Protecting schools from fire

The final enquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy was released earlier this month, and unveiled the “systematic dishonesty” from the manufacturers and sellers of the flammable cladding that surrounded the building.

Despite safety tests conducted in 2001 that revealed the type of cladding of concern “burned violently,” the results were kept confidential and the government did not tighten any rules. This, along with a string of other failures due to incompetence or greed, lead to the deaths of 72 people in 2017, 18 of whom were children. It is the deadliest fire to occur in a residential building in Britain since World War Two.

The report criticised the then government, the local authority of Kensington and Chelsea, the industry, regulatory groups, specific individuals and an ill-prepared fire brigade for years of inaction over fire safety in high-rise blocks.

“Not all of them bear the same degree of responsibility for the eventual disaster, but as our

reports show, all contributed to it in one way or another, in most cases, through incompetence, but in some cases, through dishonesty and greed,” enquiry chair Martin Moore-Bick said.

“The simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable,” said Moore-Bick. The fire shocked the country and prompted investigations into other buildings that could be at risk, including schools and colleges. We take a look at what fire safety measures schools should have in place, and how they can prevent a blaze from taking hold.

Cladding in schools

Cladding is an aspect of building work that became increasingly scrutinised after Grenfell. The term refers to the outer skin applied to a high rise building to increase thermal energy

efficiency or improve aesthetics, while not adversely affecting weather resistance, according to the Fire Protection Association.

The cladding element is non-load bearing, which means it is not structurally integral to the building itself. It can either be retrofitted to an existing building or incorporated into the design of a new building. Most school buildings have cladding of some kind, but the type of cladding should be confirmed on a case-by-case basis. 

In 2019, four schools under Essex County Council were found to have been potentially fitted with the same type of dangerous cladding used on Grenfell Tower – Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) – according to a report compiled by the Independent Property Review Commission.

ACM cladding was included in the Grenfell enquiry as “a source of fuel” due to the flammable polyethylene core, and councils were made aware of its dangers years before the blaze. Because the cladding surrounded much of the tower, the fire quickly spread around the top of the building and down the other sides via the highly flammable architectural feature.

Grenfell prompted the government to ask councils to identify whether any schools in their borough have cladding and are over four storeys high. Schools are urged to replace any flammable cladding, as well as identifying asbestos in buildings.

 Indeed, urgent fire safety work is due to start on Winston Churchill School in Surrey to fix dangerous cladding as soon as possible. Surrey County Council identified that the cladding and curtain walls do not prevent fires from spreading through the main building or science block, and that the danger poses a serious risk if nothing is done. Lessons are expected to carry on whilst the repair works are undertaken, and smoke and fire detection systems are due to be upgraded.

The case for sprinklers

Another fire safety precaution that has been highlighted in the aftermath of the final Grenfell Tower report is sprinklers.

Sprinklers are mandatory in newly constructed school buildings in Scotland and are a condition of government grant funding in Wales, but there is no such requirement in place in England or Northern Ireland.

According to 2017 research by the National Fire Sprinkler Network, sprinkler systems have an operational reliability of 94 per cent, and when used extinguish or contain the fire on 99 per cent of occasions across a wide range of building types.

In 2020, it was estimated by RICS that there are around 1,000 fires in schools annually in the UK.

Zurich Insurance also published results of its risk management survey of 1,000 UK schools in 2019 which shows that 67 per cent of English schools are rated as ‘poor’ for fire protection systems.

The BB100 consultation in 2021 did not mandate sprinklers in all new schools, instead outlining non-statutory guidance for sprinklers in new special needs schools and those above 11 metres.

Calls for all schools to be fitted with the appropriate fire safety precautions have grown, especially now the final enquiry into the Grenfell Tower tragedy has been released.

The decision of the UK government to not make sprinklers a prerequisite of school design has been contested over the years, and the cause was renewed after the Grenfell tragedy.

For example, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has called on the government for “greater inclusion” of automatic water suppression systems (AWSS) in the built environment, including schools, student accommodation, and care homes, irrespective of building height.

Smoke detector and fire alarms

Early warning systems, such as smoke detectors and fire alarms, are essential in buildings to alert everyone in the vicinity about a potential fire threat. A freedom of information request from the Mayor of London in 2021 found that 116 schools did not have fire detection systems, such as smoke alarms, fitted. This represents approximately almost seven per cent of the total number of schools recorded in London Fire Brigade systems.

The UK government has dictated that all schools should be provided with a suitable electrically operated fire warning system in accordance with BS 5839-1. The fire alarm may be used as a class change signal in schools to indicate start or finish of pre-determined periods.

To avoid the risk of confusion, the duration of such class change signals should not exceed five seconds. A voice alarm system can also be used, and can form part of a public address system and give both an audible signal and verbal instructions in the event of fire. Deaf or hard of hearing people may not be aware that an alarm has been sounded if they are not with other people. Flashing beacons are required in toilets and any other areas identified as places where people may be on their own.

The UK government’s fire safety guidelines for schools recommend that fire drills be performed at least once a year and preferably once per term, at varying times of day. Fire assembly points and fire safety signage should be kept up to date, with any changes to fire escape routes clearly communicated to all. Finally, fire doors should be operational at all times and never propped open.