Historic buildings present unique challenges for fire protection engineers. The historic building and its contents will typically have significant value which means that the building itself needs to be explicitly protected from fire. This is in contrast to conventional modern buildings, where life safety is the primary goal of fire protection. Therefore, with fire protection engineering for historic buildings, new objectives gain significant importance, and while life safety remains a priority, this is now balanced alongside protecting the historic building which is of high material and historic value.
Balancing Historic Preservation with Fire Protection
Fire protection in historical buildings requires a careful balance between preserving cultural heritage and ensuring safety, however the demands to preserve historic structures, can conflict with the need to protect the same structure and the people within from fire. Designing a modern fire protection system that does not disturb the aesthetic and historical value of the building is a challenge that requires someone highly skilled and knowledgeable in both fire protection and historic preservation.
Challenges in Fire Protection for Historic Buildings
With fire protection engineering for historic buildings, engineers can encounter some unique challenges that they do not often face with contemporary buildings.
Here are some of the main challenges:
Learning from Past Fire Incidents
Every year historic buildings are partially or entirely destroyed by fire. We can learn from these past incidents by making sure historic buildings have the fire protection systems they need to endure.
The catastrophic fire that destroyed a significant part of the Notre Dame was partly due to the focusing on preserving the historical integrity of the building, while neglecting fire protection measures. The decision was made not to equip the cathedrals attic with fireproof partitions or automatic sprinkler systems because of the singular focus on preserving the historical integrity of the attic. The beams used in the attic were made from hundreds of oak trees harvested in the 12th and 13th century and deemed too valuable to have any kind of interference with. However, had these fire protection measures been used it is likely that the fire would have been contained and suppressed before it caused enormous damage to the rooftop and the iconic spire, which collapsed through the ceiling onto the cathedral floor.
Modern Codes and Old Buildings
Historic buildings were designed and constructed before the stringent fire safety requirements prescribed by modern building codes. This means they can be particularly vulnerable to fire, but the task of designing fire protection measures so that they meet modern code requirements is challenging due to the nature of the old building.
The standard prescriptive approach of modern building codes is relatively straightforward to apply to new and conventional buildings, but trying to use a one size fits all approach is not always relevant or suitable for old buildings. Concerns about historic preservation cannot often be addressed creatively through prescriptive fire codes and simply adhering to prescriptive modern building codes would diminish the historical value of these old buildings.
Performance-Based Design
Historic preservation and fire safety objectives can both be addressed through performance-based design, as this approach allows for more nuance and flexibility than prescriptive design. Performance-based fire design involves applying engineering expertise to design fire protection in buildings, taking into account the specific building characteristics and unique factors, rather than ticking the boxes to satisfy prescriptive fire codes. Instead of a one size fits all approach, fire protection engineers can create a custom solution that meets safety requirements alongside preserving the historical heritage of the building.
Case Studies: RAN Fire Protection Engineering for Historical Building
Through a thorough understanding of the unique challenges in fire protection engineering for historical buildings, learning from past fire incidents, and implementing innovative design strategies, it is possible to protect invaluable historical structures for future generations.
RAN Fire Protection Engineering has had the privilege to work on fire protection for some important historical buildings and ensure their safety in the event of a fire.
Here are some examples of our historical building projects:
John Jay Homestead
Katonah, NY
RAN worked on designing fire protection for the historic 1787 homestead of Founding Father and statesman John Jay. The fire protection system uses a high-pressure water mist system that uses much less water than traditional sprinkler systems. When sensors detect a fire, fine droplets of mist are released, which quickly turn to steam in the heat of the fire. This steam expands and displaces the oxygen, and quickly decreases the fire temperature so that the fire is deprived of the fuel it needs to continue burning. This system was designed to drastically reduce the risk of widespread water damage to the rooms and the collection of irreplaceable historic items such as artworks, furniture, written correspondence and furniture in the instance of a fire.
New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
The museum houses 10,000 artifacts that tell the story of New York State’s rich military history. The scope of this project was to design a fire protection system for the large collection of historical items located in the archive building. This building is not occupied on a regular basis, so it was important to design a system that could detect and extinguish a fire in its early stages, without the need for any human intervention. The design included cross zoning which verifies the fire condition prior to the release of the suppression agent, so the likelihood of agents being released in a false alarm is very slim. RAN designed a clean agent system to protect the collection in the case of fire, and this used a fire extinguishing medium that would cause limited damage to the artifacts.
Miraval Resort and Spa
Lenox, MA
RAN designed the fire protection for this 30-building complex. Preserving the original ornate ceiling of one 250-year-old building, and ensuring that the historical features throughout the buildings were not compromised was a key goal for our engineers. The historical integrity of the buildings needed to be preserved while also ensuring that guests were protected in the case of a fire. Installing a hardwired alarm system would have involved running wiring through the buildings walls and ceilings, which would not have been ideal for preservation, particularly as one building has an original ornate ceiling dating back 250 years. To limit disruption to the historical features, RAN designed a wireless fire alarm system that could be installed without the need for any holes for wiring. A sprinkler system was necessary for adequate fire protection, but RAN designed the system so that it was subtle and in line with the elegant aesthetics of the building.
If you are interested in learning more about our historical projects click here.
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