Fire safety

Fire safety has received increasing attention in all kinds of projects lately. The larger the project and the more complex the architectural design, the more complex it is to resolve the various fire protection issues which occur across all stages of a project: from design competition, concept development and building permission application to construction.

We collaborate with the architectural design and supervision teams involved, consulting on the necessary fire protection measures – which go beyond the protection of persons and property against fire as such to include escape routes and accessibility –, to meet both the required safety and the desired aesthetic objectives.

• Fire protection planning

  Vasko+Partner can offer the following:

  • fire protection engineering advice for the Client, planners and operators
  • fire protection engineering inventory and assessment
  • fire protection specifications
  • Competition consulting
  • protection target-oriented and project -related concepts of fire protection
  • fire protection plans
  • Fire protection on building sites
  • documented evidence of protection targets in case of deviations from legal requirements and
  • diverse calculations and engineering methods for fire protection

  The above listed offers are based on the currently valid legal provisions like the guidelines of the OIB, the respective building regulations and standards, TRVBs and , if applicable, also the industrial/trade law and the employee protection law.

• Fire saftey concepts

  Our fire protection team works out fire protection specifications or a fire protection concept during the submission phase. The fire protection concept defines structural, plant-specific, organizational and protective measures of fire protection; evidence is given on how the protection targets can be accomplished. Additionally, it can contain calculations of smoke- and heat vents, fire water requirements, and pressure aeration equipment.

• Fire simulations with FDS

  The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a CFD-Code (Computational Fluid Dynamics) that serves to simulate fire. FDS simulates, inter alia, three-dimensional flows on the basis of the Navier-Stokes- equations; the underlying fire process; the spread of fire and fire smoke; thermal radiation. The program Smokeview visualizes the results. Temperature gradations, gas concentration and visibility can be displayed in the form of tables and diagrams.

  The following issues can be treated with the help of FDS:

  • combustion
  • spread of smoke
  • building unit temperatures

  If applied for large volumes, high computer capacitance and time-consuming calculations (days, weeks) may be required.

  Simulations with the zones model MRFC
  The program package MRFC (Multi-Room-Fire-Code) is based on a multi-room- several-zones model. Linking randomly assigned rooms with several zones each, MRFC can calculate the determining parameters of conflagration, e.g. gas temperatures, building unit temperatures, pressure distribution and the resulting mass flows. With the Two-Zone model, the two layers inspected in the room consist of air and smoke gases for which a homogenuous distribution of temperature is assumed. Tables and diagrams show the results of temperature gradations, visibility, and gas concentrations.

  MRFC can be implemented to examine:

  • smoke (height of smoke layer, gas concentrations, etc)
  • distribution of temperature
  • determination of evacuation span (ASET)
• Escape and evacuation

  We offer:

  • Escape and evacuation concepts
  • Egress and evacuation plans
  • Advising planer, clients and operators
  • Evaluation of existing escape and evacuation routes
  • Improvement strategies for existing escape and evacuation routes
• Accessibility for handicapped

  We offer:

  • Advising planer in implementing ÖN B 1600 and OIB Rl 4
  • Accessibility for disabled people
  • Emergency evacuation planning for disabled people
  • Fire safety and evacuation for disabled people