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Education isn’t what it used to be – at least as far as the look of new school buildings is concerned and the fire safety designs needed to make them safe.
The recently opened GB pound 24m Allerton High School in Leeds is a case in point. The school’s design features a central building with four wings, all of which have central ‘streets’ with balconies above. So a fire engineered solution was required to satisfy building regulations.
The solution from Trenton Consultants, part of the Butler & Young Group, involved the installation of fire curtains in the atrium areas which, in the event of a fire, drop down from the ceiling to each balcony below providing compartmented corridors. In addition, vents in the glass ceilings open automatically, while fans on the ground floor draw in fresh air to blow smoke upwards and out of the building.
The school is also fitted with sprinklers and CCTV cameras are triggered to record anyone tampering with alarms.