Category: News

Professional Standard of Care  The common law standard of care for performance of design professional (DP) services is generally defined as the ordinary and reasonable care usually exercised by one in that profession, on the same type of project, at the same time and in the same place, under similar circumstances and conditions. Perfect performance is not required by the common law.  Quoted statement from J. Kent Holland, President of the consulting firm, ConstructionRisk, LLC (https://www.constructionrisk.com).

• Article by J. Kent Holland:  Professional Standard of Care
• Article by Zetlin & De Chiara, 2013:  The Construction Standard of Care After 9/11

Prescriptive Codes and Performance Based Codes  Prescriptive Codes provide specific design, construction and maintenance requirements for building, energy conservation, fire prevention, mechanical, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc.  Performance Based Codes are those codes which focus on the intent (outcome) and allow the designer, building product manufacturer or contractor to employ the best design, assembly or method to achieve that intent. 

• Examples of Prescriptive Codes are local building and fire codes and the model codes on which they are based (which do NOT have the force of law until adopted at the local level).
• Examples of Performance Based Codes, also known as Outcome Based Codes, are those designs which meet fire safety issues that are not included in Prescriptive Codes.  Performance Based Building Code are a format used by many governments worldwide (eg. the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, and New Zealand).  There is little or no specific language which specifies materials or systems except that the desired outcome must be achieved.  Construction based on Performance Based Codes must deliver the same or similar minimum performance in the built environment as if Prescriptive Codes were followed.
• Article by Vylenis Babrauskas, Fire Science and Technology, 2015:  Performance Based Building Codes – What Will Happen to the Levels of Safety.

Fire Engineering in High Rise Buildings, a presentation by Neal Butterworth, Arup UK, November 2015.

• This article summarizes the strategies used to enhance Life Safety and Fire Safety in high-rise buildings.
• The Passive and Active components and systems used to increase the safety of occupants in high-rise buildings and to decrease the risk of building failure that would endanger the occupants.

High-Rise Fire Safety, Post 9-11-01

In 2006, approximately five years after the events on 11 September 2001, Arthur Cote, then Executive VP and Chief Engineer of NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association, US), gave this presentation at an NFPA Conference in Portugal.  In September 2005, NIST (National Institute of Standards, US) released its report of the National Construction Safety Team on the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers (Draft).  ICC (the International Code Council, US) was preparing changes to the IBC (Int’l Building Code) and IFC (Int’l Fire Code) that were a direct result of the events on 9-11.

This presentation, see the link above, summarizes the elements and redundancy required by NFPA 101 (The Life Safety Code) and the IBC to protect the occupants of high-rise buildings and also in the Means of Egress to insure safe evacuation from the building during emergencies.  There are also elements in this presentation that mention passive and active fire safety (designed to protect the structural elements of the building) and passive and active life safety (designed to help the occupants of the building escape safely during an emergency.  Keep in mind that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in NYC were constructed in the late 1960s and opened for occupation in 1973.  Construction and occupant safety requirements for high-rise buildings in the US have changed significantly since then.

The question was asked in this presentation, “Should we design for commercial aircraft flying into a major high-rise building?”.  A dozen years later, NFPA and other organizations worldwide, would begin to investigate high-rise facade fires.  Less than 25 years later, fire and life safety organizations in the US and Europe would begin to question the wisdom of requiring a minimum of two (2) protected exit stairs in low-rise and high-rise residential buildings.

In 2017, after the fire at Grenfell Tower in West London (UK), Douglas Evans made this presentation on facade fires at the International Tall Buildings Fire Safety Conference in London.  Mr. Evans is a Fire Protection Engineer and Consultant for fire safety in the built environment.  He was a Fire Protection Engineer with the Clark County, NV Building Department (US).

This presentation is an excellent overview of past facade fires around the world and summarizes the metal composite materials most responsible for these fires:  High-Rise Facade Fires, A Worldwide Concern  

The 56 page report from the Fire Brigrades Union (FBU, Surrey UK):  The Grenfell Tower Fire – A crime caused by profit and deregulation 

Link to the Fire Protection Association (UK, FPA) response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry:  Phase 2 Report, September 2024.  Inquiry Phase 2 Report Response.

Link to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, set up by the Westminster government (UK):  www.GrenfellTowerInquiry.org.uk

• This website contains a summary of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower.
• A link to the summary report, Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report Overview
• A link to the Phase 2 Report, released in September 2024:  Grenfell Tower Inquiry:  Phase 2 Report.  This is the final report, coming seven years after this tragic fire.
• There is also a 45 minute long video and Phase 2 Report summary, Statement from the Panel
• A link to the Phase 1 Report, released in October 2019.  There are also additional videos.  Executive Summary:  Grenfell Tower Inquiry – Phase 1 Report Overview.
• A more recent video summarizing the end of the hearings for Phase 2 of the inquiry, released in November 2022.
• There are additional news, documents and other information associated with the inquiry.

Link to the report, released in June 2019, by International Code Council (ICC) report by Beth Tubbs, Sr Staff Engineer.  Impact of the Grenfell Tower Fire on the US Building Regulatory System.

This report, from FBU, was released in September 2019.  The deadly fire at Grenfell Tower, a high rise residential apartment building in West London, occurred between midnight and 0100 hrs on 14 June 2017.  It burned for 60 hours, 70 people died at the scene from smoke inhalation and fire.  Two additional people died later at the hospital.  More than 70 additional people were injured and 223 people escaped.

The fire was started by an electrical fault in a refrigerator in the kitchen of a flat on the fourth floor.  This spread rapidly up the building’s exterior,  bringing flames and smoke to all residential floors, accelerated by dangerously combustible aluminum composite cladding and external insulation, with an air gap between them enabling the stack effect.

The rapid upward vertical fire spread at Grenfell Tower was primarily due to the presence of a particular kind of cladding: aluminum composite rainscreen cassettes with polyethylene filler material.  There was also an air gap between the cladding and the original exterior surfaces.  This was not the first fire that spread rapidly up, down and around the outside of a high rise building because of the use of flammable aluminum composite cladding.  Similar cladding was used on high rise buildings in other parts of London, the Middle East and Australia.  This was discovered when these several buildings also were destroyed by fast spreading fires.  This problem has happened in renovated existing buildings after the cladding was added to increase the insulation of the original building exterior and to decrease air infiltration around various fenestrations.  This problem has happened in newly constructed high rise buildings when the exterior cladding was added to improve the appearance and soften the corners.

In the US, in 2016, the NFPA Journal published an article that contained a foreboding and sadly prescient statement about the threat posed by combustible exterior wall assemblies.  The concern voiced by Donald Bliss, the author of this report, and other fire professionals around the world – and the primary reason for the increase in high-rise façade fires – was the introduction of combustible materials into these façade systems.

Fires involving the facades of high-rise buildings have been covered by the global media for years. In many of these incidents, spectacular fires have spread up the exteriors of buildings at high speed, engulfing the structures in a matter of minutes. Most of these fires produced few if any fatalities, and as a result much of the world failed to realize the hazard presented by combustible exterior wall assemblies.  Fires that spread on the outside of buildings, feeding off combustible exterior wall assemblies, used to be very rare. Over the last 30 years, however, the number of these fires has increased dramatically. According to research done at Imperial College in London, the frequency of façade fires in large buildings has increased by seven times in the last three decades. Other researchers have identified 59 fires involving external walls on high-rise buildings between 1990 and 2018, with 36 of these occurring since 2010.

This video was created by the Society of Fire Prevention Engineers (SFPE, https://www.sfpe.org/) and was presented at the Tall Building Fire Safety Conference, London, May 2022 (https://www.tallbuildingfiresafety.com/).  Many thanks to Chris Jelenewicz and Russ Timpson!

SFPE released 1st Edition of the, SFPE Engineering Guide:  Fire Safety Guide for Very Tall Buildings, in 2013.  They released the 2nd Edition of the, SFPE Engineering Guide:  Fire Safety Guide for Very Tall Buildings, in 2021.  Both guides are available in various formats from SFPE, Amazon and other sources.

The video is at this link.

9/11. NIST issued their final report, in September 2005, on the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, NYC, after being struck by airplanes in a horrific terrorist attack. The following article from the NY Times, dated July 2002, does not need illustrations. The writing tells the story.

In addition to the terrible destruction, this article clearly describes a lack of coordination of the first responders – fire, police and Emergency Medical Services. Most problematic were communication systems between the services and absence of command coordination. All the services wanted to help but that resulted in too many people located where they could not best help the occupants of the towers evacuate and protect first responders. Heroes, all.

It may be impossible to coordinate training and the rescue response of the men and women of such a broad mix of emergency services. And, this was an extraordinary tragedy.

FATAL CONFUSION – The NY Times, 7 July 2002

The PSA has begun working with FCS Consultants (a code consultant in Canada) to propose language in the National Building Code (NBC) of Canada requiring the use of Luminous Egress Path Markings in the exit stairs of high rise commercial buildings. Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) has already published standards to support the use of Luminous Egress Path Markings in ULC-S590 and in ULC-S572. ULC has also proposed similar language for the NBC.

Contact the PSA for any updates or to help support this effort to improve  life safety in Canada.

Imagine yourself in a high-rise building. Suddenly, unexpectedly, fire alarms go off. You learn quickly this is not a drill, the fire is real. Elevators are recalled. The only way out is the emergency evacuation stairs. But inside the stairwell, it’s pitch-black dark. No power. No lights. And you need to get out. Fast.

SO, WHAT DO YOU DO?

If you’re reading this, you’re likely a well-trained fire and life safety professional. You understand the numbers on high-rise fires – in the U.S. alone, an average of 13,400 a year, with 464 injuries and 39 deaths, per the most recent statistics (2014-2018) published by the National Fire Protection Association.

Most of all, you know the scenario described above is not overly dramatic; high-rise fires happen, on average, 37 times a day in the United States alone.

You’re likely familiar with the different designs of emergency stairwells in high-rise buildings. In the scenario described above, what do you do? Could you get out? Quickly? Safely? In total darkness? Could you find the steps? Handrails? Landings? Could you navigate around obstructions? Avoid stumbling? Tripping? Falling? If you smell smoke or see flames, would know where to go? If the fire was below you, would you know which floors allowed re-entry points? What about roof access?

Those are real questions. In the moment, you have a split second to decide. And how you decide – how anyone decides when caught in a dark, high-rise stairwell during any emergency evacuation, especially a fire – can be the difference between getting out safely or something worse.

PHOTOLUMINESCENT EGRESS PATHWAY MARKINGS. NO DECISIONS NECESSARY. JUST FOLLOW THE MARKINGS OUT.

Same situation as above. The building is still on fire. You’re in the stairwell. Power is still off. Lights are still out. And the stairwell is still dark. Yet, there is a difference. This particular building owner invested in life safety…and installed a code-mandated Luminous Egress Pathway Marking System engineered with advanced photo-luminescent (PL) technology.

Well-positioned markings and signage glowing brightly; illuminating the path to safety.

Steps, handrails, obstructions, landings – they’re all marked and highly visible. Each floor in this high rise has a large, easy-to-read sign indicating the stairwell you’re in, the floor you’re on and critical life-safety information about re-entry points, roof access and final discharge (exit) point.

Additionally, the frame of exit doors are marked and glowing brightly, as are door handles, whether they’re push bar or a more traditional doorknob. Doors that are not part of the evacuation route have a glowing strip across the bottom of the door.

The building owner calls this system an investment in prevention. The insurance carrier calls it forward thinking and gave him a discount (always recommend your clients check with their insurance provider for possible discounts). Building occupants call it a life saver. Fire and life safety professionals call it a relief because it helps save lives.

Whatever you call it, you can find PL markings in the International Building Code’s Section 1025, Means of Egress, dating back to the 2009 version of the code. Also in the International Fire Code, National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code, and in most state and municipal building codes for buildings with highest occupiable floor 75’ above lowest fire department access.

LIFE-SAFETY: REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES

We all know too well the horror that resulted from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. But what may not be as well known is that in both the World Trade Center I and II, (WTC) and in the Pentagon, PL egress pathway markings were installed and helped people evacuate, ultimately saving lives.

The evacuation stairwells inside the WTC towers were an atypical design that included hallways that zigged and zagged between floors. Shortly after the 1994 bombing, PL markings were installed in both towers. A stripe of PL paint was painted down the hallway floors with additional PL markings on steps and handrails.

In interviews following the attacks, the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST), a unit of the U.S. Department of Commerce, reported that 33% of the evacuees from Tower 1 and 17% of evacuees from Tower 2 cited the luminous markings in helping them evacuate. In the stairwells, backup power was working, and lights were on; a small amount of smoke had seeped into the stairwells. https://www.nist.gov/el/final-reports-nist-world-trade-center-disaster-investigation

The Pentagon was a different story. The egress pathways in the building had been marked with safety-grade PL material. The PL marking was affixed on walls about four inches above the floor. When the jet crashed into the building, all lights went out and the ensuing fire created extremely dense, black smoke. Immediately, the luminous marking began to glow, providing direction to those who could get out. Many of Pentagon evacuees credited the PL markings with helping them evacuate.

These attacks, along with the fact that backup power systems are not fail-safe, led the New York City Department of Buildings to amend its building code in 2004 to require certain classifications of high-rise buildings (with occupiable floor 75 feet or higher above lowest fire department access, and recently amended to 100-feet or higher) for luminous pathway markings in their evacuation stairwell.

PHOTOLUMINESCENT TECHNOLOGY. WHY IT WORKS. FIRST TIME. EVERY TIME.

There’s an old literary legend that a “silver bullet” can provide a magical solution to a confusing problem. The legend dates back to 18th century fiction in which it was believed only a silver bullet was the only way to stop a werewolf; it was further galvanized in the Lone Ranger television series.

The science, engineering and technology that provided code writers with the confidence to include the requirement for a Luminous Egress Pathway Marking System is as close to a magical silver bullet as you can get. In fact, it is better – because “silver bullet” is proven, in real-life, that when a PL pathway marking system is installed properly, it is 100% fail-safe.

THAT’S WORTH REPEATING: INSTALLED PROPERLY, IT IS THE ONLY SAFETY TECHNOLOGY IN THE WORLD THAT IS 100% FAIL-SAFE.

There is no other emergency lighting system in the world that make that claim. Not back up power generators. Not battery-powered systems. Both systems are great…and more often than not, they work. But when they don’t…as in the 2004 blackout in New York City, city officials estimated that transfer switches failed in a significant number of buildings, leaving them in the dark.

PL technology works because it is a passive system; it requires no electricity or any power source beyond the ambient light already present in the stairwell. PL products absorb the light and, the instant ambient light is extinguished, the absorbed light is released in the form of a bright, highly visible afterglow.

Both the building code and manufacturers’ instructions require installation in a way that has exposure to a mere 1-foot candle of fluorescent light at least 60 minutes prior to building occupancy and continuously when occupants are in the building. With that exposure, the PL system will work first time, every time…and is why most evacuation building stairwells have lights on 24/7.

A VALUE-ADD THAT ADDS VALUE TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE AND HELP SAVE
LIVES IN THE PROCESS

This pathway marking system will help save lives.

Certain states and cities have been more aggressive in adopting enforcing the building code and retroactive fire code requirements than others. Many manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to work with city fire and building inspectors to educate them on the code and its life-saving benefits.

The Photoluminescent Safety Association (PSA) encourages you to consider adding this system to your arsenal of fire and life safety solutions for building egress systems. A list of PSA members and their contact information is included below.

We all know high-rise fires will continue. But your firestop products, in tandem with a photoluminescent marking system, can help reduce the number of deaths and injuries in those fires. The PSA and its members look forward to working with you and all FCIA members

Al Carlson is PSA Executive Director.
He can be reached at info@plsafety.org

Photoluminescent Safety Association

www.plsafety.org/members

This article submitted by The Photoluminescent Safety Association and special kudos to George Sloan. www.plsafety.org

HIGH-RISE FIRE FACTS

• The two deadliest high-rise fires in U.S. history were caused by terrorism. The fires and building collapses after the jet planes flew into the twin towers of New York City’s World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 killed 2,666 people, not including the 157 passengers and crew on the two planes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks

• On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb outside a nine-story federal building in Oklahoma City killed 169 people. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing

• In 2009-2013, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 14,500 reported structure fires in high-rise buildings per year. https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Building-and-life-safety/oshighrise.pdf

• Five property types account for three quarters (73%) of high-rise fires: apartments or other –multi-family housing; hotels; dormitories or dormitory type properties; facilities that care for the sick; and office buildings. https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Building-and-life-safety/oshighrise.pdf

• High-rise fires are more likely to have fire detection, sprinklers and to be built of fire-resistive construction and are less likely to spread beyond the room or floor of origin than fires in shorter buildings.https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Building-and-Life-Safety/High-Rise-Building-Fires

• Most high-rise building fires begin on floors no higher than the 6th story. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2011/12/29/229093.htm

HOW DID PL MARKINGS WIND UP IN THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE, INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE?

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) World Trade Center (WTC) Investigation looked at a lot of issues that affected the building during the disaster. The study took place over a multi-year period and was published by NIST.

After publication of the WTC I and II Investigation, the International Code Council’s (ICC) Board of Directors appointed the Adhoc Committee on Terrorism Resistant Buildings (TRB). This committee reviewed the investigation, and created code proposals to address issues that were raised. One issue was egress systems that need to be ‘obvious and intuitive’.

The ICC’s TRB was the proponent to add a requirement that PL markings be mandated in high rise buildings. After filing the proposals, testimony was provided by the TRB Members. The requirement was approved by the Committee Development Committee at ICC’s Committee Action and Public Comment Hearings. Bill McHugh was a member of the TRB and provided the reason statement, testimony supporting the proposal.

UL1994 Standard 4^th Edition Published

Underwriters Laboratories Inc recently published the 4^th edition of UL1994 – Standard for Luminous Egress Path Marking Systems dated May 29, 2015. This new edition of ANSI/UL 1994 includes a revision to the Color Temperature Range for LED Activation Source in paragraph 33.2.3.

The LED-related details in Paragraph 33.2.3. now say the following in the 4th edition:

33.2.3

3) LED – Any lamp configuration, 4000 – 4500 K color temperature, seasoned for minimum 2 hours.

The Standard UL1994 is available for purchase at http://www.comm-2000.com.