Introduction PKNS Complex located at seksyen 14 Shah Alam, is one of the oldest commercial complexes with the age of 36 years old. It is a three-storied building with an open air, sheltered food court on the rooftop. As the first shopping center in Shah Alam, PKNS Complex is not a modern shopping mall. It's more of a bazaar with small shops/stores/stalls. The complex will be crowded with people during weekend and also when Ramadhan month. It'll be heaving with stalls selling items for hari raya ( aidilfitri ). On the other hand, the existence of the Selangor Immigration Office here also helps to cater the crowd as they go for passport issues and Visas renewing. A lot of work needed to be done to ensure safety of people in the PKNS complex such as maintenance of the building but in this assignment the main topic that will be discuss is about the fire precautions system in the complex.
Fire protection system The fire protection system plays a very important role to prevent the spread of fire breakouts in buildings. The duty of the fire protection system is to extinguish the fire and control the spread of fire. Besides, it also reduces the impact of uncontrolled fire and to protect human life and state, public, and private property from fire. There are two fire protection methods, which are active fire protection method and passive fire protection method. Active fire protection method Active Fire Protection is a group of systems that require some amount of action in order to work efficiently in the event of a fire. Type 1)Fire Extinguisher
• Initial outbreak of fires • Located at conspicuous location • Within 20m from a potential a potential fire hazard • ABC type dry powder fire extinguisher (blue colour) Fire Protection-Under UBBL 1984 Section 227 - Portable extinguisher shall be designed and installed in accordance with MS 1539.
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Type 2) External fire hydrant
• Flow from water main with the control of a valve • Two way fire hydrant • <10m distance to the building • <10m distance to high voltage electrical main • <90m apart along access road Under UBBL 1984 Section 225(2) - Every building shall be served by at least one fire hydrant located not more than 45 meter from the fire brigade access, designed and installed in accordance with MS 1489. In any case, hydrants shall be located not more than 90 meters apart. 3) Hose Reel
• Early stage of fire • Sited in proper position • Manually operated and activated by opening a valve enabling the water to flow into hose that is 30m away. Under UBBL 1984 Section 226A - Hose reel systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with MS 1489. 4) Sprinkler system
• Every sprinkler has glass bulb at their head. • Bulb normally blocks the flow of water. • Temperature is approximately 68°C/155°F for the glass bulb at sprinkler head to break. • Water will continue to flow until the main valve is shut off Under UBBL 1984 Section 228 - Sprinkler systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with MS 1910. 5) Water storage tank
• Located at roof level • Pressed steel • Painted with a red band of minimum 200mm • Two compartments • Level indicator
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Type 6) Wet Riser Systems
• Permanently charged with water • >30.5 and <70.5m above the fire appliance access level • Inlet breeching connector at ground floor and with landing valve on each floor • Air valve automatically open to release air • Air valve close when is full of water Under UBBL 1984 Section 231(1) - Wet rising systems shall be provided in every building in which the top most occupied floor is more than 30 meters above fire appliance access level. 7) Fireman’s switch
• Electrical isolation switch • Permit the disconnection of electrical power supply • Located in conspicuous place • <2.75m from the ground • Paint in red colour 8) Fire alarm bell
• To alarm people who are at risk • It is relatively loud • Produce a specific sound pattern to avoid confusion to successfully warn for hazards Under UBBL 1984 Section 237 - Fire detection and fire alarm systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with MS 1745. 9) Voice communication system
• To communicate critical information • Colour in red • Two way communication system • A network of telephone handsets connected to the master headset at the Fire Command Centre Under UBBL 1984 Section 239(a) - There shall be two separate approved continuously electrically supervised voice communications system; one a fire brigade communications system and the other a public address system between the central control stations.
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Passive fire protection method Passive Fire Protection is a group of systems that compartmentalize a building through the use of fire-resistance rated walls and floors, keeping the fire from spreading quickly and providing time to escape for people in the building. Type 1)Fire door
• Allow the flow of traffic around the building • A barrier to stop the spread of fire when door is closed • Provide an escape route for occupants to escape when the door is open Under UBBL 1984 Section 163 - Fire doors including frames shall be constructed in accordance with MS 1073. 2) Fire escape route
• Emergency exit • Provides a directional exit signs • Mounted beside the lift for showing these escape routes
3) Staircase and compartment
• The number of risers per flight <16 • Tread & riser dimension are consistence • No winders in escape staircase • Sub-divided into compartment by using compartment walls and compartment floors • Period of insulation >15min Under UBBL 1984 Section 168(4) - The required width of a staircase shall be maintained throughout its length including at landings.
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Discussion For the alarm system, most of the fire alarm trigger systems are not functioning. The other thing that the alarm system lacking is a visible indicator alarm signal which one of the requirement stated in UBBL 241. The system will be able to notify deaf occupants when a fire arises in the building. Besides that, the voice communication system is not functioning well. Telephone for users to contact the control centre looks very dirty and faulty. The box containing the phone is also locked and inaccessible. Next, Fire extinguishers can found at almost every corner of the building especially at fire hazards area. However, most of them are left unsecured while some of them are hard to excess. Lastly, the Sprinkler system of PKNS Complex is very poorly maintained. Almost every visible sprinkler is covered with a thick layer of dust. The accumulation of dust and other contaminates can result in a false alarm to occur. This result in fire trucks coming for no reason and it might also disturb the operation within the building.
Conclusion Overall the fire protection system of PKNS Complex is actually well equipped but at the same time very poorly maintained. For example, escape routes can be easily spotted at all corners of the building, hose reels and fire extinguishers are very visible, water sprinklers are everywhere as well, there are also fire alarms and voice communication system to notify others in case of fire but whether all these systems are in working condition or properly maintained is the main problem. The amount of problems mentioned above could cause many lives. Therefore, the service management of the building really has to put in a lot of effort in maintaining the fire protection system as it might come in handy one day. References
1) A Note About Fire Sprinkler Malfunctions. (2013, November 25). R etrieved 24 march, 2018, from http://www.confires.com/blog/fir http://www.confires.com/blog/fire-sprinkler e-sprinkler malfunctions 2) Fire safety advice centre (n.d.). Fire alarm systems. (Website) Retrieved from https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-alarms/ 3) Fire safety and protection systems (n.d.). Unit 16 voice communication system. (Website) Retrieved from http://finalprojectfyp.blogspot.my/ 4) Fire safety advice centre (n.d.). Fire door. (Website) Retrieved from http://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-doors/ 5) Keeping Fire Protection Systems from Going Bad (n.d). Developing a Maintenance Program. (Website) Retrieved from http://www.facilitiesnet.com/firesafety/article/FireSafety-Finding-the-Weakest-Link-Facilities-Management-Fire-Safety-Feature — — 4270 4270 6) Kompleks PKNS Shah Alam. (n.d.) Welcome to Kompleks PKNS Shah Alam (Website).Retrieved 25 November 2015, from http://shahalam.komplekspkns.com
