FIRE  DOORS  IN  THE  GCCA  Personal  View  

Jerry  Quayle,  Director,  JPQ  International  Consultants  Ltd  

Jerry  Quayle

First  visited  the  GCC  (Gulf  Cooperation  Council)  &  Middle  East  – 2003.Testing  &  Certification  of  fire  doors  (and  other  fire  resistant  construction  products).Responsible  for  certificating  more  than  100  fire  door  manufacturers  in  the  region.Consulting  worldwide  on  fire  doors.

The  Middle  East  &  GCC

• The  region  is  complex• GCC

Middle  East  (UK  definition)

RULES,  APPROVALS  AND  STANDARDS  USED

• The  Rule  by  or  help  from;  the  British  in  the  Region  means  that  British  Standards  are  respected  and  accepted.• Recently  the  ”North  American”  codes  have  been  felt  all  over  the  region,  despite  political  un-­‐rest  and  resentment  of  the  West.• European  Standards  don’t  seem  to  be  well  understood.

• The  Standards  (in  order  of  acceptance):

• BS476:22• ANSI  UL10C/NFPA  252/UBC7-­‐2• EN1634/EN13501-­‐2

RULES,  APPROVALS  AND  STANDARDS  USED

STANDARDS  BY  COUNTRY• Egypt  uses  BS476  approval  (just  a  test)  for  acceptance.• Israel  all  codes.• Lebanon  BS476  especially,  ANSI  UL10C  creeping  in.• Jordan  BS476  especially,  ANSI  UL10C  creeping  in.• Iran  (own  standard  similar  to  BS476)  BS476  plus  ANSI  UL10C• Kuwait,  BS  or  EN  or  ANSU  UL

• Qatar  BS476  and  ANSI  UL10C• Saudi  Arabia  BS476  &  ANSI  UL10C• Oman  BS476  especially,  ANSI  UL10C  creeping  in.• Bahrain  BS476  &  ANSI  UL10C• UAE  BS476  &  ANSI  UL10C• Syria,  Libya,  Afghanistan,  Yemen,  Iraq  &  Sudan  (why  go  there!!)• Turkey  BS  or  EN  or  ANSU  UL

RULES  &  APPROVALS

BY  COUNTRY• Egypt  project  by  project  approval:  Certification  best  but  testing  only  is  OK.• Israel  3rd party  Certification  but  testing  only  is  OK.• Lebanon  project  by  project  approval  Certification  best  but  testing  only  is  OK.• Jordan  project  by  project  approval  Certification  best  but  testing  only  is  OK.• Iran  very  little  importation,  local  producers  to  be  controlled  soon.• Kuwait,  Fire  Brigade  List  of  approved  companies,  requires  test  but  3rd party  certification  sort  after.

• Qatar  must  be  approved  by  the  Civil  Defense.• Saudi  Arabia  3rd party  Certification  but  testing  only  is  OK.• Oman  approval  of  manufacturers  by  the  Royal  Oman  Police.• Bahrain  project  by  project  approval:  Certification  best  but  testing  only  is  OK.• UAE  approval  by  UAE  Civil  Defense  based  on  3rd party  certification  form  approved  suppliers  plus  a  test• Turkey  project  by  project  approval:  Certification  best  but  testing  only  is  OK.

THE  UAE  – Fundamental  changes(Sub-­‐Title  -­‐ Torch  to  Furnace)

In  2003  the  UAE  Civil  Defences  tested  wood  fire  doors  with  a  blow  lamp!

The  Dubai  Civil  Defence took  the  lead  due  to  the  construction  boom.A  number  of  international  figures  helped  the  local  Civil  Defenses  to  see  the  light  &  furnace  testing  was  brought  in  during  2004-­‐5

Fire  Door  Testing  GCC  prior  to  2004

BOOM  TIME

DUBAI  DOOMS  – FIRES  START

DUBAI  DOOMS  – FIRES  START

Issues  faced  in  the  period  2003-­‐2010

Every  joinery  shop  made  doors• In  the  UAE  alone  there  where    400  joinery  shops  making  wood  doors.• 3rd Party  certification  was  seen  as  a  marketing  tool,  not  a  quality  tool.• The  frequent  fire  started  to  shape  the  future  requirements.• Rumours  of  a  UAE  fire  code  started  to  appear.• Following  the  recession  the  number  of  “fire  door”  producers  reduced.• BS476:22  tested  products  and  the  “Engineering  assessments”  used  to  provided  extended  scopes  start  to  be  quested  following  a  range  of  fire  in  the  UAE.

Issues  faced  in  the  period  2011-­‐2016

Several  high  profile  issues  occurred  bringing  3rd Party  Approval  and  the  control  of  certificate  holders  into  sharp  focus.(New  Doha  International  Airport  – Steel  door  as  produced  testing  failures  – serval  companies  involved).The  GCC’s  and  maybe  the  ME  region  watched  to  see  what  was  going  to  happen  following  these  ‘failures’  of  certificated  products.Dubai/UAE  started  to  question  the  Certification  Bodies  and  decided  that  the  Civil  Defence  should  seek  confirmation  of  construction  – Mandatory  Fire  Door  Testing  and  3rd Part  Certification  Scheme  ememebership.

Full  modern  furnace  testing

What  is  happening  now  in  the  Region

• The  Region  is  waking  up  to  the  risk  of  significant  deaths  from  a  fire.• This  means  more  and  more  testing  and  licensing  across  the  Region.• Stricter  controls  on  the  issuing  of  Trade  Licenses  for  the  manufacturers.• UAE  has  all  but  outlawed  Engineering  Opinion  based  on  test  results  (Global  assessments,  extended  field  of  applications  etc).  Greatly  affects  BS476:22  tested  products

• Increased  use  of  North  American  Codes  and  Listing  –Only  very  small  amounts  of  engineering  judgements  (EEV’s).• North  American  Codes  are  easy  to  understand,  you  get  approved  what  was  tested.• Interchangeability  of  ancillaries  (hardware  and  glazing)  for  other  approved  items.

What  is  the  difference  between  BS476:22/EN1634  and  ANSI  UL10C  – The  hose  stream  test

• The  hose  stream• Its  intended  to  show  impact  resistance,  falling  ceilings  etc.• The  hose  stream  is  fire  from  6m  away  from  the  door  and  at  30PSi,  for  a  

2.4m  x  1m  door  leaf  the  jet  is  applied  as  follows:

• It  has  very  little  to  do  with  fire  fighting,  as  you  have  to  be  in  the  room  to  point  the  water  at  the  burning  door!!!

• Fire  fighting  is  about  cooling  and  oxygen  starvation  – neither  is  a  solid  jet  of  water!!

• The  hose  stream  test  affects  wood/composite  doors  and  glass,  allegedly    it  was  a  creation  of  the  steel  door  industry  following  disastrous  results  using  a  swinging  leather  bag  filled  with  sand.    

• Most  specifiers  have  no  idea  about  the  hose  stream  and  why  its  there.

Less  than  60  minutes 14.4  seconds

Between  60  and  89 24  seconds

Between  90  and 179  minutes 38.4  seconds

What  the  hose  stream  is  not

Why  is  the  Region  so  attractive

Why  is  the  Region  so  attractive

Why  is  the  Region  so  attractive

• The  GCC  reported  9  completion  of  towers  over  200m  high  in  2015.• 2009-­‐2014  GCC  completed  10  towers  per  year  over  200m.• The  total  value  of  infrastructure  and  capital  projects  planned  and  underway  in  GCC  countries  in  2015  was  valued  at  $172  billion  -­‐ the  highest  on  record  to  date.• Due  for  completion  between  2020  &  2030    are  hundred  of  projects  totaling  $1.3  trn ($935bn-­‐worth  of  works  are  currently  in  execution,  $81bn  of  business  is  out  to  tender;  $211bn-­‐worth  of  works  are  in  the  design  phase;  and  $136bn-­‐worth  of  projects  are  in  the  study  phase).• THEY  ALL  NEED  FIRE  DOORS!!

Thank  you

Any  questions?