One of the most common mistakes in property and industrial projects is involving fire protection consultants too late.
Fire protection is only thought about after floor plans are locked, shafts are determined, and MEP layouts are almost final. The result is conflicts everywhere, things that need to be demolished, and costs ballooning.
Yet the role of fire protection consultants is most important in the architectural design phase, before construction begins.
Why Does the Architectural Design Phase Determine Fire Protection Effectiveness?
There is a principle long known in the construction world: decisions made in the first 20% of a project determine 80% of the final result’s quality.
When applied to fire protection, this is very evident.
Studies from the Construction Industry Institute show that design changes made after the construction phase begins can generate costs 10 to 100 times greater compared to if the same changes were made in the planning phase.
For fire protection, this figure is very relevant because the system is embedded in the building structure, connected to other systems, and difficult to modify without impacts everywhere.
The fire strategy developed in the architectural concept phase influences many decisions that do not seem directly related.
Location and size of shafts, determination of fire compartments, types of finishing materials, position of fire doors, and pump room capacity must consider fire protection strategy from the start.
If this is only thought about later, there is often something that must be compromised.
And the impact is not only about cost. Systems designed under conditions of space limitations and fixed layouts often produce less optimal protection, both in terms of life safety and asset protection.
What Happens If Fire Protection Consultants Are Involved Too Late
The most common and expensive is redesign at the construction stage.
Shafts that have been built turn out to be insufficient to accommodate fire damper ducting. Pump rooms that have been cast turn out not to meet the minimum clearance for maintenance. Compartments set by architecture do not align with the required fire compartmentation strategy.
Conflicts with architectural layout also often occur. For example, sprinkler placement that conflicts with aesthetic elements, pipe routes that pass through structural areas, or detector positions that are blocked by other systems.
What is more fundamental is that system capacity does not match hazards.
If hazard classification is only done after layout is complete, there is often a mismatch between system requirements and available space.
The Role of Fire Protection Consultants in the Architectural Concept Phase
1. Fire Strategy Development
Fire strategy is a fundamental document that determines the overall approach to a building’s fire protection system.
This document explains how the building will respond to fire, how fire is controlled, how occupants are evacuated, and how assets are protected.
Fire protection consultants involved in the concept phase will develop this fire strategy alongside architectural design.
In high-rise building projects, for example, fire strategy will determine whether the system uses a defend-in-place or total evacuation approach.
This decision will directly impact corridor design, emergency stairway width, and the type of pressurization system needed.
2. Hazard Analysis and Risk Classification
Before any system can be designed, consultants need to understand the risk profile of every area in the building.
Which areas store flammable materials? Which areas have high occupancy load? Which areas have assets with very high value?
Hazard classification done from the concept phase makes it easier for architectural design to accommodate different system needs in each area.
For example, production areas using flammable liquids require tighter compartments and different suppression systems than office areas in the same building.
If this is only discovered at the end, layouts must be overhauled.
3. Integration with Architectural Design
Fire protection consultants working with architects from the concept phase can ensure fire protection needs are accommodated in the design.
For example, the determination of fire compartment boundaries must align with the architectural layout. If fire compartments do not match the room layout, there are gaps that can become fire propagation paths.
Consultants involved from the start can guide architects in making layout decisions that already consider this fire compartmentation.
4. Evaluation of Impact on Structure and MEP
Fire protection systems have implications for other disciplines that are often not anticipated.
For example, sprinkler systems require significant water capacity, which means storage tanks and pumps of certain sizes must be accommodated in structural design and building floor plans.
Fire protection consultants involved early can provide input to structural engineers and MEP consultants before they complete their respective designs.
Consultant Involvement Based on Facility Type
1. Property Developers and High-Rise Buildings
In high-rise buildings, fire protection complexity is strongly influenced by building height and the variation in functions per floor.
Water pressure for sprinklers on the highest floor, pressurization systems for emergency stairs, and smoke control for corridors and atriums need to be planned from the initial design.
2. Public Facilities with High Occupancy
Hospitals, shopping centers, and transportation terminals face challenges different from those of ordinary office buildings.
Building users include people with limited mobility, people unfamiliar with the building layout, and, in emergency conditions, people who may panic.
The fire strategy for these facilities must account for complex evacuation scenarios. Design of notification systems, evacuation routes, and smoke control zones must be developed concurrently with the building layout.
3. Cold Storage and High-Value Goods Warehouses
Cold storage features thick insulation, low temperatures, high storage density, and limited access. Therefore, sprinkler and detection system design will be more specific than in conventional warehouses.
Consultants involved in the design phase can ensure that in-rack sprinkler requirements, sprinkler head types suitable for low temperatures, and detector placement that considers cold-storage air circulation patterns are already integrated into the initial building design, not added later with all their limitations.
4. Pharmaceutical Facilities
Fire protection in pharmaceutical facilities must be integrated with clean room requirements, GMP compliance, and highly controlled HVAC systems.
The use of certain suppression agents can contaminate products or damage production equipment of great value.
Modern Approach: Performance-Based Fire Design
In high-complexity projects, the most appropriate approach is performance-based fire design.
This approach uses fire modeling and computer simulation to evaluate how fire and smoke will develop in certain scenarios.
The results are used to validate that the proposed design meets established safety objectives.
According to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), performance-based design provides flexibility to optimize design while maintaining or even increasing safety levels compared to standard prescriptive approaches.
This approach is highly recommended for projects with unconventional architectural designs, such as buildings with large atriums or open facades.
However, this approach can only be done well if fire protection consultants are involved from the concept phase. Because the modeling and analysis need to run in parallel with architectural design development.
The Role of Consultants as Cross-Disciplinary Coordinators
One of the most valuable roles of fire protection consultants in projects is as technical coordinators between various disciplines.
Fire protection design interfaces with almost all other disciplines, including architecture (compartments, materials, layout), structure (penetrations, additional loads), mechanical (HVAC, smoke control, fire dampers), electrical (emergency power, fire alarm), and plumbing (water supply, pumps).
If this coordination is poorly managed, it will create conflicts that are only detected once construction is underway.
Experienced fire protection consultants understand these interfaces and can conduct independent design reviews of documents from other disciplines to identify gaps before they become problems in the field.
Involve Fire Protection Consultants from the Early Design Phase!
If there is one thing to take from this article, it is: do not wait for architectural design to be complete before calling fire protection consultants.
Earlier involvement results in a fire strategy integrated into the design. The result is fire protection systems that are effective, cost-efficient, and reliable throughout the building lifecycle.
Data from RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) shows that every 1 pound invested in better design in the early phase can save up to 20 pounds in the construction and operational phases.
And for fire protection, this principle applies very much.
So, if you are planning a fire protection system for a building or industrial facility, the Lumeshield consultant team is ready to help!
Lumeshield provides fire protection system design services that include sprinkler system design, hydrants, fire pumps, foam, gas suppression, and fire alarms, based on hydraulic calculations and in accordance with NFPA, FM Global, and SNI standards.
The process starts with hazard identification across your facility, then recommends the most appropriate system for actual field conditions.
The process starts from hazard identification throughout your facility area, then recommends the most appropriate system for actual field conditions.
Interested in discussing further?