Business Sprinkler Alliance urges developers to prioritise fire safety

While the building is being lauded by its owners for notable sustainability credentials, targeting BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC ‘A’ ratings, there are no plans to include fire sprinklers in the design.

Located on the busy A406 artery into London, this sustainable 12,500 m² and potentially six-storey building is due to be completed in June 2026. However, the current plans are based on the omission of sprinklers, which raises “significant concerns” at the Business Sprinkler Alliance.

Recent high-profile episodes at self-storage facilities have demonstrated the devastating consequences of fire in such buildings and for those storing their goods within. Since 2018, fires in these facilities have caused widespread destruction and disruption. Some have made the headlines, highlighting the extensive damage to buildings, the number of firefighters involved, the pollution realised and myriad other negative outcomes.

Extensive damage

One such incident occurred at the Access Self-Storage facility in Byfleet in 2023. The blaze had to be attended to by dozens of firefighters, nine fire engines and aerial platforms. The flames spread to nearby businesses, including Screwfix and Halfords Auto Centre, in turn causing extensive damage. Smoke from the fire, which was visible up to ten miles away, forced residents to shut their windows, while hundreds of space renters lost valuable possessions that had been stored in the facility.

Fires at self-storage facilities including Twinwoods Business Park (2019), Tameside (2021) and Armadillo in 2022 further highlight the unique challenges involved when it comes to containing blazes in storage facilities, where tightly packed combustible materials and unknown contents can exacerbate the risks.

Such incidents create large fires that burn for a long time. Once the attending Fire and Rescue Service has established that no-one’s inside the building, they will then limit their firefighting to the exterior due to any compromised structural integrity. The lasting impact of such fires is felt not only by the affected businesses, but also surrounding areas, customers and the environment.

Interesting proposed design

The proposed design of the building at Staples Corner is interesting. The plans are for a flexible storage arrangement, which will see mezzanine floors within the structure that can be demounted. In order to meet current guidance, a fire separation wall will be erected in the steel frame structures of the building to separate each mezzanine floor into two compartments: a significant feat as any gaps and joints in both the wall and the demountable floors will need extensive detailing to complete the compartments.

It’s easy to see why a fire sprinkler system may create technical challenges in such a flexible installation. However, it’s also hard to envisage how the desired outcome of rendering the structure resilient to fire is going to be possible without the installation of that system.

Sprinklers are a well-documented method of controlling fires, providing critical time for fire crews to safely extinguish blazes and limit damage. Current fire safety guidance in England (ie Approved Document B of the Building Regulations) recommends sprinklers for such buildings with compartments exceeding 2,000 m².

Despite this, those presiding over many facilities – the planned Big Yellow site among them – often choose not to include sprinklers. The decision taken in this instance has raised questions about the true sustainability of such developments. While the facility is designed with green energy and efficiency in mind, a fire requiring extensive reconstruction would negate these benefits entirely.

Incorporating sprinklers

“One of the big questions with these self-storage facilities is how anyone can claim protection against fire based on a full height separation between units, flexible storage arrangements either side and the lack of knowledge of what people are putting into their individual units,” explained Iain Cox, chair of the Business Sprinkler Alliance. “Can self-storage operators assume that a fire will be contained in such circumstances and, therefore, offer comfort to their end user customers?”

According to the Business Sprinkler Alliance, incorporating sprinklers not only protects the building, but also safeguards the environment, businesses and communities from the devastating impact of fires.

*For additional information concerning the Business Sprinkler Alliance visit www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org