FIRE SAFETY
At M-Four, one of our primary aims is improving fire safety. We pride ourselves on our accredited Quality Management System used to achieve this, paired with the range of consultancy services we offer.
Over the years, we have been involved in delivering Fire Safety and Fire Engineering Consultancy services for clients all over the UK.
There are 6,500 high-risk, high rise buildings and another 16,742 high-risk buildings such as care homes under the management of Social Landlords in Scotland.
A fire within these buildings has the potential to be catastrophic; with our knowledge and expertise in these buildings we are uniquely placed to make every one of these buildings as safe as reasonably practicable and to provide solutions to ensure buildings remain safe for their entire lifespan.
Working with our clients and partners, over the next ten years, we intend to ensure there are no deaths caused by Fire in high-risk buildings in Scotland.
Two of our dedicated team of experts are W05 Certified, accredited by FRACS, and are members of the Fire Protection Association. They have decades of combined experience in the Fire Safety Industry and perform these services to the highest standards.
Through our Fire Safety Consultancy Services, we have been able to deliver workable solutions for Fire Safety which fit around clients’ project timelines and specifications. From multistorey developments to historically significant buildings, we have delivered thorough and consistent services for our clients, including follow-on training for staff and building users.
Fire Safety Consultancy Services
Fire Risk Assessments
We carry out fire safety measures in the form of Fire Risk Assessments and remedial works. Our previous, extensive experience includes commercial premises requiring assessment across Scotland. For example, we provide Type 1 Fire Risk Assessment to PAS79 Standard, ensuring all combustibles and ignition sources are identified and all areas of the building are secured against fire risk.
To provide cohesive, clear and adaptable data management, we utilise bespoke compliance software to ensure that each property, element and resultant action is logged, for clear reporting for our clients. In addition to this we also use Near Field Contact (NFC) asset tagging to provide direct access for client’s staff and contractors to specifications, servicing details and legal records onsite via tablet/mobile devices.
We carry out fire safety measures in the form of Fire Risk Assessments and remedial works. Our previous, extensive experience includes commercial premises requiring assessment across Scotland. For example, we provide Type 1 Fire Risk Assessment, ensuring all combustibles and ignition sources are identified and all areas of the building are secured against fire risk. As part of our overall fire risk services to sheltered and care facilities, we also provide Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for individuals.
Refuse Bin Chute Inspections
Refuse chute inspections are an essential element of fire safety, especially in high-rise buildings. A non-compliant bin chute not only goes against fire safety regulations, but poses potentially life-threatening risks. Our qualified fire technicians are able to carry out refuse chute inspections and servicing. We aim to understand the needs of our clients whether in the public or private sector and we are continually updating our knowledge as new legislation comes to the fore.o.
Fire Strategy Development
Complementing our Fire Risk Assessments, we develop Fire Strategies for both residential and commercial properties. One of our recent strategies was developed for an office building in Perth. Spread over two floors, we implemented a strategy proven to be effective in smaller premises such as care homes, which was considered more effective as it allows margins for less mobile or infirm occupants to escape immediately to a place of total safety in open air. As such, the strategy is deemed appropriate in more complex premises such as commercial business for the safe evacuation of both visitors and staff. We pride ourselves in combining multidisciplinary strategies to suit your particular premises, and would encourage you to get in touch if you’re interested in the development of a bespoke fire safety strategy for your property of premises.
Compartmentalisation Surveys
Two members of our expert team are fully trained to industry standards in fire compartmentalisation, and combined with our team’s wider expertise in building surveying generally, we are ideally placed to assess the compartmentalisation capabilities of your premises. We will strategise methods of mitigating against fire risks as well as containing fire should it break out. Our surveys are comprehensive, governed by the latest industry standards and cognizant of continuous updates in the field.
General Risk Assessments
As a company dedicated to implementing our Quality Management System (QMS), as well as being ISO19001, ISO14001 and ISO18001 accredited, our team is highly skilled at delivering all-encompassing risk assessments. We are experienced in delivering risk assessments for a number of scenarios including on-site risk assessments, working within occupied properties as well as risk assessments for building safety. As our client, you can be assured that our methods are governed to the highest standards through our QMS.
Our Clients
We have had the privilege to work with Local Authorities, Registered Social Landlords and organisations within the private sector over the years, however below are just a couple of exemplar projects we have consulted on.
North Glasgow Homes
A slightly larger-scale project, North Glasgow Homes, contracted us to carry out Fire Safety Consultancy work in the form of a fire safety strategy. The proposed strategy was for the refurbishment of six high-rise tower blocks in Glasgow.
As part of this report, multiple fire safety areas had to be covered. Firstly, a fire strategy for each building had to be developed and demonstrate to key stakeholders that it satisfied fire safety legislation.
This was imperative in the wake of the Grenfell disaster, and the completed strategy comprehensively summated methods of protecting occupants.
Building on this, another facet of our consultancy services produces design studies and engineering analysis, which we evaluated for these buildings in collaboration with the client and fire service.
In so doing, we were able to test the design for fire safety risks and deficiencies, while developing measures to mitigate against said risks. By building this strong relationship with the design team, we were able to ensure that they could incorporate the fire safety requirements into their designs.
Easy Heat Systems
We carried out fire safety measures in the form of Fire Risk Assessments and remedial works on behalf of Easy Heat Systems.
The client had three commercial premises requiring assessment in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth.
We provided each with a Type 1 Fire Risk Assessment, ensuring all combustibles and ignition sources were identified and all areas of the building were secured against fire risk.
We also developed a fire safety strategy for the Perth office. Spread over two floors, we implemented a strategy proven to be effective in smaller premises such as care homes, considered more effective as it allows margins for less mobile occupants to escape safely and immediately to a place of total safety in open air.
As such, the strategy is deemed appropriate in more complex premises such as commercial business for the safe evacuation of both visitors and staff.
Through our dedication to leaving 100% of projects defect free, we advised a course of recommended actions to ensure the buildings maintained their low-risk status, helping our client to remain compliant and upholding the highest safety standards.
