Automist Smartscan Hydra
®
DIOM Manual - version 3.01.0
Plumis Ltd Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Page 18 of 116
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Using Automist as a Compensatory Feature
There are occasions when Automist can be proposed as part of a fire strategy to compensate for, or
overcome, circumstances where a building is unable to follow guidance issued in support of building
regulations. If being used as a “compensatory measure”, this should be stated in the client’s Requirements
Specification and whether any system enhancements are required as a result.
There are also occasions when Automist can be proposed as part of a fire strategy to mitigate risks in
existing buildings, observed by a fire risk assessment, to meet the requirements of the Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order and the Housing Act 2014, e.g.:
a)
an older building where the existing construction cannot achieve the recommended fire
resistance appropriate to the use of the premises;
b)
a building that cannot meet the recommendations for fire appliance access;
c)
any building where there is doubt about adequacy of fire protection and safety provisions, or
concerns over the design of building in relation to fire safety, e.g. stay-put policy, single staircase,
combustible materials of construction within the occupied spaces, etc.; and
d)
any circumstances in which Automist is provided as a compensatory feature for departures from
other Standards or national guidance, e.g. BS 9991 permits certain forms of open plan dwelling
provided the dwelling has fire suppression throughout or is fire engineered.
This DIOM does not intend to cover all design requirements and the potential changes to category and
resilience of the system to cover all circumstances of use and risk. In case of doubt, Plumis and/or a
chartered fire engineer should be consulted regarding the most suitable specification of the system and a
fire safety strategy should be drawn up to support the proposals for the specific case. See also BS 9991, BS
9999, BS 7974.
Higher fire risk and impact factors
The default design and settings of Automist and fire validation tests within BS 8458 are designed with
typical domestic occupancy in mind. An enhancement to the system should be considered if any of the
following risks or impacts are present, or assumed possible, in the property, to mitigate the risk of the
system being overcome by the fire load or the discharge duration being shorter than the time for fire
rescue operations to start (and if the risk has not been addressed by other interventions):
a)
fire hazard (probability) is greater than that of a conventional domestic or residential occupancy,
indicating a need for higher resilience;
b)
a fire load greater than that which would normally be found in a residential or domestic living
room, kitchen, or bedroom, or if the fire hazard is greater than that of a conventional residential or
domestic occupancy; Hoarders pose a significant fire risk due to the number of possessions, exit
routes can become blocked, making safe evacuation more difficult. Fires can also spread much
faster, especially where there are flammable items such as newspapers or cardboard.
IMPORTANT!
Automist Smartscan is not designed for fire loads that exceed a BS 8458 fire setup,
and therefore will likely have a limited benefit when protecting hoarders.
c)
extended time for firefighting operations to commence, e.g. high rise, complex or remotely located
buildings, indicating a need for higher water robustness;
d)
older buildings with hidden voids and/or where passive fire protection and/or means of escape
might not meet current standards, indicating a need for higher resilience;
e)
heritage buildings where preservation of the building needs to be maximised while minimising the
potential for water damage, indicating the need for increased resilience;
