Solving complex problems. Together.
We take great pride in our commitment to safety and our ability to deliver top-quality services that ensure the protection of life and property
Our Approach
We seek to make sure that fire safety considerations are considered and agreed with the design team and stakeholders from first principles. That a clear ‘why’ is defined which should inform all subsequent design and management decisions.
We clearly establish the most appropriate method for demonstrating ‘how’ these are achieved rather than assuming that adopting standard guidance will be appropriate to the needs of the building and end-users.
We maintain this clear link between how and why, which can feed into a complete understanding to inform the ongoing management and maintenance of the building once occupied.
Available in UK IRE
Design Support
Affinity Fire Engineering are organised to provide lifetime support to buildings. Key services include:
Fire Strategy Statements to support the planning process.
Fire Strategy Reports to support the building consent process.
Construction Support to assist developers in correctly implementing fire strategies. This includes support from our team of specialist fire surveyors.
Fire Risk Assessments to assist in the safe occupation of buildings.
Fire Safety Management Plans to assist in the safe operation of buildings.
Available in UK IRE
CFD for Smoke Modellnig
Despite the term 'fire' in fire strategy, smoke and smoke behaviour is one of the most critical aspects of any fire strategy. It's also one of the more complex aspects of fire safety and as such it's very difficult to ensure people are protected against the impact of smoke using only basic design principles. This is especially true of modern and complex buildings which rely on increasingly sophisticated smoke control systems.
The solution is to fully engage with this complexity and undertake Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for smoke modelling. This is highly detailed and computational approach that involves creating a 3d digital model of a building examining how smoke moves through it under certain fire conditions. This is not only helps ensure an adequate level of safety, but also provides the means by which more advanced or bespoke designs can be implemented. In many buildings, the use of CFD to demonstrate the life safety of occupants has become a critical aspect of the design and approvals process.
Monte Carlo Time Equivalence Analysis
Fire and fire engineering is full of uncertainties and estimates. The general approach to structural fire safety is no exception, with a simple set of rules being used to determine the required fire resistance of a structure. The Monte Carlo Time Equivalence (MCTE) is an alternative to this. At it's core the MCTE method is a detailed probabilistic approach allows us to incorporate those uncertainties and develop a more complete risk profile of the building.
In the MCTE method, all of the risks, fire safety features, as well as the general properties of the building are included, allowing us to determine the level of safety for a specific building, rather than relying on simple rules and principles. Using this approach we can more accurately determine what fire safety features (such as fire suppression and fire resistance) are appropriate for a given building's structural fire safety.
Available in UK IRE
Fire Safety Surveyors
We are also proud to have established an expert surveying department offering a broad range of services, including:
External Wall Inspections to ensure that the intent of the fire strategy is met, and that passive fire protection is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation specification. Additionally, we can provide advice on how to resolve fire protection issues.
Compartmentation Surveys to inform on the standard of the passive fire protection installed.
Fire Risk Assessments for both residential and commercial properties.
We also carry out interim and final inspections during the construction process, ensuring that the intent of the fire strategy is met, and that passive fire protection is installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s installation specification. Additionally, we can provide advice on how to resolve fire protection issues.
Our team also conduct fire door inspections and fire damper surveys.
Available in UK IRE