Along with other large single storey warehouse operations, the DIY retail sector has suffered from a large number of major fires. Ron Alalouff visited the UK’s largest such retailer and discovered that it has made huge strides to improve its record.
For the average customer, the only thought given to fire safety when he or she comes into a B&Q store might be buying a smoke detector, fire blanket or fire extinguisher. But behind the towering racks of materials and equipment, which gladden the heart of any home improvement enthusiast while striking fear into the DIY-challenged, is a story of a determined bid to make B&Q leaders in retail fire safety.
It was not always so. In the 1990s, the company suffered a number of fires and lost no less than five stores. Although there were no customer or staff injuries, a small number of firefighters did suffer from minor injuries. Not only did this situation have a direct cost in terms of loss of business and restocking, the company was also in danger of having its reputation badly damaged. So the directors resolved to put fire safety right up the corporate agenda. They created a dedicated fire safety department, took the decision to fit all new stores with sprinklers and began a three-year programme of retrofitting them at existing stores.
Key to this was the appointment of Dave Bull as the company’s senior fire safety manager. A former divisional officer with Essex Fire and Rescue, he was given the backing by senior management to spend serious money on fire safety installations, backed up by a comprehensive training and management programme.
The other main feature of B&Q’s fire safety strategy is its partnership with Basildon based Firesure. The relationship started with a contract for weekly sprinkler tests for just 10 stores, and has flourished over the years to a point where Firesure is considered an integral part of B&Q’s fire safety operations.
Sprinklers
Sprinkler protection has been one of the major developments in the retailer’s fire safety armoury. To date, some GB pound 25 million has been spent on fitting sprinklers to existing stores up and down the country. But it was not as simple as just throwing money at the problem. At the start of the installation programme, the stores were changing format from ‘superstores’ averaging around 40,000ft2 to warehouse styles which average 160,000ft2. Apart from the dramatic increase in size, this also entailed a change from the ‘gondola’ style of merchandising racking found in conventional supermarkets, to heavy duty, 6m high racking more usually associated with storage and distribution warehouses.
In the case of a retailer such as B&Q, its stores are a hybrid of warehouse and retail premises. Under the LPC Sprinkler Rules, roof-mounted sprinklers for high bay warehouses on their own were not an option. The obvious solution was to go for in-rack sprinklers designed to protect high pile, high risk stock for Category 3 and 4 merchandise risks (as defined by the FPA Technical Bulletins). But B&Q didn’t want to settle for the impact on store design that in-rack sprinklers would have, as well as the potential of systems being damaged by frequent stock movement, sometimes involving fork lift trucks. Also, space was a problem for the very large tanks needed for a typical BS and LPC system. So they ended up specifying a 24mm, Extra Large Orifice head and large droplet roof mounted system, based on NFPA/FM American standards which used the Interflam 96 fire test results to validate suitability for retail warehouse stores.
“Early on, we had to do a lot of explaining to persuade both fire and rescue services and building control to allow us to use these specifications,” explains Dave Bull, “as they are not specifically referenced in building regulations. But we were eventually able to persuade them that guidance in building regulations is open to alternatives and that our solution was appropriate and dealt with all functional requirements.”
One of the early reservations about the sprinkler systems on the part of the authorities was the use of dry plastic piping to provide a hybrid style of in-rack sprinklers, where it was not possible to install the preferred large roof systems. The concern lay with the possibility of the piping melting before it has been charged with water, prior to activation of the sprinkler heads. This concern has been addressed by guarding the piping with linear heat-cable. Should a fire occur which threatens the viability of the uncharged piping; the tape will cause the closing of a contact, which in turn causes the pipes to fill with water. The activation temperature of the heat cable is below that which may cause damage to the plastic pipe work.
Dave Bull thinks the reason B&Q had to use a US standard for its sprinkler system is that the UK bodies are less flexible when it comes to different sprinkler options, and it is almost impossible to design a purely British system to suit your business. Often the business model has to be adjusted to meet the sprinkler design available. “Sprinkler systems have been installed for longer in a larger variety of structures in the US. Although in the UK we are making strides with sprinkler protection, it would be nice to see a fresh approach that explores all the options available.”
Sprinklers have now been fitted in most stores and they have undoubtedly helped to turn around the company’s experience of fire. It has enjoyed a period of well managed insurance premiums, even though the size of the estate has expanded in that time. The high focus on fire safety has seen fires drop from around 100 a year in the late 1990s, to the current figure of fewer than a dozen small incidents per year. Even fires from determined arson attacks are controlled by a couple of sprinkler heads until the fire and rescue service is able to extinguish them.
GB pound 25 million might seem an eye-watering sum to spend on a sprinkler retrofit protection programme on the entire estate, but Dave Bull can justify the expenditure. “If we lose one typical store to a fire – which when its open takes around GB pound 30 million a year – it can take more than a year to rebuild it. So that’s more than a year’s loss of revenue, plus the costs of rebuilding and restocking. That can easily approach a loss of GB pound 50 million per store.”
Partnership
For its part, Firesure now looks after weekly sprinkler testing, as well as maintaining fire alarm, emergency lighting, and in-rack sprinkler linear heat detection systems. In addition, it manages a fire system compliance process for new stores, in effect auditing the design and installation of sprinkler systems to B&Q’s specifications. “This works extremely well as we have seen a tremendous improvement in the shortening of snagging lists and a move towards 100% compliance to our standards,” says Dave Bull. This process is now being rolled out to detection and alarm systems. Here, architects and developers are provided with a list of preferred specifications of equipment. Firesure will then audit the installation and commissioning process, after which they take over the maintenance of the detection and alarm system. The usual set up is an L1 system with smoke and heat detection throughout. The panel is piggybacked onto the store’s main alarm system, which is monitored by an alarm receiving centre via BT redcare. This contract is managed by ADT Fire and Security.
From its point of view, Firesure has grown with B&Q’s new found emphasis on fire safety to the extent that it almost feels part of the family. “We’ve grown with B&Q and we know the buildings, systems, procedures and the culture,” says Sarah Reading, who is responsible for business development and special projects at Firesure.
Culture shift
But it is not just about hardware. In its quest to be at the forefront of retail fire safety, B&Q has put increasing emphasis on management systems and staff training to complement its investment in equipment. Dave Bull is proud of the fact that his management has put its money where its corporate mouth is, and he has a training budget in excess of GB pound 250,000 a year to show for it. Firesure have also recently been awarded a three-year contract to be the retailer’s fire safety training provider, carrying out a range of courses, usually on-site, at three main levels:
– Basic fire safety with a practical portable extinguisher element. Specially adapted vehicles visit every new store.
– A competent persons course covering fire safety management and risk assessments. This 2-day course is aimed at duty managers and service managers, and is delivered around 50 times a year.
– A responsible person’s course for store managers comprising a three hour workshop.
In addition, Firesure provides some bespoke training on individual fire safety systems, or where specific ad-hoc training is required. The company also meticulously tracks and audits individual stores’ and staff compliance with the required training.
Putting on training courses is all well and good, but without a root and branch culture of fire safety running in an organisation it could be wasted. So top managers downwards are inculcated with the idea of thinking fire safety whenever they do decide anything. All sources of heat and naked flames, for example, are banned unless it is the only way to do a job, and only then can it be done within a hot work permit process. B&Q also claims to be the first retailer to introduce a fire safety awareness week among its staff – something that is now being emulated by other organisations. Here, they practice evacuation drills – three times a year with customers present in the store – train with portable extinguishers and review fire risk assessments. In addition, all new starters receive an induction of fire safety as part of their health and safety awareness. When I visited the store in Yeading, Middlesex, I was allowed to put my head around the door of a room where a group of managers were into their second day of a competent person’s course. They seemed to be well motivated and were making intelligent points about what they had learned.
On a brief tour of the store, other fire safety features were pointed out to me, such as double-width doors at all main fire exits, smoke management as part of the ventilation systems, and the extension of sprinkler systems beyond the main warehouse space to the reception areas, garden centre and even the builders’ yard – provisions which are not necessarily required by the installation rules.
Looking ahead, the DIY chain is examining a possible expansion of its aspirating detection systems in its distribution warehouses, and also self-contained, local extinguishing systems for specific in-store displays. It is also looking into video smoke detection and watermist systems, as well as using recycled water for its sprinkler systems.
Dave Bull believes that with the help of Firesure, B&Q has developed a winning formula for their sector of retail fire security. “It started with a regional contract but now they know me by name and treat me like I’m their only customer. They always come back within specified time limits and often provide extra information. For example, in the event of a defective sprinkler system I get the history of the whole event, when it was first reported, cost estimates and so on.” He sums up the impact they have had on his job: “I can sleep again at night!”
And you don’t have to take just his word for it. A few months ago, B&Q became the first company not primarily involved in fire safety to become an affiliate member of the Institute of Fire Prevention Officers, “in recognition of its exemplary approach and response to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order [and] fire safety excellence within the company.”
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Plus, we explore the growing risks of lithium-ion battery fires and hear from experts in disability evacuation and social housing.
