Quelfire supports fire safety regime at Dyson Cancer Centre

In October last year, Royal United Hospitals Bath opened the Dyson Cancer Centre to help transform the care provided for patients, families and carers. Over three storeys tall, the new Dyson Cancer Centre is located next to the main entrance at Royal United Hospitals Bath and brings most of the location’s cancer services, including research teams, into one facility.

As the selected solutions manufacturer, fire stopping specialist Quelfire worked closely with the main contractor, namely Kier Construction, and the fire stopping contractor Optimum Drywall. The main objective was to achieve a good-quality design that was fit for purpose and also to build using suitably fire tested details in line with industry Best Practice and current regulations.

Main challenge

The primary challenge faced by the client involved ensuring the required services had appropriate fire test evidence for the proposed supporting construction.

For instance, many of the proposed walls used single-skin plasterboard. While Quelfire had suitable solutions for the proposed pipes and cables, there was a lack of tested solutions for metal ducts and dampers passing through them. This required a risk assessment led by the fire engineer, BB7, to check previous tested details used on projects and details from the damper manufacturer.

Another issue arose with pneumatic pipes, which are typically used in hospitals and considerably thinner than standard plastic pipes. This ultimately led to several untested applications, in turn requiring the client to rethink the design.

Chosen solutions

Quelfire had worked with Optimum Drywall on other projects. The latter recommended that the client engaged with Quelfire to ensure the design of the building was compliant before entering the build stage.

The first early engagement meeting occurred in December 2021, followed by corresponding meetings. Cross-party communication was a pivotal factor when resolving any issues faced. Optimum Drywall was included in the early meetings, sharing insights into the practicability of suggested installs.

Quelfire also worked with other parties, including BB7, to ensure that everyone involved on the project was aligned.

Due to the available time and flexibility, Quelfire had the opportunity to incorporate the pneumatic pipes proposed on this project into its ongoing test programme for the client. Quelfire tested two specific scenarios: 110 mm pneumatic pipes with a 1.8 mm wall thickness and 160 mm pneumatic pipes with a 3.2 mm wall thickness. This meant the client could progress with its proposals.

When ducts and dampers were proposed in single-skin walls, it was proposed to change the walls to a double-skin plasterboard system to work with tested systems.

Three-sided plasterboard wall

Another scenario on which Quelfire could advise was a three-sided plasterboard wall. On the third and fourth sides, there was a concrete soffit. Quelfire recommended a tested detail allowing deflection between the wall and the soffit. This permitted the services to be placed as high as possible.

This development has proven the benefits of adopting an early engagement approach in fire stopping and stands as a prime example of all parties working together to achieve the same end goal: protecting people and property.

Early engagement brought together the requirements – for instance, the wall and services requirements – and allowed the client to thoroughly understand the presented tested details. This ensured the client could resolve any issues at the design stage and work around the tested details available due to the flexibility of the design.

For instance, the client could confidently employ the large metal trunking it required because Quelfire already had a tested solution. In cases where the company lacked a tested solution, and the client could not go back and redesign, Quelfire dedicated the time to conduct the necessary testing for the specific application. This provided essential test data for the client.

Support from the early stages

Simon Clark, senior project manager at Kier Construction, explained: “We had Quelfire’s support from the very early stages of design through to the build stage. The company’s responses were informative and quick and always backed-up by test evidence. A project is never without its challenges, but adopting an early engagement approach allows it to be delivered as smoothly as possible, ensuring design and build around tested details.”

*Further information is available online at www.quelfire.co.uk

**Download Quelfire’s White Paper entitled ‘Early Engagement in Firestopping’