is no data on firefighters’ health symptoms from major building fires. In this investigation, relationships have been identified between various long-term exposures to toxicants from fire and different health disorders. For instance, exposure to fire effluents such as benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene oxide, and formaldehyde has been linked to myeloid leukaemia. Similarly, prostate cancer has been associated with exposure to benzene and styrene.

Inhaling fire effluents such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide results in hypoxic stress, forcing the heart to exert extra effort during firefighters’ physical stress. Also, inhalation and absorption into the bloodstream of ultra-fine soot particles enhance atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Both effects can lead to cardiovascular diseases. Exposure to asbestos, silica, and inorganic dust through inhalation is also believed to contribute to firefighters’ heightened risk of pulmonary diseases.

There is mounting evidence from both human and animal studies indicating that inhalation of air pollutants (carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, etc.) can also increase the risk of neurological diseases including neurodegenerative health and cognitive impairment. Furthermore, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter have been linked to adverse respiratory outcomes. The combined effects of frequent dehydration and chronic exposure to fire effluents may also synergistically damage the kidneys. Certain metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, and lead can adversely affect multiple bodily systems, including the gastrointestinal tract; haematopoietic, cardiovascular, central and peripheral nervous systems; kidneys; and immune and reproductive systems, potentially leading to cancers.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry ( https://www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk ) was instructed to examine evidence relating to the circumstances in which 72 Victims lost their lives. It was not instructed to consider any short and long-term health effects of the firefighters / other emergency responders, survivors of the fire who escaped from the Tower … or residents who lived, or still live, within the vicinity of the Tower. The aim of this study was to collect and evaluate all available data from the Grenfell Fire, assessing firefighters’ self-reported exposure to fire smoke and heat, and physiological and toxicological health symptoms and outcomes related to their activities and the use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) during the first 20 hours of the Fire.

POST-FIRE CONTAMINATED SOIL AROUND GRENFELL TOWER

Part-Map of London, in colour, showing the location of Grenfell Tower between Notting Hill, Shepherd's Bush and Ladbroke Grove ... and a very lightly shaded area, in red, within a deep red circle approximately 1 Km from the Tower ... which indicates where soil has been found to be contaminated by toxic effluents from the Fire back in 2017. At the bottom of this map, on the right, can be found a scale for distance: 0.5 Km relative to 0.5 Mile ... and, on the left, a thumbnail map of the whole city showing the area of concern. — Click to enlarge.

For Local Residents, especially Vulnerable Residents – What are the Short and Long-Term Adverse Health Effects Resulting from the Fire in June 2017 ? It is now 2025 !

Does Anybody Care ?!?!?

‘Forever Chemicals’ … PFAS CONTAMINATION – HIGH PRIORITY JOINT PRESENTATION

Large portions of this joint Presentation are concerned with Firefighter #Safety, Firefighter #PPE, and Firefighting #Foams …

U.S.A. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health – 21 April 2023

Overview of Per and PolyFluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Activities and Considerations

by Miriam Calkins, PhD, MS, Research Industrial Hygienist – CDC / NIOSH / DFSE / FRB

and

NIOSH Research, Technical Support & Strategies

by Susan Moore, PhD, Associate Director for Science, Co-Coordinator Public Safety Sector, Co-Coordinator Personal Protective Technology – CDC / NIOSH / NPPTL

[ Click Either Title Above – PDF File, 7.03 Mb ]

OTHER INFORMATION SOURCES

New York City WTC 9-11 Health Registry. Established in 2002 to monitor the health (physical, mental, psychological) of any person directly exposed to the WTC 9-11 Fires & Building Collapses … https://www.nyc.gov/site/911health/index.page

World Health Organization / International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Monograph Volume 132 – Occupational Exposure As A Firefighter … https://publications.iarc.fr/615

WHO / IARC Monograph Volume 132 – Occupational Exposure As A Firefighter

U.S.A. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Centre for Firefighter Safety, Health & Wellbeing … https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/centers/firefighter-safety-and-health.html

NIOSH (USA) Graphic Breakdown of Firefighter Safety

AND … Better Design of Buildings & Facilities for Firefighter Safety ?!?!?

In Addition to ‘Access’ … Firefighter Safety Must Urgently be Included as a Functional Requirement in ALL Building #FireCodes

Findings from a 2010-2015 NIOSH (USA) Study of Cancer among nearly 30,000 Firefighters active between 1950 and 2009. Published July 2016. Download PDF File (118 Kb).

Lancet Oncology Editorial: ‘Fire and Their Smouldering Health Effects’. February 2025. Includes many important Links. Download PDF File (153 Kb).

END

#SFE #SustainableFireEngineering #Reality #Reliability #Redundancy #Resilience #Safety #FFsafety #Health #FFhealth #Welfare #FFwelfare #GrenfellTowerFire #GrenfellTowerInquiry #SmokeInhalation #RPE #SCBA #ToxicEffluents #WHO #IARC #WTC911 #FDNY #WTChealthProgram #LocalResidents #VulnerablePeople #FireSafety4ALL #HarmfulHealthImpacts #PFAS #ForeverChemicals #Cancer #FirefighterTurnoutGear #FirefightingFoams #JOEM #TheLancet #Oncology #AHJ #FireServiceAdministrations #CivilSociety #Sustainability #SIA #SustainabilityImpactAssessment #SocialWellbeing4ALL

Miserable Excuse For A Fire Evacuation Staircase In The Grenfell Tower – Supported By Shoddy ‘Expert’ Evidence !

Posted 2024-10-6 by CJ Walsh

2024-10-06: After reading the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Recommendations (Chapter 33) … I was naturally curious about what would be happening during the next phase. Paragraph 34.14 in Chapter 34, however, struck me as strange, even unbelievable … the single narrow #Stairs in the Tower would NOT be the subject of further investigation in Phase 2..

This is the Ridiculous Single Narrow Fire Evacuation Staircase in the High-Rise Residential Grenfell Tower … Very Badly Designed With a Handrail on One Side Only …

Colour Photograph showing the Single, Narrow Staircase (1.04 metres in width between a handrail on one side of the stairs and a bare wall, without any handrail, on the other side) in London’s High-Rise Grenfell Residential Tower. — Colour Photograph showing the Single, Narrow Staircase (1.04 metres in width between a Handrail on one side of the stairs and the Bare Wall, without any handrail, on the other side) in London’s High-Rise Grenfell Residential Tower. Click to enlarge.

Colour Photograph - a screen grab from a video - showing the immediate post-fire condition of the Tower's Single, Narrow Staircase which became smoke logged during the fire. — Colour Photograph – screen grab from a video – showing the immediate post-fire condition of the Tower’s Single, Narrow Staircase which became smoke logged during the fire. Click to enlarge.

#Reality Check. Frontline Firefighter on a Single Narrow Staircase … with Handrails on both sides of the stairs. Guess WHY !! Click to enlarge.

Although the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Recommendations (Chapter 113) concluded by looking back to Phase 1, and specifically mentioning Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (#PEEP) … nothing was said about the Fire Evacuation Staircase. Case closed. And there is only one word to describe this outcome: FUBAR !!

Struggling to understand that highly questionable decision by Martin Moore-Bick … two pieces of technical evidence supported and gave shape to the outcome (Paragraph 34.14, Phase 1-Volume 4: ‘Stairs’) … evidence which is shoddy, technically inept, entirely divorced from the reality of how real people use real buildings … and shamefully unethical.

A deep dive into the Phase 1 ‘Expert’ Technical Evidence led me, first of all, to the question of ‘Width’ … and to this Page from Report BLAS0000019, dated 2018-10-24 …

Graphic Image from Report BLAS0000019, in colour, purporting to show that the single narrow staircase in Grenfell Tower was, in fact, wide enough to properly function as a Competently Designed, SAFE Fire Evacuation Staircase for Occupants, while also serving as an Attack & Rescue Staircase for Firefighters ... utterly absurd nonsense ! Click to enlarge. — Graphic Image from Report BLAS0000019, in colour, purporting to show that the single narrow staircase in Grenfell Tower was, in fact, wide enough to properly function as a Competently Designed, SAFE Fire Evacuation Staircase for Occupants, while also serving as an Attack & Rescue Staircase for Firefighters … utterly absurd nonsense ! Click to enlarge.

A later deep dive into the Phase 1 ‘Expert’ Technical Evidence led me to that Headline Grabbing ‘7 Minutes’ Full Building Evacuation Time … and to these 2 Pages from Report DAPR0000001, dated 2018-11-05 …

Graphic Image from Report DAPR0000001, in colour / highlighted text, purporting to show that 293 Able-Bodied Adult Occupants could 'clear the building' in a maximum time of approximately 7 Minutes ... using this single 'quite narrow', badly designed staircase in Grenfell Tower ... academic tripe divorced from reality ! Click to enlarge. — Graphic Image from Report DAPR0000001, in colour / highlighted text, purporting to show that 293 Able-Bodied Adult Occupants could ‘clear the building’ in a maximum time of approximately 7 Minutes … using this single ‘quite narrow’, badly designed staircase in Grenfell Tower … academic tripe divorced from reality ! Click to enlarge.

These 2 Pages above flesh out the details behind that ‘7 Minutes’ … a period which DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT … more than a doubling of the ‘normal’ time necessary for evacuation during the highly stressful conditions of a ‘real’ fire emergency (refer to the NIST WTC 9-11 Final Reports) … extra, extra time needed for vulnerable occupants to evacuate or be rescued, e.g. children, people with disabilities, people with serious health conditions, pregnant women … extra time for evacuation in pitch black, dense smoke and toxic/irritant gas logged conditions … extra time for trampling over other incapacitated/dead occupants and fire hoses on the staircase … extra time for the creeping sensation that the single staircase handrail is becoming too hot to grasp and give much needed assistance and guidance … extra time required when encountering ‘firefighters with bulky equipment’ on the stairs, either coming up or going down … etc., etc., etc.

Graphic Image from Report DAPR0000001, in colour / highlighted text, outlining many of the important and obvious qualifications to that Headline Grabbing '7 Minutes' Full Building Evacuation Time. The single 'quite narrow' staircase in Grenfell Tower was NOT WIDE ENOUGH, in reality, to properly function as a Competently Designed, SAFE Fire Evacuation Staircase for Occupants, while also serving as an Attack & Rescue Staircase for Firefighters. Click to enlarge. — Graphic Image from Report DAPR0000001, in colour / highlighted text, outlining many of the important and obvious required qualifications to that Headline Grabbing ‘7 Minutes’ Full Building Evacuation Time. The single ‘quite narrow’ staircase in Grenfell Tower was NOT WIDE ENOUGH, in reality, to properly function as a Competently Designed, SAFE Fire Evacuation Staircase for Occupants, while also serving as an Attack & Rescue Staircase for Firefighters. Click to enlarge.

At 02.35 hrs on the morning of 14 June 2017, 116 people were still inside Grenfell Tower.

So … What Should Any Competently Designed, SAFE Fire Evacuation Staircase For Building Occupants Look Like … Which Will Also Successfully Serve As An Attack & Rescue Staircase For Firefighters ?

Three Important Documents Relevant To Staircase Design :

Orientation Manual for First Responders on the Evacuation of People with Disabilities, Document FA-235 / August 2002, published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (#FEMA) in the #USA. Yes indeed, this document was published way back in 2002, and is still freely available on the Internet.

A vital piece of information with regard to the Firefighter’s Lift, and the serious harm which can be inflicted on People with Disabilities by its use …

In the absence of an operable Lift/Elevator Fire Evacuation Assembly in a building … which is still usually the norm … this photograph provides vital information with regard to the Correct, Best and Least Hazardous Method of assisting the evacuation of a person using a Manual Wheelchair. Electric wheelchairs are too heavy, and too awkward in shape, to be lifted down/up a Fire Evacuation Staircase, even with three sturdy individuals assisting. Note that some elaborate, highly-adapted and very expensive manual wheelchairs cannot facilitate being lifted. In all cases, however, Vulnerable People requiring Mobility Aids will be most reluctant to leave them behind in an emergency … and they MUST be allowed to keep their personal mobility aid.

Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Centre Towers 1 & 2 (on 2001-09-11), Document NIST NCSTAR 1 / September 2005, published by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (#NIST) in the USA. Refer to Recommendation 17 on pages 215 and 216.

[ Contraflow Circulation, in a Fire Building: Emergency access by firefighters or rescue teams into a building and towards a real fire, while building users are still moving away from the fire and evacuating the building. ]

Contraflow Circulation during a Fire Emergency is essential. This facilitates rapid and safe movement of firefighters towards Fire Protected Lift/Elevator Lobbies and Areas of Rescue Assistance in order to check on the presence, or otherwise, of Vulnerable People who may be waiting for rescue.

Once Firefighters enter a Fire Building … and without provision for #Contraflow Circulation … the ordering of a ‘Stay Put’ Policy for building occupants is the only difficult option … but this is NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE.

Carefully examine the photograph below. Firefighters wearing heavy protective clothing and also carrying firefighting equipment require far, far more circulation width than 510 mm !! However, this staircase is still not wide enough to facilitate unhampered building user evacuation. Notice how people have to twist sideways in order to allow firefighters to pass … and this inevitability slows down evacuation progress in the ‘real’ world.

International Standard ISO 21542: Building Construction – Accessibility & Usability of the Built Environment, published in 2011 and revised in 2021. Standardizes good design for accessibility and the safe usability of buildings, which has been common practice for many decades.

Basics Of Staircase Design … Going, Rise, and Height of Handrails … ON BOTH SIDES of every flight of stairs …

Basics Of Staircase Design … Clear Unobstructed Width – Between 2 Continuous Handrails. ALL Fire Services MUST adopt this single understanding of ‘clear unobstructed width’ of a staircase !

Basics Of Staircase Design … Staircases pose a serious hazard, especially during the stressful process of Emergency Evacuation … HAZARD Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (stippled, for hazard) at the TOP and BOTTOM of every flight of stairs. Concerning this particular design issue, British Standards and English Building Regulations MUST be ignored !

Basics Of Staircase Design … Handrail Tactile Plates, essential for the evacuation information to be used by people with a visual impairment in an emergency. Refer to Figure 38 in ISO 21542. However, this is a much more informative photograph … from one of my previous visits to Japan. Notice the high colour contrasting …

Basics Of Fire Evacuation Staircase Design … The Clear Unobstructed Width of 1.50 metres between Continuous Handrails on a Fire Evacuation Staircase facilitates Contraflow Circulation, the Safe Assisted Evacuation of People in Manual Wheelchairs, and Stretcher Evacuation of Building User and/or Firefighter Victims during an emergency.

Considering Professional Ethics :

2016 Dublin Code of Ethics

Design, Engineering, Construction & Operation of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for All

Short Extract …

A IV. ETHICS OF INITIATION & PRACTICE

Policy and Decision Makers … and Practitioners … shall :

hold paramount the safety, health and wellbeing of the public (particularly people with activity limitations, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups in society), cultural heritage, and the protection of the natural environment and natural ecosystems within the built environment … in accordance with the values of Sustainable Human & Social Development ;
promote individual health, safety, welfare and security, and group wellbeing, in every human life and living situation – not only in places of work ;
offer services, advise on, or undertake assignments and commissions only in areas within their competence, and practice in a creative, careful and diligent manner ;
act as faithful and objective agents of society, clients and/or employers, maintain confidentially and disclose conflicts of interest ;

CONCLUSIONS

Having been directly involved in the drafting of national and international Accessibility Standards and Technical Guidance since the 1980’s … I am really, really annoyed by the inept and incompetent misuse of raw anthropometric data to try to justify the width of this miserable excuse for a Fire Evacuation Staircase in the Grenfell Tower … and inflicting the Firefighter’s Lift/Carry on People with Disabilities is NOT ACCEPTABLE. This shoddy ‘expert’ evidence clearly demonstrates a profound ignorance of Building Design, and about how ‘real’ people use ‘real’ buildings.

My great fear is that the technical justification for this shambolic fire evacuation staircase will become a benchmark for similar shambolic staircases in other buildings … not just in England, but in other jurisdictions who are dim-witted enough to copy England’s bad example … whatever it does.

Professional building design, construction and technical control disciplines, who practice in England, MUST carefully read … and keep re-reading, as necessary … Paragraph 113.12 in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report … which is expressed in too mild a form for my liking …

Our investigations have shown that levels of competence in the construction industry are generally low and that by the time of the Grenfell Tower fire many contractors, designers and building control officers treated the Statutory Guidance as containing a definitive statement of the legal requirements. It is understandable that those who turn to the Guidance for advice about how to comply with the Building Regulations should be tempted to treat it as if it were definitive … We therefore recommend that a revised version of the guidance contain a clear warning in each section that the legal requirements are contained in the Building Regulations and that compliance with the Guidance will not necessarily result in compliance with them.

I must go further … where the Technical Guidance in any of the English Approved Documents is known to be inadequate, or even suspect, it is the ethical duty and responsibility of a true professional to find a better way of complying with the relevant Functional Requirements in Building/Fire Regulations.

In addition, and specifically in relation to Building Fire Safety … it is necessary, at the same time, to comply with ALL of the relevant Functional Requirements in England’s Building Regulations … that means NOT ONLY WITH REQUIREMENT B … BUT ALSO WITH REQUIREMENTS A, K & M (for a start) ! The recent publication of a single document which merges ALL of the Approved Documents is a small step in the right direction of improving a deeply flawed body of building legislation.

Competent Building Design / Ethical Building Design … Lies Beyond Codes !!

END

#FireSafety4ALL #NobodyLeftBehind #NeverStayPut #VulnerablePeople #SustainableFireEngineering #SFE #GrenfellTowerFire #GrenfellTowerInquiry #ShoddyTechnicalEvidence #FireEvacuationStaircase #EthicalDesign #BeyondCodes #PeopleWithActivityLimitations #PwAL #WHO #ICF #PeopleWithDisabilities #PwD #Accessibility4ALL #InclusiveAccessibility #FUBAR #MobilityAids #Firefighters #DublinCodeOfEthics2016

Inclusive Accessibility of The Built Environment & Successful Implementation In Japan

Posted 2024-09-14 by CJ Walsh

2024-09-14: Inclusive Accessibility of the Built Environment – ‘Accessibility for All’ – is a dynamic, continuously evolving concept … the effective implementation of which is essential if we are to realize a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment … for ALL, i.e. including everybody, every ‘Person’ in society … particularly ‘Vulnerable People’.

Whether it’s People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF), or #Refugees, or #Migrants … how does ‘Inclusion’ differ from ‘Integration’ ?

Graphic Image, in colour, showing the meaning of ‘social inclusion’… and differentiating that concept from ‘integration’, ‘segregation’, and ‘exclusion’. Always grateful to Solidarité Lilloise Étudiante (So’Lille – France) for this very clever and informative image. Click to enlarge.

Vulnerable People :

Those people – in a community, society or culture – who are most at risk of being physically, psychologically or sociologically wounded, hurt, damaged, injured, or killed … and include, for example, people with disabilities, young children, people with health conditions, frail older people, women in late pregnancy, refugees, migrants, prisoners, the poor, and homeless.

People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) :

Those people, of all ages, who are unable to perform, independently and without assistance, basic human activities or tasks – because of a health condition or physical / mental / cognitive / psychological impairment of a permanent or temporary nature.

Accessibility of a Building :

Encompasses the complete cycle of independent use of a building – in a dignified manner and on an equal basis with others – including the approach, entry and usability of the building and its facilities, services and information/communication systems, egress from the building during normal conditions and removal from its vicinity and, most importantly, evacuation during an emergency to a place of safety remote from the building and reached by way of an accessible route … by all of the building’s potential users, with an assurance of their health, safety, welfare and security during the course of those activities.

Successful Accessibility Implementation : [ Principle 2 – 2015 Dublin Declaration on ‘Fire Safety for All’ in Buildings ]

Successful Accessibility Implementation … meaning high quality accessibility performance in the built environment … is reliant upon:

A robust Legal Base mandating accessibility for all and fire safety for all ;
Determined Political Will ;
Sufficient public Financial Resources ;
A compassionate and understanding Bureaucracy at all levels ;
Competence … meaning duly educated, trained and experienced in accessibility and fire safety design … spatial planners, architects, structural engineers, fire engineers, quantity surveyors, technical controllers, industrial designers, building managers, and people at all levels in construction organizations ;
Independent Monitoring of accessibility and fire safety performance ;
Innovative, well-designed accessibility and fire safety related Products and Systems which can be shown to be ‘fit for their intended use’.

Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan :

Colour Photograph (3 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.

Colour Photograph (4 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.

Colour Photograph (5 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.

Colour Photograph (6 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.

Colour Photograph (7 of 7) showing an Accessible Train Toilet Room in Japan. Photograph by CJ Walsh. 2024-04-13. Click to enlarge.

Principle 9 – 2004 Rio Declaration on Sustainable Social Development, Disability & Ageing :

Concerted and properly resourced programmes of #Disability and #Age Related education and training should be provided in every U.N. Member State … at all levels … to politicians, educationalists, bureaucrats, administrators, and technical personnel connected, directly or indirectly, with the spatial planning, design, construction/de-construction, operation, management and maintenance of the Human Environment – in order to ensure that the implementation and monitoring of disability and age related Sustainable Social Policies, and the requirements of International Law, are competent and effective.

The #Dignity, #Privacy, #Autonomy and #Independence of every #Person should be respected.

Every U.N. Member State should adopt measures for the production and management of national disability and age related #Statistics – within an agreed and harmonized international framework – which are impartial, reliable, objective, scientifically independent, and accessible to the Public.

For #Survival and #Liberation, the priority targets for a comprehensive range of disability and age related sustainable social policies should be …

– Residential Buildings ;

– Public Transport … including buses, coaches, taxis, trams, trains, ferries, ships and planes ;

– Educational Buildings ;

– Places of Work.

Good #Education, within a context of Lifelong Learning for All, and Good #Employment are important keys to Social Inclusion.

For #Health and #SocialWellbeing, the priority targets for a comprehensive range of disability and age related sustainable social policies should be …

– Health Facilities ;

– Electronic, Information & Communication Technologies (#EICT’s) ;

– Civic Buildings ;

– Existing Buildings & Infrastructure … of Historical, Cultural or Architectural Importance.

In the short term, properly resourced programmes of work should be carried out and monitored in all U.N. Member States – in order to ensure that the Human Environment (social, built, institutional and virtual) is effectively Accessible for All.

END – But More Examples To Follow !

#Inclusive Accessibility #Accessibility4ALL #VulnerablePeople #PwAL #2001whoICF #PwD #FrailOlderPeople #Buildings #BuiltEnvironment #SocialInclusion #RioDeclaration2004 #FireSafety4ALL #DublinDeclaration2015 #NobodyLeftBehind #EthicalDesign #UNmemberStates #InternationalLaw #Sustainability #SocialWellbeing4ALL

Shocking Uncontrolled e-Waste Generation & Disposal To Landfill !

Posted 2024-03-22 by CJ Walsh

2024-03-22: The United Nation’s 4th Global e-Waste Monitor (#GEM) Report has revealed that the world’s generation of Electronic Waste is rising five times faster than documented e-Waste Recycling.

The 62 Million Tonnes of e-Waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper chain encircling the equator.

Colour Photograph showing various types of e-Waste … a typical scene at a Recycling Centre. Not every Centre is properly managed. And there are many parts of the world where there are no Centres at all, and e-Waste goes straight to landfill causing serious health and environmental problems for local communities. Click to enlarge.

Less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-Waste Mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving over Euro €57 Billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for, and increasing pollution risks to local communities. Worldwide, the annual generation of e-Waste is rising by 2.6 Million Tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 Million Tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.

E-waste, any discarded product with a plug or battery, is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which can damage the human brain and co-ordination system.

Colour Image showing the Title Page of the United Nation’s 4th Global e-Waste Monitor (GEM) Report. Click to enlarge.

2024 UNITAR / ITU Global e-Waste Monitor (GEM) Report

[ Download PDF File, 15.06 MB ]

The Report foresees a drop in the documented collection and recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the staggering growth of e-Waste generation worldwide. Challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing ‘smartness’, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-Waste management infrastructure.

The Report also notes that the world ‘remains stunningly dependent’ on a few countries for rare earth elements, despite their unique properties crucial for future technologies, including renewable energy generation and e-Mobility.

Colour Image showing the e-Waste Status of Africa in 2022. Click to enlarge.

31 Million Tonnes … Estimated weight of metals embedded in e-Waste in 2022, along with 17 Million Tonnes of plastics and 14 Million Tonnes of other materials (minerals, glass, composite materials, etc.)

17.6 Kg … Per Capita e-Waste generation in Europe, followed by Oceania (16.1 kg) and the Americas (14.1 kg)

5.1 Million Tonnes (8.2% of Global Total) … e-Waste shipped across borders in 2022, of which approximately 3.3 Million Tonnes (65%) was shipped from high-income to middle/low-income countries through uncontrolled, undocumented movements

NOTE: Cross national border ‘exporting’ of e-Waste – ANY Waste – Is NOT Recycling !

33% (20.4 Million Tonnes) … Proportion of e-waste made up of small devices (e.g. toys, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, e-cigarettes), of which 12% are recycled

END

#UN #UNITAR #ITU #eWaste #WEEE #PVpanels #SmartSociety #IoT #AI #SmartPhones #SmartTV #Recycling #RenewableEnergy #e-Mobility #EV #ElectricVehicles #Landfill #LithiumIonBatteries #ScarceNaturalResources #RareEarthMetals #HealthHazard #ClimateDisruption #Cobalt #HumanRights #EnvironmentalHarm #VirtualEnvironment #MilitaryEwaste #SpaceEwaste #Africa #Sustainability #SustainabilityImpactAssessment

Sustainability Impact Assessment (#SIA): A continual evaluation and optimization process – informing initial decision-making, design, shaping activity / product / service realization, useful life, and termination or final disposal – of the interrelated positive and negative social, environmental, economic, institutional, political and legal impacts on balanced and equitable implementation of Sustainable Human & Social Development.

Urgent Need For Harmonized European Fire Statistics & The ‘FIRESTAT’ White Elephant !

Posted 2023-08-21 by CJ Walsh

2023-08-21: In an earlier Post here, dated 2022-12-19, I presented a Road Map for Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) … which finished on an Urgent Call to Action targeting three specific, fundamental aspects of a Creative Fire Engineering which is capable of answering the challenges of our Complex Built Environment in the 21st Century … under severe threats from Global Climate Disruption, Climate Synergies leading to near-term Climate Tipping Points … and a startling lack of Global Resilience, refer to the CoVID-19 Pandemic, and Supply Chain Chaos initiated by an old-fashioned Cold War I Warrior in Washington’s White House.

1. 1. Mainstreaming a Transformed Fire Engineering
  2. Ethical Practice of Fire Research and Science
  3. Reliability of Fire Statistics …

Colour Image showing the #SFE Road Map’s Conclusion, Page 31 in a series of 36, from the updated (June 2022) Presentation on Sustainable Fire Engineering ~ its essential and critical role in realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment For ALL. Click to enlarge.

From Any Point Of View … the Final Report of ‘EU FIRESTAT’, a project financed by the European Parliament and commissioned by European Commission Directorate-General DG GROW, is a white elephant … a plodding hippopotamus … a retrograde step … a bitter disappointment !!! Completed in July 2022, it comes nowhere near outlining a viable system for the development of urgently needed Harmonized European Fire Statistics … which must be managed and co-ordinated by #Eurostat, in Luxembourg.

The #FIRESTAT Objectives were extremely limited …

‘ The review proceeds from the assumption that fire incident data can serve a number of important purposes – helping to reduce fires and losses, identifying opportunities for safety interventions and education programs, guiding the allocation of public resources to areas of greatest need and impact, and monitoring progress of safety initiatives.’

Nowhere, in this Report, is there any reference to Sustainable Human and Social Development. Where there are references to ‘sustainability’, these are specifically concerning the long-term financial resourcing of statistical systems.

And nowhere is there even the faintest understanding that Fire Engineering has an essential and critical role in the realization of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment For ALL. Fire Engineering Performance Indicators, Targets and Benchmarks must be developed to facilitate that realization ; and Reliable Fire Statistics are their starting point and basic ingredient.

[ The European Standards Organization (#CEN) has a Webpage dedicated to its part in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG’s) at … https://www.cencenelec.eu/european-standardization/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs/ ]

The Report’s Executive Summary (in English, French, and German) covers the limited range of the Project pretty well … and it is almost easy to read. The ‘great and the good’ of Conventional Fire Engineering, both organizations and individuals, were involved in this Project …

Colour Image showing the cover of the EU Project ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report, completed in July 2022, with the full title of the Project: ‘EU FIRESTAT – Closing Data Gaps & Paving The Way For Pan-European Fire Safety Efforts’ in the middle of the Page ; the European Commission Logo at the top of the Page ; and against a background of an EU Flag in the lower half of the Page, the list of 9 International Fire Safety Organizations in the Consortium which carried out the Project. Click to enlarge.

EU ‘FIRESTAT’ – Closing Data Gaps & Paving The Way For Pan-European Fire Safety Efforts

(Download PDF File, 128 Pages, 2.56 MB)

The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Page 8, lists 8 Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 1 / 1st Priority across Europe, from Ireland all the way down to Türkiye :

Number of Fatalities ;
Number of Injuries ;
Age of Fatalities ;
Primary Causal Factor ;
Type of Building ;
Incident Location ;
Incident Date ;
Incident Time.

So, for instance … the only Fire Statistic related to the Human Condition of Fatalities and Injured which would have been gathered after the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in #London was … Age of Fatalities … which, in the context of what actually happened on that tragic night and knowing the very large numbers of People with Activity Limitations (2001 WHO ICF) and other Vulnerable Building Users who died, or were injured, in the fire … is a very serious error, and entirely ridiculous !!??!! FUBAR !!

Essential Variable / Statistic Correction: Age, Gender and Vulnerability of Victims (whether Fatality or Injured). This is critical information and, whatever the resource implications, must be collected.

And if that wasn’t bad enough … this cack-handed approach to the development of Harmonized European Fire Statistics opens up the probability of another Morán with a computer, after a similar fire incident, again showing that a similar High-Rise Residential Tower could be evacuated down a single, narrow, badly designed staircase in 7 minutes. Say no more !!!

**J’Accuse** / I Accuse the International Fire Engineering Community of being intentionally and maliciously **Deaf, Dumb and Blind** to the desperate Fire Safety Needs of People with Activity Limitations, including People with Disabilities, and other Vulnerable Building Users !

Concerning Incident Date … the Consortium appears to be completely unaware that the European Standard Short Format Date is … Year-Month-Day (YYYY-MM-DD) !! See 4.2.2. in the Final Report. Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy.

Generally concerning Tier 1 Statistics … where is there any serious consideration of the deep and substantial Green / Environmental / Climate Disruption Mitigation and Adaptation Measures being imposed on the Design and Operation of New and Existing Buildings … which are already causing serious fire safety problems ??? See many previous Posts on this Technical Blog.

Colour Image showing #IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report Figure 5a: ‘Limiting warming to 1.5 C and 2 C involves rapid, deep and in most cases immediate greenhouse gas emission reductions’ … from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report. Current emission reduction policies will result in global warming of approximately 3.2 C, which is far off target. Click to enlarge.

The Final Report’s Boxed Recommendation 3, on Pages 8 & 9, goes on to list 6 Extra Variables / Statistics to be collected as a Tier 2 / 2nd Priority across Europe, from Portugal all the way up to Finland :

Number of Floors ;
Area of Origin ;
Heat Source ;
Item First Ignited ;
Articles Contributing to Fire Development ;
Fire Safety Measures Present.

Concerning Fire Safety Measures Present … my patience is at an end ! I am heartily sick and tired of pointing out that there is no such thing as a ‘Fire Door’ ; it does not exist !! It is ALWAYS a Fire Resisting Doorset !!! See 4.4.3.

This EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Report properly belongs to the Twilight Zone of the last Century … and in today’s Recycling Bin !

And Even More Worrying …

Concerted Resistance to answering the Fire Safety Needs of Vulnerable Building Users ;

The mistaken view that ‘Sustainability’ is merely a graft-on / optional extra to Conventional Fire Engineering ;

Constraining Building Fire Safety Performance within the boundaries of Current Fire Codes ;

Is the EU ‘FIRESTAT’ Final Report another disturbing sign of the growing Trend towards #GREENWASHING in International Fire Engineering ?

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Sustainable Fire Engineering – Road Map To A Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment For ALL

Posted 2022-12-19 by CJ Walsh

2022-12-19: Following on, directly, from the 2016 Dublin Code of Ethics …

[ A personal Code of Ethics – is / must be – the basis for Effective Sustainability Implementation ]

Multi-Disciplinary Input > Trans-Disciplinary Output

Sustainable Fire Engineering (SFE) is a Facilitator – no more than Architecture, Structural Engineering, or Spatial Planning – in the task of realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment for All. However, SFE has an essential role to fill throughout the difficult journey towards that target. In close collaboration with other design disciplines, many iterations … twists and turns along the road … will be necessary.

Beware Greenwashing !

Sustainability is NOT a graft-on, or an optional extra, to Conventional Fire Engineering. This intricate, open, dynamic and continuously evolving Concept must cut right to the core of everyday design practice, and must positively impact all areas of that practice.

Ethical Transformation

In this third decade of the 21st Century … the Safety Objectives in current Fire Codes / Regulations are limited, inadequate, and lagging far behind today’s creative moulding and re-shaping of the Built Environment ; they are almost, but not entirely, irrelevant in the context of the urgently required transformation of conventional fire engineering. For anybody who cannot see the broad, beautiful landscape beyond codes and regulations … this SFE Road Map is definitely not for you. For those who can see, your constant companion … your compass … will be a Personal Code of Ethics.

Essential Considerations Before Starting Out On The Road …

1. World Trade Centre Attacks in New York City, on 11 September 2001. Two sets of important Recommendations were issued by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2005 and 2008. Not only is the implementation of these still incomplete, but the solid progress which has been made e.g. on Firefighter Safety, is continuously under threat from vested interests. Other jurisdictions have tended to ignore the Recommendations. SFE takes full account of this Extreme Man-Made Event.

2. Grenfell Tower Fire in London, on 14 June 2017. Evidence at the Official Inquiry continues to shock and horrify ; the entire fire safety regulatory edifice in England is dysfunctional, and it poses a real and serious danger to Public Health and Safety. Inquiry Phase 1 Recommendations were issued in 2019. Already, the Recommendation concerning Evacuation for Vulnerable Building Users & PEEP’s (#33.22 e and f) has been discarded by AHJ’s … and it has also been stated (#34.14) that as everything about the single narrow staircase in the Tower appeared to be OK, it will not be investigated in Inquiry Phase 2 … a sure sign of dysfunctional dysfunction ! SFE sees beyond these major flaws.

3. Sustainable Buildings Il Bosco Verticale Towers in Milano … this exciting Project, designed by Stefano Boeri and completed in October 2014, has become the International Icon for innovative / environment-friendly construction. These new approaches to building design are posing enormous fire safety challenges. [ Remember back … was it 15 years before fire codes were able to ‘solve’ the Atrium in buildings ? ] SFE, however, must cope with this extraordinary level of architectural creativity ; and Fire Engineering Practitioners must be capable of active participation, collaboratively, within Project Design/Construction Teams.

Looking past the Milan Project … it is important for the reader to experience a more rounded flavour of where the exciting synergy between Creative Design and the Inclusive Language of Sustainability is at present, and where it is tending to go …

UN HABITAT ~ World Cities Report 2022 ~ ‘Envisaging the Future of Cities’ … https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf

Ar. Vincent Callebaut, France … https://www.vincent.callebaut.org/

Ar. Stefano Boeri, Italy … https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/

Ar. Olando DeUrrutia, Spain … https://deurrutia.com/

4. Building Energy Performance Rating Schemes Under enormous environmental and political pressures, the headlong rush to conserve energy in buildings, and to make them more energy efficient … especially after the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine … is proceeding in blissful ignorance of fire safety and necessary independent technical controls. Measurement of real building performance, after energy refurbishment has been completed, is generally avoided.

The Road Ahead … From Gro Harlem Brundtland To Reliable Fire Statistics …

Sustainable Fire Engineering Road Map

Realizing a Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment for All

(Download PDF File, 36 Overheads, 2.94 Mb)

This SFE Road Map takes account of feedback received after it was first presented on the LinkedIn Group … Sustainable Fire Engineering (#SFE) Network ~ #EthicalDesign #BeyondCodes #DefenceInDepth #SIA … from July to October 2022. Further updated and revised in May 2023.

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2016 Dublin Code of Ethics – Design, Engineering, Construction & Operation of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for ALL

Posted 2020-09-22 by CJ Walsh

2020-09-22: Adopted at the International Fire Conference: SFE 2016 DUBLIN (www.sfe-fire.eu) …

Many years have passed since the 1972 UN Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment and the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. In 2016, Sustainable Development remains an intricate, open, dynamic and continually evolving concept. The guide and driver for frontline practitioners, policy and decision makers must be a personal Code of Ethics … an integrated and inter-related whole which cannot be reduced to fixed rules inviting game playing and ‘trade-offs’. After working with this Code, it may be necessary to expand on and discuss its principles and/or some of the issues raised … not to narrow its focus, but to broaden interpretation.

2016 Dublin Code of Ethics – Design, Engineering, Construction & Operation of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for All (Download PDF File, 91 Kb)

CODE APPLICATION & PURPOSE

The realization of a Safe, Inclusive, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment demands a concerted, collaborative, very creative and widely trans-disciplinary effort at national, local, regional and international levels across the whole planet – Our Common Home. The informed operation of appropriate legislation, administrative procedures, performance monitoring and targeting, and incentives/disincentives, at all of these levels, will facilitate initial progress towards this objective … but not the quantity, quality or speed of progress necessary. Our time is running out !

This Code of Ethics applies … for those who subscribe to its values … to policy and decision makers, and the many different individuals and organizations directly and indirectly involved in the design, engineering, construction, and operation (management and maintenance) of a Safe, Resilient & Sustainable Built Environment for ALL.

The Purpose of this Code of Ethics is to guide the work of competent individuals and organizations in a context where incomplete or inadequate legislation, administrative procedures and incentives/disincentives exist … but, more importantly, where they do not exist at all … and, amid much confusion and obfuscation of the terms, to ensure that implementation is authentically ‘sustainable’, and reliably ‘safe’ and ‘resilient’ for every person in the receiving community, society or culture … before it is too late !

END

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BREXIT & EU Construction Products Regulation 305/2011 ~ Woeful Implications for Britain’s Fire Industry

Posted 2020-09-8 by CJ Walsh

2020-09-08: Ignoring Britain’s silly sabre-rattling, toothless threats and boorish blackmail attempts reported in the Media during this past weekend, yesterday and today … the actual state of play in the tortuous Brexit Negotiations can best be judged from the following sources …

Michel Barnier’s Presentation to the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA), on 2 September 2020 … View it Here on YouTube

Britain’s National Audit Office Report: ‘Learning for Government from EU Exit Preparations’, dated 4 September 2020 (Download PDF File, 197 Kb)

Map of Europe, in colour, showing the current extent of the European Union. **Points to Note:** a) Europe, as a continent, extends as far as the Ural Mountains in Russia; b) From 1 January 2021, after an implementation period of one year, Great Britain will be entirely outside the EU and the Single Market; c) The EU is not a Christian organization and as soon the political classes in certain countries (e.g. France and The Netherlands) get over their hysterical hatreds, Turkey will enter the EU as a full Member State; d) furthermore and eventually, an Independent Scotland will re-join the EU. Click map to enlarge.

This is the European Union (EU), a Single Market of approximately 450 Million consumers. The EU operates under the freedoms and protections of Codified / Written Law, i.e. EU Treaties ratified by all of the EU Member States, EU Secondary Legislation (Regulations and Directives), and EU Administrative Provisions.

A suite of EU Regulations and Directives covers Industrial Products. While there is some flexibility with regard to how Directives are implemented at national level in the Member States, no such flexibility exists with Regulations. Construction Products can only be placed on the EU Single Market if they can be shown to comply with the requirements of the EU’s Construction Products Regulation (CPR) Framework, or in other words, be shown to be ‘fit for their intended use’ in the European Union …

REGULATION (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council, dated 9 March 2011, laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC (Download PDF File, 998 Kb)

EU Regulation 305/2011. Article 13(2) Before placing a Construction Product on the market, **Importers** shall ensure that the assessment and the verification of constancy of performance has been carried out by the **Manufacturer**. They shall ensure that the Manufacturer has drawn up the **Technical Documentation** referred to in the second sub-paragraph of Article 11(1) and the **Declaration of Performance** in accordance with Articles 4 and 6. They shall also ensure that the Product, where required, bears the **CE Marking**, that the Product is accompanied by the required documents and that the Manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 11(4) and (5).

BREXIT ~ IMPLICATIONS FOR THE BRITISH FIRE INDUSTRY

Trade ‘No Deal’ or ‘Minimal Deal’ … from 1 January 2021, Great Britain will be completely outside the European Single Market, and the EU’s Construction Products Regulation Framework. The designation ‘Notified Body’ under that Framework will fall away from British Organizations. Construction Products/Systems manufactured in, or supplied from, Britain will then have to undergo an entirely new EU Testing and Approvals Programme in order to access the European Single Market. Fire Safety related Construction Products will have to be tested, and assessed or appraised, against all 7 Basic Requirements for Buildings together, during the same period of time (see Annex I, EU Regulation 305/2011) …

1. 1. Mechanical Resistance and Stability
  2. Safety in Case of Fire
  3. Hygiene, Health and the Environment
  4. Safety and Accessibility in Use
  5. Protection against Noise
  6. Energy Economy and Heat Retention
  7. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

… a process which will be very interesting to observe, since the Fire Industry (particularly England’s Fire Establishment, AHJ’s, etc) dislikes, with intensity, the whole idea of ‘environmental impact’ … the concept of ‘sustainable development’ is hardly understood … and no consideration is given to the reasonable fire safety and accessibility needs of ‘vulnerable building users’ (including people with activity limitations, refugees, migrants, etc).

The tragic 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire, and its sad aftermath, have demonstrated how dysfunctional, and rotten to the core, is the whole national system of Building Fire Safety in England. More than 3 years later … on the evidence to date of an ongoing, incompetent Inquiry and a series of shoddy responses from Government … will survivors and the victims’ families ever receive Justice, and find Peace ? cf. The 1981 Stardust Discotheque Fire in Dublin. Survivors and victims’ families are still waiting for the truth to be revealed.

In parallel, mutual recognition of British Professional Building Designers, e.g. Architects, Structural Engineers, Fire Engineers, etc., within the European Union will cease.

In parallel, British Fire Research involvement in EU Research Networks will also cease … unless a heavy price is paid to be involved as a 3rd Country. British Institutions should forget any notions they might have about Network Leadership.

In parallel, Information and Data Flows between Britain and the EU will be disrupted or cease altogether … unless Britain complies fully with the requirements of EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679. As a vassal state of the USA, this compliance may prove difficult for Britain !

EU Fire Safety Related Product/System Manufacturers ~ A Word of Caution !

Many EU Construction Product/System Manufacturers continue to use the services provided by British Fire Test Laboratories and/or Fire Consultancy Organizations located in Great Britain … some of which have already established EU-based dummy companies and letterheads. These British organizations must be avoided altogether. For example, the practice of fire testing in England and later adding a title page of a Full Test Report with an EU location address is entirely unacceptable !

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SDI’s 2020 Unified Terminology – Concepts, Terms & Definitions

Posted 2020-07-20 by CJ Walsh

Update 2020-09-01: Although the term ‘Vulnerable People’ remains unaltered, I considered it wise, and very necessary bearing in mind the obvious myopia in the mainstream health, safety and design worlds … clearly demonstrated by the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in England, and this current CoronaVirus / CoVID-19 Global Pandemic … to include references to specific social groups …

Vulnerable People: Those people – in a community, society or culture – who are most at risk of being physically, psychologically or sociologically wounded, hurt, damaged, injured, or killed … and include, for example, people with disabilities, young children, people with health conditions, frail older people, women in late pregnancy, refugees, migrants, prisoners, the poor, and homeless.

2020-07-20: So many diverse design disciplines and interested groups are involved in the realization, operation and maintenance of a Safe, Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Human Environment (built, social, economic, virtual, and institutional) … that the use of simple, easily assimilated language and precise, harmonized technical terminology must be widely exercised. For the effective application of Building Information Modelling (BIM), this is particularly important.

And concerning Fire Engineering, it is not clear when the practice began, but defining a concept simply in terms of performance in a ‘standard test fire’ is entirely inadequate, and fails to explain the actual meaning of the concept.

SDI’s 2020 Unified Terminology – Concepts, Terms & Definitions (Download PDF File, 156 Kb)

This Terminology … a body of particular terms, each explaining and defining a single concept, covering inter-related building requirements, e.g. human health, accessibility and fire safety for all, firefighting, social rights, design, performance monitoring, and facility management … takes account of:

Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA)
WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Environmental Impact.

Fire Engineering Terms … take account of the ‘realistic’ end condition, i.e. a real fire in a real building which is occupied or used by real people with varying behaviour and abilities in relation to self-protection, independent evacuation to an external place of safety remote from a fire building, and active participation in a building’s Fire Emergency Management Plan.

General Terms … are also included in order to facilitate a better understanding of:

the complexity of human behaviour and perception (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile and proprioceptive) ;
the wide range of health conditions ; and, more specifically
mental, cognitive and psychological impairments.

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Ar C.J. Walsh Technical Blog – Registered Architect, Fire Engineer & Independent Technical/Building Controller …… International Expert on Accessibility (incl. Fire Safety & Evacuation) for ALL + 'Real' Sustainability Implementation ! …… NO ADS & NO AI HERE !!

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