News from the Loss Prevention Consultancy
Below are some recent announcements on fire protection and corporate
security. Bookmark this page and check back regularly to keep updated:
Recent Power Generation Assignments
The
guide to the fire protection of steam turbines which we are drafting for
the consortium of operators is now in its final stages. We have also
recently completed an assignment to review fire suppression in one of
the UK’s larger combined cycle generating stations. We have also
recently carried out site visits to two coal fire stations under
construction in Holland and Germany.
Historic Scotland Entrusts Additional Fire
Suppression Project Work to LPC
In 2008, Historic Scotland
awarded a second contract to the consultancy to specify and oversee the
installation of an automatic fire suppression system in the Old Palace
at Stirling Castle. This is the first water mist system to fully protect
the whole of a Grade A listed building. The installation was completed
in late 2009 and it’s hoped that members of the IFE Heritage Special
Interest Group will be able to see it at their meeting in July 2010.
Two other Historic Scotland projects are
also now virtually complete
We have been drafting the
latest HS publication on fire safety – Guide for
Practitioners No 7: Fire Safety Management in Traditional Buildings.
This is now complete and will be formally launched during the summer.
This Guide incorporates the advice given in the four HS Technical Advice
Notes (two of which were prepared by us) and unusually, has the status
of an Approved Code of Practice being called up in the Scottish Building
Standards.
We have also completed a programme of fire safety management and risk assessment training for HS and at the same time, have been involved in re-writing their fire safety policy and procedures.
Current Insurance Assignments
The
Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) is now part occupied and the
consultancy continues to be responsible for the insurance input in fire
safety management of the world's tallest building.
The consultancy is providing on-going supervision for the fire safety on the London Bridge Tower project (The Shard of Glass) which progresses well.
We are now fully engaged as the insurers’ construction site fire safety advisor for the Heathrow Airport’s reconstruction of Terminal 2A.
Other projects underway which involve the consultancy include two of the tallest buildings in Kuwait, the Abu Dhabi Financial Centre on Sowaah Island as well as a bank’s corporate headquarters in the Bahrain Bay development.
Expert Witness Work
The
consultancy is presently advising on litigation relating to a large
warehouse fire and is also instructed in a very large construction site
fire on a power station project – this is probably the largest CAR claim
in the UK since the Minster Court fire. We are also instructed in three
other cases involving liability for injury sustained by bank, building
society and office employees resulting from violent crime.
Other Work
We undertook a very interesting fire investigation for a French company involving a desalination plant where a condenser vessel was being retubed. The tubing was made from titanium – it is not widely known that this material in tube form can pose serious fire problems during hot work.
We have also undertaken a series of presentations on construction site fire safety management for the Association for Project Safety, the professional body for CDM Supervisors. We also prepared a Practice Note on the dangers during construction of large timber framed buildings for APS.
Another recent heritage project involved a review of fire detection in Litchfield Cathedral – we were pleased to undertake this on a pro-bono basis as part of our public service commitment
