Leading the way

New safety standards are improving the fire safety industry in the Middle East, says ATEÏS Middle East’s Hussam Al Haddad.

“Until now the GCC has been BS-compliant in all areas except fire”
-Hussam Al Haddad

ATEÏS Middle East were one of the sponsors of a two-day conference and masterclass in London recently to discuss the ramifications of BS 9999:2008, a new Code of Practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. The seminar set out to demonstrate that good fire safety, design and management is critical to protect life and property. It was agreed that ensuring fire safety and business continuity while cutting costs, becomes increasingly important in this challenging economic climate. 

Among the delegates attending was Ateïs Middle East FZCO General Manager Hussam Al Haddad, who arrived accompanied by senior fire officers and safety professionals from the UAE. These included Mir. K. Hussain, Senior Electrical Engineer, GA Architects, Abu Dhabi; Jamal El-Chaar, Head of Electrical Dept, ACG Architectural Consulting Group, Abu Dhabi, and Mohamed Ashraf Radwan, Senior Electrical Engineer, ADG Architecture & Planning Group, Abu Dhabi.

All agreed that it had been vital to have first-hand experience of the new regulation from the outset, as the region is increasingly seeing the British Standards as representing the most important kitemark when setting safety standards. BS 9999 has now superseded DD 9999, and the entire BS 5588 series (with the exception of BS 5588-1), which were withdrawn earlier in the year.

El-Chaar believed that the new BS 9999 would be useful for everyone in the industry as it brings earlier guidance up to date and provides greater scope for designers, using fire engineering principles to expand the framework and provide extra freedom by taking into account the type of occupancy (and the nature of the occupants' business). This will have a bearing on factors such as escape route lengths. "This will be helpful for everyone and we want to see it published in our region as soon as possible," he says.

Ateïs' catalogue of public address and voice evacuation products are strong adherents to British Standards - notably BS5839 part eight  (Voice Alarms) - and Al Haddad says that the British Standard compliance in the GCC countries is fast becoming as important as the UL American National Standards. Hitherto, it has been difficult to convert BS fire standards to National Fire Protection Association regulations - however, the two men predict that is now set to change. "Until now the GCC has been BS-compliant in all areas except fire," believes El-Chaar. "Yet we feel BS 9999 is much clearer and contains more details, and is easier to implement. New regulations take time to become established, and it's the local authorities who have the power - but this is extremely comprehensive."

As soon as BS 9999 is launched in the emirates ACG Architectural Consulting Group, who conduct all their own risk assessments in terms of fire, security and mechanical safety, will undertake their own local training.

El-Chaar praised Ateïs Middle East for their initiative in sponsoring the conference, and for leading a team from the region over to the UK. "I have been in the business for 21 years and I don't think I have known anyone as helpful," he says. "They take a very responsible attitude towards safety and security."

His views were echoed by Mir K. Hussain, who said he had been looking for specifics, "such as the distances between one detector and another, and between sprinklers" in BS 9999. This new standard is easier compared with NFPA from a practical point of view - in fact it's far better, and needs to be made concrete as soon as possible."

GA Architects specialise in hospitality - notably the hotel industry - and Hussain says the requirement varies from application to application: "But this new standard will become adopted more quickly if we have someone locally to support us."