Maghull and Belmarsh prisons
Case Study: Maghull and Belmarsh prisons
Introduction
Exova Warringtonfire was approached to produce a fire strategy for two proposed new build prisons: Maghull and Belmarsh. Maghull is located in Liverpool, Merseyside while Belmarsh is in the South East. Both prisons are PFI funded.
Each site, in essence, consists of an entry building, a barrier building and a houseblock. There are slight variations in the design in that Belmarsh prison has a special care complex attached to the barrier building and Maghull prison has a segregation unit. Each prison building has a visitors’ centre located outside of the prison wall.
The barrier building provides a challenge in terms of evacuating occupants in the event of a fire, since this building contains the visits hall, where offenders and members of the public mix. This had to be considered when formulating a fire evacuation procedure as offenders could not be evacuated into the same areas as members of the public for security reasons.
The Challenge
It is common for a high level of management to be incorporated into the fire strategy, in order to meet the life safety objectives. The fire management and control systems of the occupying organisation must therefore be considered, along with its emergency plan, for the relevant custodial type property in order to develop the fire strategy in accordance with these standards.
The Solution
All cell accommodation buildings would be provided with an automatic detection and warning system and the system would be fully addressable.
In accordance with the FSDS, automatic smoke detection linked to the fire alarm would be provided within the evacuation routes outside the cells within the cell blocks. Smoke detection linked to the fire alarm system would also be provided within the individual cells.
VESDA smoke detection systems would be provided within the common areas of the cell blocks which contain atria. This is an extremely sensitive smoke detection system that would give an early warning of fire.
The means of escape philosophy within the cell accommodation is one of managed evacuation, as it is not feasible for simultaneous evacuation to be carried out due to security reasons.
It was proposed to provide a mechanical smoke control system within each atrium, to maintain the smoke layer 2.5m above 1st and 3rd floor level, so that evacuating occupants would not have to move through smoke. It was therefore considered that the extended travel distances to a place of relative safety were acceptable.
The Benefits
The Exova Warringtonfire fire safety strategy ensured it was the most appropriate for the specific building design and provided a high standard of life safety at the same time as reducing the potential disruption to the operation of the building.
