Fire protection

Under fire protection covers all measures by which the occurrence of a fire or the spread of fire through fire or smoke prevented ( preventive fire protection or fire prevention ), and by the rescue of people and animals and effective firefighting are made possible by a fire ( active fire protection ).

Fire protection is complex and is found in many areas of daily life. Therefore, can be found for example in Germany requirements for fire protection in a variety of laws, regulations and guidelines, such as the fire department laws and building codes of the sixteen federal states and numerous other laws, regulations and guidelines.

Fire Prevention

Preventive fire protection is the term for all measures to be taken in advance to counteract the emergence and spread of fires by structural, plant technical and organizational measures and reduce the impact of fires so far as it goes. Consequently, preventive fire protection is divided into:

• Structural fire protection
• Plant fire protection
• Organizational fire protection

In building regulations purposes of preventive fire protection is used to protect life and limb, the environment and public safety and is required as a prerequisite for an effective fire fighting. The public law of the state building codes have been adopted in Germany as minimum requirements.

In addition to building regulations requirements are based in relation to the protection of property in private law agreements. Main factors here are often the requirements that the property and casualty insurers to the execution of the building or its facilities.

A variety of legal rules dealing with the regulation of the task area for preventive fire protection. In addition to basic social, humanitarian, political and economic principles of the Basic Law and the constitutions themselves regulations are for fire protection, especially in the fire safety laws and building codes of the countries, which in turn substantiated by regulations, directives, ordinances, technical rules and standards, recommendations, and technical data sheets be.

Alone from the diversity of approaches one can imagine what a complex task area is to ensure here. The ways of meeting the safety goals, such as fire prevention, prevention of the spread of fire, rescue and effective fire fighting can lead to a wide variety of solutions.

Influences that can affect fire protection solutions (examples):

• Construction ( position of the buildings on the site and each other)
• Type ( Fire protection - solid, skeletal, half-timbered, mounting, etc.)
• Location (availability and accessibility)
• Type and number of persons -using
• Dimensions (size, structure and division of the building)
• Type and quantity of fire loads and hazardous materials (risk of fire and damage propagation )
• Dangers of fire and / or damage formation ( ignition sources, conditions and probabilities )
• Use ( operational and technical processes in use )
• Fire detection (probability to detecting and reporting )
• The beginning of the rescue and fire fighting measures
• Scope and duration of the rescue and fire fighting measures
• Performance of emergency services (fire brigade, ambulance service, extinguishing agent deployment, etc.)
• Presence of technical equipment ( eg, fire extinguishing systems, fire alarm systems, smoke and heat exhaust ventilation systems, alarm systems )
• Scope of operational security measures ( fire safety regulations, emergency plans, training, instruction, fire-fighting, fire-fighting aids, etc.)

In addition to the aforementioned influences in addition do not have the resultant combinations usually affect the effective, safety and economically to emerging and legitimate solutions to achieve the protection objectives. Preventive fire protection also has to represent the interests of the defensive fire protection for fire fighting and other emergency response and is therefore also an essential part of the security of federal, state and local authorities. This results in further tasks result in the protection goal fulfillment; it must be the usual practices of the fire department are in the form of consideration that a low- risk firefighting is possible and which may formed fire scenarios remain manageable. Moreover, it must also enter the event of a mass attack of injuries and deaths with sufficient probability. The task of preventive fire protection is thus the tension of public tasks ( building regulations, building regulations, fire protection law) and private interests. In addition, further both public and private interests are often to be considered, which may complicate the task performance often on. Often the solutions envisaged collide, for example, with the interests of preserving the status quo, the monument protection, urban planning law, road traffic law, commercial and employment law, energy conservation regulation, etc. or special specifications and requirements of the clients, architects regarding the design and selection of building materials and requirements of technical facilities and last but not least with the business aspects.

In contrast, the frequent expressed desire for clear rules of fire protection measures and requirements in the legal and technical regulations is ( like a cooking recipe ) in all conceivable individual cases an absurd request. As a result, this means that there is no legal hereby clearance, but in the context of the legal requirements to fulfill the protective goals must be achieved as a minimum. The fixation on the strict application of legal regulations can be counterproductive in some cases, if the boundary conditions of the individual case and the actual protection goal will be appreciated not effective. In some cases, the persons concerned are left in the delusion of safety requirements ignored by the authorities and private experts legitimate interests. Ultimately, finding protection goal oriented solutions in individual cases will consist of a structure in which the different aspects are adequately appreciate. Here, the quality of fire protection concepts and fire protection requirements is often directly related to the extensive necessary skills and personal characteristics of the creator. On the qualification of the parties and the comprehensive explanation of concepts, special emphasis is to be placed. But the procedurally necessary reference to the text of which is often not sufficient to make the situation all parties understandable comprehensible.

Essential tasks ( objectives) for preventive fire protection are to protect life, health, property, property and the environment.

Structural fire protection

The structural measures are very varied and include the building materials used and components in Europe and Germany set out in DIN EN 13501 and DIN EN 1992-1-2 for reinforced concrete structures, EN 1993-1-2 and EN 1995-1 for steel construction -2 for timber, about the structural fire protection in industrial buildings, specified in DIN 18230, on the escape route planned system to extinguishing systems in buildings. In Austria comparable requirements in the various TRVB B are defined.

In Germany, it may be necessary to have an appraisal by a licensed fire protection fire protection expert according to DIN EN 17024 in the interests of the client. In addition, the fire protection concept created is to be submitted and agreed with the local authorities. A federal law implements European law. In Austria the subject fireproofs decrease the fire prevention agencies ( also in sovereignty of individual states ). In Switzerland, it is regulated by the cantons.

Structural measures must take into account in particular the following aspects:

• Fire behavior of building materials
• Fire resistance of the components
• Construction,

• Division of the building into zones by fire walls and protection doors
• Escape route planning
• Reactive fire fighting by sprinklers or gas extinguishing systems
• Active fire prevention by oxygen reduction

In modern buildings, many pipes and insulation to be installed for the gas, water and heating installations made ​​of plastic. The ever-increasing penetration of large buildings with energy supply, control and data cables runs counter to the required by the building section separation with fire walls and fire-resistant floors. The fire load can be very high. Therefore, in modern buildings with large gatherings of people ( for example, railway stations, airports, museums, convention halls ) special fire-fighting equipment such as fire alarms, emergency lighting, fire doors and fire doors are maintained as long as possible.

In public buildings in Germany is the use of halogen-free cables (no PVC) standard. Power lines that run through several fire zones must be protected by a firewall. Electrical wires that are used for mechanical smoke extraction or a fire alarm system, depending on the application must have a fire resistance ( with integrity ) of E90 or E30 (see also fireproof fabric and intumescent ).

Buildings which are used or occupied by people restricted in their movement (hospitals, clinics, old people's homes, retirement homes, etc.) are referred to as special constructions.

Structural fire protection in tunnels: In the tunnels, structural fire protection due to the dramatic tunnel fires in recent years has become increasingly important. In addition to compliance of constructive rules here, mathematical proof (the so -called " fire design " ) is becoming increasingly important. Regulations to analysis can be found eg in ENV 1992-1-2, the ZTV -Ing and the "Guideline for the prevention of fire and civil protection " of the Deutsche Bahn.

Plant fire protection

This includes all technical equipment and facilities, which serve to improve fire protection. Typical, the fire protection serving building services, in particular:

• Fire load arms electrical installation with high decentralization and residual current circuit breaker with a rated fault current less than 300 mA
• Fire alarm systems (BMA ) according to DIN 14675
• Smoke extraction systems, for example in support of the smoke detection in floors or ceiling cavities, which serve the wiring (typically part of a BMA)
• Visual and audible alarm systems, often as part of a fire alarm system
• Smoke and heat ventilation systems (RWA )
• Facilities for the storage and supply of fire water
• Automatic fire extinguishing systems ( eg in the form of sprinkler systems and gas extinguishing systems ), including the local provision of associated extinguishing agents
• Non-automatic fire-extinguishing systems ( hydrants ) with appropriate hose connections as " building internal end " dry or wet risers
• Arrester for smoke doors in escape and rescue routes
• Escape door terminals for control and monitoring of the outside or leading to other fire compartments escape doors
• The escape and emergency lighting as part of the emergency lighting system (see emergency lighting)
• Manually operated fire extinguisher (called portable fire extinguishers ) Wall hydrant in Rome Ciampino airport as an example of a non-optimal fire protection - the hose is wrapped in plastic and not prepared for quick use.
• Positive pressure ventilation systems to substantially prevent the ingress of smoke in escape and rescue routes (eg in the escape staircases of high-rise buildings )
• Bulkheads for the penetration of components with requirements for fire resistance by cable systems and pipes ( so-called fireproof bulkheads ) or fire dampers (BSK ) for partitioning due to the penetration of components - such as before - through ventilation ducts and channels.

As part of the conversion, alteration or extension of existing buildings ( suspension preserving the status quo ), but also in new construction and as a direct manifestation of the architectural design intent, the facilities of the technical building fire protection are gaining importance.

In Housing and social structure of these systems compensate for deviations from the statutory requirements serve. The development is accompanied by rising costs of operation, maintenance and repair of building facilities.

Organizational fire protection

This point describes the appointment of fire safety officers and fire waiting and the preparation of emergency plans, fire safety regulations and fire prevention plans. But the training when handling flammable materials or sources of ignition and behavior after the outbreak of fire fall into this area.

Repelling fire protection

Repelling fire protection is provided when it burns. In particular the rules of the fire department. In addition to extinguish a fire by reducing collateral damage, which can be a multiple of the primary damage is one (see: fire damage ).

Fire safety education and training ( university level )

Germany:

• Technical University of Kaiserslautern: Structural fire protection and safety engineering ( MEng )
• Dresden University of Technology: Master's degree program Preventive Fire Protection ( MEng )
• Technical Academy West V. ( TAS ) of the FH and the University of Kaiserslautern: Fire Prevention ( MEng )
• Zittau / Goerlitz: Fire Prevention (MSc)
• University of Applied Sciences Hamburg: Security / Hazard Control ( BEng )
• Rescue Engineering / Rescue Engineering ( BEng )

• Rescue Engineering ( BEng, MSc )
• Planners / in and construction manager / fire protection at the Center for Continuing Education

Austria:

• University for Continuing Education Krems: Fire Safety Management ( MSc)

Switzerland:

• Lucerne: fire protection (CAS )

Courses in the non- German-speaking countries:

• Technical University of Ostrava: Fire protection (BSc)

The page rettungsstudium.de offers extensive information on ways of study programs in the field of preventive fire protection and other subjects in the field of fire, ambulance and emergency services.