Draka Firetufplus cable chosen for Bankside office buildings 
(21/05/2008)
The Bankside 2 and 3 office buildings, adjacent to the Tate Modern and the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, incorporate fire detection and alarm installations that depend on Draka’s premium-specification Zero Halogen, Low Smoke [0HLS] Enhanced-category Firetufplus cabling.
Over 53,000 metres of the BS 5839-1:2002 compliant, third-party-approved fire resistant Draka cable have been installed to provide reliable power to the life and property fire safety solution that was devised by fire and risk engineering specialist, Safe Consulting. The fire and voice alarms were installed by Essex-based electrical contractor, E A Electrical.
The two ten-storey buildings are owned by Land Security Properties and have a combined floor space of over 38,000 square metres. The design is the brainchild of RIBA award winning international architects, Allies and Morrison. Although both glass-façade buildings are designed principally for office use, they have extensive retail, restaurant and leisure facilities on the ground floors. These are accessed primarily via the deep-V piazza that links the two buildings.
Draka’s Firetufplus cable was chosen for the Bankside project because of its proven ability to maintain circuit integrity when exposed to fire. This is verified by the cable having been third-party tested and approved by both LPCB [Loss Prevention Certification Board] and BASEC [British Approvals Service for Cables]. It provides 60 minutes fire and mechanical protection, followed by 60 minutes of fire, mechanical impact and water protection; exceeding the requirements of BS 5839-1:2002.
Commenting on the decision, E A Electrical’s Contracts Director, Terry Burkin says: “As one of the biggest electrical contractors in the southeast of England, we have established that 0HLS cables do not emit halogen gases and burn without producing large amounts of dense smoke. By comparison, under fire conditions, the standard PVC cables used widely in the construction industry emit hydrogen chloride gas, which has a suffocating odour that is detectable in even very low concentrations.” He continues: “Burning PVC cables also generate hazardous volumes of debilitating or disorientating smoke that can easily increase the likelihood of panic and make safe evacuation – particularly from densely populated, multi-storey buildings – much more difficult to achieve.”
He concludes: “While Firetufplus’ fire performance was, naturally, the key factor in its favour, from a contractor’s standpoint it also offered several other advantages over other cables on the market. It has all of the benefits of a pliable cable, with lower termination costs, ease of handling and installation, and no requirement for special tools or training.”
Related categories: Cables, conduit and trunking Office and commercial Security, fire and safety
