AN ASSESMENT OF FIRE PROTECTION IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS (A CASE STUDY OF JIMETA AREA OF METROPOLITAN YOLA, ADAMAWA STATE). A. A. Ishaya, I. M.

Oyemogum And P. W. Zakka Department of Building, University of Jos. E-mail: aawari@yahoo.com, egooye@yahoo.co.uk, stilldeangelopz@yahoo.co.uk ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to assess fire protection in commercial buildings. Thirteen (13) independent components of fire safety evaluations were used as a basis for investigating the safety of each building in line with relevant standards and codes of practice on fire safety. A total of 130 commercial buildings were assessed. The research found that 30.80% of the respondents have experienced fire outbreaks, 83.85% do not have fire alarm systems, 21.54% cannot easily call the fire fighting authorities. The research concluded based on the data collected that commercial buildings in Jimeta area of yola metropolis are not adequately protected against fire outbreaks most of which are as a result of arson, carelessness and poor designs. Key words: Fire, protection, Commercial Buildings.

INTRODUCTION National Fire Protection Association defined fire protection as the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviors, compartmentization, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems (Wikipedia, 2011). Fire is essential in must mankinds activities experienced since the stone age. The heat that fire generates as well as the light it emits are vital in enhancing human comfort especially when used under controlled conditions. For instance, the use of fire ranges from large scale industrial processes where the heat produced is used in the manufacture of iron and steel, petroleum refining etc to the ordinary domestic uses such as for cooking and baking. Light from fire provides visibility where there is darkness for example the use of candles at nights, therefore the important role that fire plays in mans life prompts its use in buildings. Furthermore some materials (wood, plastic and steels) used for the construction of building together and some household materials are combustible in nature. Unfortunately, energy systems (Electric heaters, electric cookers, and gas cookers etc), used inside buildings are potential ignition sources. Thus at anytime, there could be a fire outbreak inside a building generally, for fire to start there must be a simultaneous combination of fuel, oxygen and a source of ignition or fire starting materials (Henderson and Mackay, 2009). Fuel basically includes flammable solids, liquids and gases. Once started fires spread slowly at first on combustible surfaces, then spread more rapidly as the fire grows, providing radiant feedback from flames and hot gases to other potential fuel. For the occurrence of fire disaster, two major factors must be present; Fire ignition and fire sustainable factors (Oladokun and Ishola, 2010). Potential fire ignition factors are those elements, actions or

possible errors which can bring for an incipience of a fire. However, fire sustainable factors involve any element that can sustain a spark or an incipience to become a full flared fire outbreak.

In developing an appropriate fire safety solution for a public amenity, the use to which it is put is usually much more important than the age of the building. As a result, if a primary concern is to protect the fabric of the building or its contents, the proposed solution is likely to be broadly similar, irrespective of whether it is a new build or an historic architectural jewel. Similarly, if a leisure facility typically attracts especially large numbers of visitors within a restricted, enclosed space, the type of life safety solution and stringent evacuation procedures adopted are more likely to vary dependent on the layout of the building rather than its age. However, things start

to change significantly when it comes to detailed specification and installation. In most cases, installing a fire safety solution in a new build is much simpler and more straightforward. Historically, fire safety was often regarded as an after-thought or a bolt on: today, by contrast, architects and consultants recognize the inherent importance of life safety provision within building design and so increasingly involve third-party fire systems specialists early on in the development process (International Fire Protection magazine, 2011).

In single occupancies, it is relatively easy to set up procedures to ensure that, in the event of a fire, all personnel are aware of the proper procedures and that there are suitable people to act as marshals and direct the fire brigade as required. In multiple occupancies, especially where the occupancy changes frequently and there is a large transient population, such as shopping malls, this is more difficult and it is therefore essential that the owners, often corporate bodies, set up a fire safety management strategy and ensure that there is a responsible group of persons on duty

at all times to take full control in the case of an outbreak of fire. Note that this function can be taken by the staff employed for normal day-to-day security provided, they are fully and properly trained. It is also essential that full records of the fire detection, fire control and fire-fighting systems are kept and that a full check is made on any occupancy to ensure that no action is allowed to be taken which will negate any part of those systems. It is essential that where a fire engineering approach to building design is approved and adopted, the measures contained in that design are retained at all times and that financial exigencies are not allowed to compromise fire safety (Purkiss, 2007). Effective fire safety management requires recognizing all the potential risks associated with the premises and effectively carrying out an assessment of the adequacy of the measures provided or needed to combat the risk (Khan and Abbasi, 1995). There have been an increase in the number of fire examine the outbreaks in recent times, resulting in colossal loss of lives and properties which has become a serious threat to the states fragile economy. Many major markets and commercial building in Nigeria have been gutted by these market fires destroying lives and properties worth several billions of naira (NEMA, 2006). The socio-economic impacts of these accidents are aggravated by the fact that victims of such fire disasters mostly small scale traders and artisans are without adequate insurance cover. The market fires have continued to render many jobless; damage the environment; disrupt economic activities and worsening the problem of poverty (Oladokun and Ishola, 2010). In the light of this prevalence there is need to examine the state at which these building are protected against fire. The aim of this study is to examine the state at which commercial buildings within Jimeta area of metropolitan Yola are protected against fire in keeping with relevant regulations on fire safety.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of the study is to assess fire protection in commercial buildings. The objectives include; I To assess the different methods of fire protection and fire fighting employed by the

occupants. ii. To determine the major causes of fire outbreak iii. To evaluate the degree of awareness of the building users on fire protection and safety iv. To examine the buildings and relevant documents in order to determine whether their designs satisfy the requirement for fire protection. METHODOLOGY The study was restricted to commercial buildings of various occupancies namely; Hotels, Restaurants, hairdressing saloons, shopping malls, filling stations and supermarkets. Commercial buildings chosen for the study were randomly selected and investigation about the buildings was provided by the users/owners. It was assumed that the investigations carried out in Yola. Each building used for the study was examined thoroughly for fire safety by considering thirteen (13) independent components namely: Occupants and visitors, Internal planning, Furnishing, Interior finishes, Fire resisting doors, Factors affecting smoke movement, Travel distance, Fire brigade, External walls, Escape lighting, Communication systems, Communication vertical (stairways), Manual firefighting equipment.

These independent components of fire safety have been chosen based on the work originated by merchant (1984). In this study, the primary data were collected from the commercial buildings of various occupancies. The data were sourced through the use of a fourteen item structured questionnaires developed to elicit information from respondents. For this part of the study the responses were analyzed to cover principally four component of fire safety evaluation with emphasis on manual fighting equipment. These second part of study relies on raw data from field surveys of the physical elements of commercial building from the design and construction perspective, assessing each building for compliance to fire safety requirement. A checklist was used to record observations during the physical investigation of the various commercial buildings. The parameters that were studied include fire safety components with emphasis on internal planning and travel distance. The third part of the study covered an oral interview of various professionals, in the construction and fire fighting profession, together with the examination of information from existing records of outbreaks within jimeta area of metropolitan Yola. One hundred and thirty questionnaires were distributed. The data collected were sorted using frequency distribution and presented in tables. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on data and the results were presented as percentages.

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS Table 1: Distribution of Questionnaires Type Building Hotels Filling stations Restaurants Hair dressing Saloon Supermarket Other shops Total 16 12 13 13 11 65 130 12.31 9.23 10.00 10.00 8.46 50 100.00 of commercial Number administered Percentage

The total returns of questionnaires out of the one hundred and thirty distributed in each of the six commercial buildings, are presented in Table 1 Table 2: Percentage of building with various types fire extinguishers Type of Extinguisher Number of building having Percentage the fire extinguisher Water type Carbon dioxide Foam Halons Dry powder 16 12 13 13 11 24.62 18.46 20.00 20.00 16.92

Total

65

100.00

The percentage of the number of building having a selected type of fire extinguisher was computed and shown in Table 2.

Table 3: Number of building with fire alarm systems Response Have fire alarm system Number of respondents 21 Percentage 16.15

Do not have fire alarm 109 system

83.85

Total

1.30

100

Table 4: Percentage Respondents having Telephone facilities to call fire Brigade Response Number of Respondents Percentage 50

Have Telephone to call fire 65 Brigade.

28.46 Can call fire brigade 37 neighbors

through telephone.

28 Cannot easily call fire

21.54

brigade by telephone. 130 total Facilities used as means of communication to alert the occupants of buildings in case of fire outbreak and to inform the Brigade were examined and summarized in Table 3 and 4. 100

Table 5: Source of power supply used by respondents. Response Uses public Number of Respondents power 65 Percentage 50

supplying only. Uses public power supply together with stand by 46 35.38

generating. Uses public power supply and have other back-up 19 systems Contained. Total that are self 130 100 14.62

The sources of power supply to the building were examined, and number of respondents with various source of power supply was computed and results displayed in table 5. Table 6: Percentage of respondents who have ever experienced a fire outbreak. Response Have experience a Number of respondents fire 40 Percentage 30.8

outbreak.

Have never experienced a 90

69.2

fire outbreak.

Total

130

100

The respondents experience of a fire outbreak were assessed and result illustrated in Table 6

PHYSICALLY OBSERVED DATA The materials and method of construction of the commercial building examined were as follows: a. External walls: the external walls of many of the buildings were constructed of mainly 225mm and 150mm wide hollow sandcrete blocks b. Interior finishes: many building were found to have been finished with cement/ sand mortar and painted with water based paints. c. Fire resisting doors: Both timber and steel doors were commonly seen. The use of timber doors was common for internal doors. Such doors were hollow cored and thickness between 35mm-45mm. Very few of the doors were veneer finished. The rest were painted. A very small proportion of all doors were found to be in highly glazed aluminum. d. Vertical communication. Concrete stairways were provided at various points to serve as means of vertical communication for high buildings.

e. Escape Routes: very few buildings were found to have alternative escape routes. In many situations the routes were permanently locked out of use. Almost all buildings were found not to have sign posts indicating emergency escape routes. f. Furnishing- Modern furnishing was common in many buildings. These were mainly in highly combustible materials. g. Travel distance: Room sizes were found to be usually small. Travel distances were short. Travel distances to safe areas were found to lead mostly to one direction. h. Factors affecting smoke movement. Mechanical smoke control devices were not found. Very few roof rents were provided. Only a few building had openings in opposite direction. The hardware stores where domestic analysis of gas is sold, many chances exit for ignition to occur as a result of burning cigarette or other inflammable substances. Examination of the external walls revealed that the 225mm wide sandcrete blocks were commonly used for the construction walls. This size is satisfactory as it offers at least half hour fire resistance, which meets the requirement of BS 4547. Doors for the building were found to range between 35mm to 45mm thickness. This thickness is satisfactory for a minimum fire the doors cannot adequately as self closing fire resistance doors. Inspection of the building showed that modern furnishing was principally used. This indicates that in the event of an outbreak of fire, there are higher chances of rapid burning and production of smoke. Travel distance during emergency was observed to short for almost all the buildings. it appears that consideration was given to it during design.

Inspection of the building showed no roof vent which implies that the spread of smoke and hot gases cannot be effectively controlled during a fire outbreak. The absence of cross ventilation is likely to increase the risk suffocation.

BASED ON EXPERT OPINION Experts in the construction and fire fighting professions have maintained that arsons was the major cause of fire in commercial buildings. According to these experts, the deliberate setting of on property a crime known as arson was usually motivated by the

FINDINGS Table 2 displays information on the number of bridling having a selected type of fire extinguisher that 24.62% of the respondent used the water type extinguisher and 20% used either the water extinguisher and 20% used either foam or halons. Other types are carbon dioxide (18.46%) and dry powder (16.92%). Facilities used as means of communication to alert the occupants of buildings in case of fire outbreak and to inform the fire brigade were examined, all the results presented in table 3-4 Table 3 shows that 83.85% of the respondents do not have fire alarm system while 16.15% have fire alarm system. Table 4 shows a summary of percentage responses of buildings with fire alarm systems. Table 4 shows that about 50% of the respondents have telephone to call fire brigade others are 28.46% can call fire brigade through neighbor telephone and 21.54% cannot easily call fire brigade by telephone. CONCLUSION Based on the data in this study, it can be concluded that commercial buildings in jimeta area of metropolitan yola are not adequately protected against fire and that many outbreaks within the metropolis are caused by arson, carelessness and poor design. Arson fires have increased dramatically as a result of the rising ambition of the business men (house occupants) to make quick profit from fire insurance organization. Strong competition and jealousy amongst people involved in the name of business were also identified as reasons for arson on commercial property. carelessness arising from improper use of electrical appliance was

due mainly to user failing to respect the instructions regulating the use of such appliances. Poor design found to have it origin from the practice of assigning ill-trained persons to handle the design of these buildings. Even the choice of construction materials, sizing and layout in many instances revealed serious deviation from standards practice. Again the absence of supervisory action on the part of the local authority gave room for these violations. RECOMMENDATIONS Many factors are involved in the classification of a building as adequately protected against fire. In this study, many of those factors were examined although it was difficult to analyzed them on priority basis since all the factors are important. Therefore, it is recommended that: i. All buildings are to be provided with the fire appliances where the portable extinguishers are to be adopted; the powder type extinguisher should be most preferable. ii. Adequate number of escape routes should be provided in commercial buildings and such routes must be clear and in useable conditions. iii. iv. v. vi. There should be adequate water supply to all buildings. Automatic fire detection systems should be installed in buildings Building materials should be modified with fire retardants Local fire service personnel should be consulted for advice when purchasing fire extinguishers. vii. viii. Ill trained persons should not be commissioned to design buildings. Fire protection engineers should be involved in all aspects of the design in order to ensure

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