Construction fire safety course bridges regulatory and application technology gap

With an extensive range of courses, Fire Prevention Academy makes welcome connections between theory and practice. Founded in 2013 by Emiel van Rossum, the organization is considered the leading fire safety training provider within the Netherlands.

A status due to the simple fact that the training institute focuses exclusively on knowledge transfer on the most diverse fire-related topics. All this is done through a modern, enthusiastic and personal way of teaching. Johan Bijvank is active as a fire prevention teacher within Fire Prevention Academy. He tells more about the course Building Fire Safety, a course intended for anyone who professionally wishes to increase his/her knowledge on this specific subject.

Fire-resistant partitions can very well be made of fire-resistant glass. The details of glass types and the execution of frame details determine the actual safety in the event of a fire.

When you are on www.brandpreventie.academy If you click on the 'Training' button, you will see a clear and complete overview of the training courses offered by the Fire Prevention Academy at the training locations Echteld, Alphen aan den Rijn, Zwolle, Bunnik, Nieuwegein and Driebergen. The latest addition to the line-up is the Building Fire Safety course that was launched last January. With the launch of the practically oriented course, the renowned knowledge provider is serving the market in a tailor-made way, Bijvank believes. "We have found that in the construction world there is a gap between those who understand regulations and those who are more in the manufacturing and contractor ice cream business. The latter group is usually skilled at generating solutions, but sometimes have difficulty getting to grips with existing regulations. In order to bridge the gap between applicable regulations and application techniques in terms of knowledge, we started this three-day course. In doing so, we are meeting a great need of, among others, consultants, engineers, supervisors, building owners and VVEs."

Split

The emphasis during the first day of the course, conducted by Certoplan in Nieuwegein, is on regulations. Among other things, the current regulations will be examined, but also the merging of the Building Decree into the Building Works Decree (Bbl), which is scheduled for 2021. The focus then turns to the construction aspect. And that, too, is more than necessary, according to Bijvank's words. "With regard to the fire safety of a building, a dichotomy is made between installation technology and construction solutions and provisions. However, in installation engineering a different way of quality assurance applies. There are protocols, inspection schedules and NEN standards that specify very specifically what fire-related installations must all meet. In structural engineering, those protocols and inspections are less present and the emphasis is more on the rules of the Building Code and testing the behavior of structures in heat. All this quite often leaves room for interpretation and thus ambiguity. During the training we bring both worlds closer together and make each student expert in the field of structural fire safety. Not only when it comes to the assessment of new construction and existing building components, but also in the recognition of the many details."

The facade of this building is protected from fire spread with sheet materials and the supporting structure with fire-resistant paint. This is where various requirements from building regulations come together.

Training with content

The following topics will be covered during the course:

• Building fire safety: the foundation of a safe building.
• Building Code 2012, Chapter 2: Technical building regulations from the point of view of safety.

NEN standards: which ones are most influential?

• Fire strength assessment.
• Assessment of compartmentalization and escape routes.
• Interior walls, floors and ceilings.
• Facade.
• Assessment of fire-resistant sealing of penetrations of technical installations.
• Material requirements.
• Fire resistance untested and composite structures.
• Construction defects.