Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Fire Safety Engineering has been applied by the CSIRO in Australia for a number of years in situations where the application of prescriptive building regulations is costly and restrictive in terms of building design. The flexibility that Fire Safety Engineering can offer designers is dependent on innovative solutions to fire-safety problems. This paper discusses three case studies where fire science has been used in conjunction with fire safety engineering to address various aspects of building design involving sprinkler systems. The first case involves an exhibition hall where sprinklers were replaced by an alternative fire suppression system. The second case discusses an airport where the sprinkler system was rationalised and savings of one million dollars were realised. The final case is associated with balconies in a nonsprinklered 12 storey apartment and where a partial sprinkler system provided the solution to the problem of fire-spread between floors.