Integral Fire Protection

2 Integral Fire Protection

2.1 Summary................................................................................................19
2.2 Basics.....................................................................................................20
2.2.1 Objective .................................................................................................20
2.2.2 Guiding Idea............................................................................................20
2.3 Structural Fire Protection.....................................................................23
2.4 Technical Fire Protection .....................................................................24
2.4.1 Safety Systems .......................................................................................24
2.4.2 Gas Warning Systems ............................................................................24
2.4.3 Fire Detection Systems...........................................................................24
2.4.4 Alarm and Evacuation Systems ..............................................................25
2.4.5 Escape Routes and Emergency Lighting................................................25
2.4.6 Smoke Protection Systems.....................................................................26
2.4.7 Fire-Fighting Systems .............................................................................26
2.4.8 Fire Extinguishing Systems.....................................................................26
2.5 Organizational Fire Protection.............................................................27
2.6 Fire Protection Concept .......................................................................28
2.6.1 Contents and Extent ...............................................................................28
2.6.2 Risk and Fire Protection Planning...........................................................28
2.6.3 Simulation of Fires and Calculation Methods .........................................30
2.6.4 Cost-Optimized Risk Management .........................................................31
2.6.5 Customized Protection............................................................................32
2.7 Safeguarding Investments ...................................................................34

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2.1 Summary
Due to the increasing complexity of our infrastructure, it becomes more and more
difficult to implement further improvements in fire protection, at the same time
keeping expenditures at an acceptable level. Fire protection therefore requires a
holistic approach: Which measures provide the highest possible safety at the
lowest possible costs?

Measures must thus be taken where they are most effective, in comparison to the
required expenditures. The earlier a measure is applied in the chain of measures
“preventing – detecting – fighting – learning”, the better.

The well-established measures of structural fire protection are preventive and have
proven well. Unfortunately, additional structural means are often very expensive.
The possibilities of technical fire protection are manifold, reaching from hazard
detection and danger management to evacuation and automatic extinguishing.
Here, good planning is crucial.

How shall the different fire protection aspects interact? Which boundary conditions
must be adhered to, and how? The fire protection concept finds answers on these
questions, assesses risks and compiles a package of measures, so that a building
can be protected in the best possible way.

Structural and technical fire protection is basically highly reliable – in contrast to

organizational fire protection. In fire protection, human failure constitutes the high-
est risk, which is why adherence to the organizational measures must be continu-
ously ensured.

Fire protection is an investment in safeguarding human life and assets. This in-
vestment must be planned and ensured in the best possible way.

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2.2 Basics
One of the characteristics of human beings is their ability to plan. Planning means
to set up different measures in advance, so that they correlate optimally in the end.

Based on experience gained with fires, the laws of fire protection were simple to
learn, and rules were set up laying down what doors must have which fire resis-
tance values, for example. Today, building structures become more and more
complex, and increasing optimization makes it harder to recognize real possibilities
for improvement at minimal costs.

To be able to still make progress that can be afforded under such conditions, a
holistic approach is required – Integral Fire Protection. This concept shall ensure
that a risk is eliminated or at least reduced at the lowest possible costs.

2.2.1 Objective
The approach of Integral Fire Protection was made based on this perspective: Fire
protection as a result of a holistic fire protection concept with target-oriented meas-
ures averting the relevant threats in an economic way. How and where shall the
financial means be applied to achieve the highest possible protection, at the same
time ensuring the lowest possible expenses? These questions can best be an-
swered by a holistic or comprehensive approach embracing the complete system.

2.2.2 Guiding Idea

The top maxim of every protection strategy is the chain of measures “preventing –
detecting – fighting – learning”. Damage events shall be avoided wherever possi-
ble. If an event nevertheless occurs, this must immediately be recognized and
immediate reaction must be initiated. After the event has occurred, it is about
learning the consequential lesson, so that future events can indeed be prevented.

Completely ruling out the physical event “fire” would be the optimum solution.
Unfortunately, this is virtually impossible in daily life, as unwanted fires can occur
even when unrealistically high efforts are taken.

Fortunately, fire has a very special characteristic: It grows exponentially. Fires that
are detected at an early stage often cause no damage at all, or only very limited
damage. Mostly, a glass of water or the disconnection of a device from the power
supply or the use of a portable extinguisher is often sufficient to extinguish incipient
fires. Although a physical fire has occurred, such fire events may be considered
“prevented economic events”. In other words: It is not only the chemical reaction
called “combustion” that is considered a damaging fire but also (and especially) the
damage to human life, or the company’s economical prosperity. The primary goal
of fire protection is thus to avoid damage to human life as well as material damage.

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If a damaging fire can no longer be avoided, the fire effects have to be limited as
efficiently as possible. The priority is again on the life and health of human beings.
This is followed by the protection of material assets. The secondary goal of fire
protection is therefore damage mitigation.

Integral fire protection consists of two parts:

− avoiding damaging fires
− damage mitigation

Preventing events is the goal of preventive fire protection, whereas fire fighting
aims at damage mitigation.

2.2.2.1 Avoiding Damage by Fire (Preventive Fire Protection)

Preventive fire protection aims at preventing damaging fires. In doing so, two
approaches are followed:
• The physical event “fire” shall be prevented, i.e. any possibility of unwanted
combustion shall be ruled out. To avoid unwanted combustion, ignition sources
and combustible load, or in case of danger of explosion, explosive gases or va-
pors must be eliminated and separated (see also chapter 6.3 starting on page
191). A complete prevention of unwanted combustion processes, however, is
unrealistic. The second approach is therefore mandatory.
• The economic event of a damaging fire must be prevented. This means that
unwanted combustion must be detected as early as possible to prevent relevant
economic damage. Thanks to automatic fire detection systems, one is usually
able to detect incipient fires at an early stage and thus intervening as early as
possible, so that relevant damage can indeed be avoided.

Event prevention seamlessly merges with the next phase: Damage mitigation.

2.2.2.2 Damage Mitigation (Fire-Fighting)

A fire event endangers the life of the people concerned. They must therefore be
informed and requested to leave the fire sector if need be (evacuation). This self-
rescue on the one hand eliminates personal danger. On the other hand, it is the
prerequisite for quickly beginning with extinguishing. The fire brigade first saves
lives before they begin to extinguish fires. Efficient self-rescue thus accelerates
extinguishing, essentially contributing to damage mitigation. If there are valuable
assets in the building, or in case of high general danger, the use of automatic
evacuation and extinguishing systems is extremely recommendable.

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2.2.2.3 Integral Fire Protection Concept

Implementing the measures chain “preventing – detecting – fighting – learning” can
be represented as a closed loop:

Event evaluation for external measures

Internal fire protection concept

Event evaluation for internal measures

Fire protection Fire protection Detection Reaction Alarm and Extingui-

prophylaxis: prophylaxis: evacuation shing
• Standards/ • Fire protec-
directives tion concept
• Development • Infrastructure

Prevention of
Unwanted combustion Damaging fire Damage mitigation

Figure 2.1: Integral fire protection concept

If damage cannot be prevented, fire fighting comes into operation. It is crucial that
preventive fire protection ensures early alarm and that the geographical propaga-
tion of the fire can be limited.

Each event must be evaluated. If its significance is rather low, the measures to be
initiated are limited to the company itself. In case of conflagrations, society is
essentially interested in avoiding them in the future. The experience gained from
such events can thus be integrated in fire protection regulations. These two closed
loops ensure that events become less frequent and that the remaining events are
less damaging and less urgent.

This representation refers to fire protection in general. It encompasses all aspects

of fire protection as described in detail in the next sections.

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2.3 Structural Fire Protection

Structural fire protection is a preventive fire protection measure. It aims at prevent-
ing the further propagation of fires. Its maxim is “divide and conquer” (“divide et
impera”): Fires spreading over a limited surface area can be extinguished relatively
easily and quickly, whereas conflagrations almost always result in the total loss of
the building.

The most important elements of structural fire protection are:

− accessibility for the fire brigade
− protection intervals between buildings and installations
− fire walls between adjacent buildings
− construction materials and construction parts made of hardly
combustible material
− high fire resistance of girders and load-bearing parts
− creation of fire compartments to limit smoke and heat propagation
− sealing off installation ducts and channels
− short and safe escape routes and emergency exits
− if possible, separate ignition sources from combustible materials
− lightning protection systems

Manufacturing a door with a predefined fire resistance value is no longer a problem

today, and this door will most probably retain this fire resistance value throughout
its complete service life. But making sure that the fire door will indeed be locked
tight in case of fire – this is the real challenge for fire protection management (see
chapter 2.5).

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2.4 Technical Fire Protection

Technical fire protection comprises equipment and systems serving for personal
safety and damage mitigation in case of fire.

2.4.1 Safety Systems

An “installation” is the collectivity of all devices installed in a building, devices which
interact so that the purpose of the system can be fulfilled. For example, in gas
warning installations, gas detectors, control units and alarm devices interact to alert
and protect from gases.

A “system” is the collectivity of all products required to set up a particular installa-

tion, harmonized by the system provider so that they interact without problems.
The smooth communication between detectors and control unit, for example, must
be coordinated.

A “product” is an individual device used in a system or an installation. System

components consist of one or several products.

2.4.2 Gas Warning Systems

Gas warning systems detect dangerous concentrations of gases or vapors in the
air. In case of danger, they automatically control:
− acoustic and optical alarm devices to alert people
− the calling-up of controlling bodies and decision-makers
− ventilation systems, gas feeding pipes, pumps, motors and valves

The Fire Safety Guide explicitly restricts itself to combustible gases and vapors.

2.4.3 Fire Detection Systems

Automatic fire detection systems enable an early detection of fires and the initiation
of preprogrammed control functions. This includes:
− alerting people in the hazard zones
− calling up fire extinguishing and intervention forces
− activating installations to limit smoke and fire spread, e.g. closing fire doors and
fire dampers
− activating smoke and heat extraction systems
− disconnecting technical systems (equipment) from the power supply
− controlling building automation systems, especially heating and ventilation
systems and elevators
− switching on emergency lighting
− activating evacuation systems
− activating stationary extinguishing systems

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With a non-automatic fire detection system, alarms are triggered manually. The
presence of people is a prerequisite for alarm initiation.

A non-automatic fire detection system may as well be part of an automatic fire

detection system. However, the manually activated control functions are identical
with those of the automatic fire detection systems.

A “false alarm” is an alarm that has been triggered without a fire having occurred.
The practice of fire detection has shown that false alarms cause severe problems.
Europe-wide, about 90 to 95% of all alarms triggered by fire detection systems are
false alarms. Their significance can best be expressed in more than 200'000 un-
necessary efforts of Germany’s fire brigades8, largely due to false alarms.

2.4.4 Alarm and Evacuation Systems

Fire detection has its sense in initiating alarms. Both intervention forces and build-
ing operators or other endangered people in the building shall be alerted. The
tasks of the intervention forces are traditional: 1. recognizing, 2. safeguarding, 3.
extinguishing. The earlier an alarm is triggered, the easier it is for the people con-
cerned to leave the danger zone on their own initiative. This so-called self-rescue
is the goal of evacuation systems. If possible, all people shall leave the building by
themselves. This makes it easier to rescue people depending on help, at the same
time considerably shortening the rescue phase, which is equivalent to early extin-
guishing.

As a general rule, evacuation systems transmit automatic, easy-to-understand

voice messages via loudspeakers to people inside the building. As experience has
shown, these voice messages are more frequently and more consequently fol-
lowed than sirens – often not even the meaning of sirens is clear. What is the
purpose of a siren if people stay where they are? But sooner or later, people be-
come aware of the seriousness of the alarm, which should have been followed. In
such situations, panic is only a question of time – often constituting a more serious
hazard than the actual fire. Evacuation systems effectively avoid panic reactions.
State-of-the-art systems manage a step-by-step evacuation: Especially the directly
endangered zones are evacuated first, massively reducing the danger of crowded
escape routes.

2.4.5 Escape Routes and Emergency Lighting

Escape routes must be identified by signs and markings so that they serve their
intended purpose of making it possible for people to leave the building as quickly
as possible and without any risk. Depending on national and local regulations,
escape routes in high-rise buildings must be sized larger, especially when there is
no evacuation system supporting step-by-step evacuation.

Emergency lighting is switched on as soon as the normal room lighting breaks down.
Emergency lighting must provide for a safe finding and accessing the escape routes
and emergency exits. These systems are relatively expensive as they must be fed
via the emergency power supply system and require separate cabling.

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Tests have revealed that light-storing optical danger management systems with
continuous guiding marks are superior to back-lit optical danger management
systems, both regarding their subjective comfort and their objective operating
efficiency9.

2.4.6 Smoke Protection Systems

In the event of fire, smoke and smoke gases are produced. For different reasons it
may become necessary to extract smoke or smoke gases by special systems and
guide them to the outside. The most important reasons are:
• The building structure must be saved from hot fire gases, which considerably
extends its load-bearing capacity and its service life in the event of fire.
• Escape routes must be kept free from smoke as far as possible, extending their
usability and making the complete evacuation of the building possible, which in
turn facilitates intervention by the fire brigade.

In addition to smoke and heat extraction systems, there are also pressurization
systems for mechanic smoke clearance. Pressurization systems can be activated
either manually or automatically by means of smoke or heat detectors.

2.4.7 Fire-Fighting Systems

Extinguishing devices and extinguishing installations for manual fire fighting are
means to accelerate and facilitate fire fighting on the spot. This includes:
− wall hydrants
− extinguishing water risers (dry / wet)
− hydrants
− manual call points

Fire lifts serve for transporting fire fighters and their equipment as well as for safe-
guarding handicapped persons. Special demands are made on fire lifts, which
generally are also available for normal transport purposes.

Emergency communication facilities enable the communication of fire fighters with

each other as well as with building staff. Normally, fire brigade telephone systems
are used for that purpose which are common in the United States.

2.4.8 Fire Extinguishing Systems

In case of an accordingly high risk – mostly of valuable property – a stationary
automatic extinguishing system can be installed. There are water, foam, powder
and gas extinguishing systems. Each basic type of extinguishing system can be
divided into different subsystems and variants partly based on different principles
(see chapter 6 starting on page 185).

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2.5 Organizational Fire Protection

Organizational fire protection encompasses all organizational and personal meas-
ures contributing to fire prevention, or at least to limiting fire spread.

Organizational fire protection encompasses:

− normal building maintenance
− retaining order and cleanliness
− periodic operational checks and elimination of deficiencies
− working out a fire fighting plan
− instructing staff regarding:
− operational fire threats
− existing fire protection equipment
− rules of fire prevention
− behavior in the event of fire
− monitoring repair work
− control and preventive maintenance of fire protection equipment
− use of safe devices and machines
− keeping transportation and escape routes freely accessible
− removing unnecessary, mobile fire load
− issuing smoking bans and introducing smoking zones
− fire fighting training sessions
− evacuation training sessions

Organizational fire protection also includes all concepts for the protection against
arson. Combined measures in the fields of intrusion protection and access control
have proven to be highly efficient.

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2.6 Fire Protection Concept

The fire protection concept is the basis for all measures aiming at improving fire
protection. In comparison to individual, independent measures, a good fire protec-
tion concept contributes to more safety at lower costs. Fire protection concepts are
often required by authorities or the plant managers in charge. Authorities normally
draw upon legislation, for example:
− fire protection regulations
− construction rules
− environment protection laws
− statutory orders on hazardous incidents
− accident prevention provisions

2.6.1 Contents and Extent

A complete fire protection concept encompasses the following:
• Description of the system: What is the structure, setup, state, appearance,
current and future use, risks, etc.?
• Protection objectives: Which goals shall be achieved? What is acceptable, and
with what probability?
• Structural fire protection: Which materials are to be used, in which construc-
tion type and with what sealing?
• Automatic and manual fire detection: How can an incipient fire be recognized
at an early stage (mostly automatic fire detection or gas warning) and how and
by whom shall the alarm be performed (control unit, alarm transmission, alarm
receiving stations, alarm processing)?
• Building evacuation: Which measures must be taken (e.g. voice alarm, auto-
matic evacuation system) and how can people safely leave the building even in
case of a power failure, for example (optical escape route guidance)?
• Automatic and / or manual extinguishing systems: Which automatic, fixed
wet or dry extinguishing systems are required? How is intervention by the fire
brigade ensured, what extinguishing posts, manual fire extinguishers, hydrants
are available for manual extinguishing?
• Organizational fire protection: How is intervention and presence controlled,
which smoking bans, restrictions on fire loads, fire-retardant measures (e.g.
dustbins) are necessary?

2.6.2 Risk and Fire Protection Planning

The term “risk” expresses the degree of hazard. The risk extent can be calculated
by multiplying the probability of occurrence of an event with its potential effects.
The probability of occurrence must be determined for each room. Effects are all
expectable results of an event. This includes all results inside and outside the
room. The different results must be summed up in order to calculate the effects.
The risk is then calculated by multiplying the effects with the probability of occur-
rence.

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The table below shows a possible approach:

Probability of occurrence (P) Effects (E)

1 = highly improbable 1 = small or none
2 = improbable 2 = medium
Danger to life and / or assets
3 = probable 3 = large (material or immaterial)
4 = occasional 4 = very large
5 = frequent 5 = danger to existence

Table 2.1: Scheme for determining the risk level

Risk = probability of occurrence x effects

By multiplying the probability of occurrence with the effects, the following risk levels
(R = P x E) are determined:

Risk level (R) Description Priority level Urgency of protective measures

16, 20, 25 Highest risk 1 Immediately
8, 9, 10, 12, 15 High risk 2 Short-term
4, 5, 6 Average risk 3 Medium-term
2, 3 Low risk 4 Long-term
1 Negligible risk 5 No protective measures required

Table 2.2: Risk levels and urgency

Important: This table is based on the assumption that each risk with medium or
higher effects must be eliminated or at least reduced. Examinations have shown
that after a conflagration more than two thirds of all companies concerned may
become insolvent even years after the event (due to loss of the customer base;
see last but one section in chapter 1.1 on page 14). In addition, experience shows
that just such events labeled improbable or even “impossible” may nevertheless
occur in practice.

Fire protection planning is based on a risk analysis as described above. Its task is
to find out how the defined protection objective can be achieved, based on opti-
mized economic use of financial means. The result is the fire protection concept.

The following factors have to be taken into account:

− physical laws such as fire development, smoke, flame propagation, etc.
− preconditions given by the building: Building substance, geometry, escape
routes, ventilation, infrastructure (e.g. energy ducts), installations, etc.
− boundary conditions by the building operator: Fixed and variable fire load,
processes, staff organization, etc.

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The fire protection concept thus provides an answer to the question “Which fire
protection measure is to be realized and how, so that the risk can be minimized
with the least financial means?” The task of a fire protection planner is thus highly
demanding and requires first class qualification in many different disciplines.

Last but not least, the authorities in charge, insurance companies and building
owners must assess whether the measures provided by the fire protection concept
could fulfill the legally defined protection objectives. As a general rule, such exper-
tise is supported by the following principles:
− expert’s assessment (habitual, but hardly reliable)
− prevailing regulations and guidelines (often insufficient in special cases)
− deterministic calculations (fire simulations, thermodynamic models)
− probabilistic analyses (risk determination based on probability calculation, similar
to the method described above)

2.6.3 Simulation of Fires and Calculation Methods

To validate objective-oriented fire protection concepts that do not come under the
said regulations and guidelines, calculation methods are used today. These calcu-
lation methods may show that the provided measures fulfill the protection objec-
tives.

Advanced calculation methods are, among others, characterized by the fact that
they conduct fire simulations on consideration of the following influencing factors:
− different categories of combustible substances
− extraordinary combinations of combustible substances
− fire development
− smoke development
− propagation of smoke gases
− local temperature gradients (radiation, convection, hot gases)

For cost reasons, people continue trying to demonstrate by means of fire simula-
tion that the measures laid down in the regulations or guidelines are not necessary
– for example, to show that automatic extinguishing is not really required because
fire detection and smoke extraction systems are completely sufficient.

In doing so, people neglect the fact that the calculation of the fire progression
strongly depends on the once selected conditions. The chosen solution may al-
ready become invalid with minor changes of use.

For this reason, utmost care must be taken in applying fire simulation models.
Mere cost reduction must never be the goal; at last, each model provides the
results one expects and one wants to prove.

Furthermore, the conservative use of fire simulation shall furnish additional infor-
mation for borderline cases and situations that are not covered by regulations.
According to experience, approximately 10% of all customer demands are not
covered by official rules and guidelines or internal regulations.

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The application of fire simulation is thus especially recommendable when one is

faced with a situation that is not covered by a standardized package of measures.
Especially the following fields are not, or only inadequately, covered by standards:
• Installation: Internationally acknowledged installation guidelines for fire protec-
tion are widely missing.
• Object protection: Guidelines for goal-oriented object protection are widely
missing, as installation guidelines focus on room protection.
• Extraordinary fire loads: Often, they cannot be assigned to the conventional
fire classes, which is why coincidence often plays a key role in implementing
guidelines.

2.6.4 Cost-Optimized Risk Management

The correct measures chain is:

prevent – detect – fight – learn

The prevention of fires should have top priority. However, prevention of fire devel-
opment is as manifold as the possible reasons for a fire – and correspondingly
expensive.

Therefore, the possibility of incipient fires, i.e. unwanted combustion, is frequently

deliberately tolerated, and in doing so, it is ensured that the fire is detected as
quickly as possible by the fire detection system and that fire propagation is addi-
tionally hindered by structural and other measures, so that the effects remain as
low as possible (see section 2.2.2).

Conventional fire fighting is mostly taken care of by the fire brigade. However, it
may as well be automated. Automatic fire extinguishing is applied especially when
the risk of a small fire not to be detected and extinguished by conventional inter-
vention (i.e. the fire brigade) is still too high. This is the case if extinguishing by the
fire brigade would be too late (e.g. if the building is very remote).

Fires have their causes. If a fire has occurred, one must give account for the rea-
sons. Depending on the progression of the event, the conclusions regarding the
prevention, detection and / or fighting of the event must be drawn. They help to
either recognize a specific kind of hazard or to recognize general principles of fire
propagation and allow damage mitigation or reduction. With increasing extent of
the event, the general public becomes more and more interested in learning from
this damage event. Learning is the most abstract and most important step in the
chain of measures. The present state of the art could only be reached thanks to
our ability to learn.

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2.6.5 Customized Protection

Each protective measure is preceded by a protection concept. The fire protection
concept takes into account all relevant influencing factors and must thus be worked
out individually. This is more than worthwhile – after all, it means the difference
between wasted resources and intelligently invested means!

The expenditures for working out a fire protection concept are relatively low in
comparison to the complete expenditures for fire protection. The correlation and
the mutual influence of different measures are not always immediately obvious. It is
thus worthwhile to use a professional fire protection planner, as the overall situa-
tion regarding fire protection is rather complex and can be sufficiently simplified on
the basis of experience and knowledge.

A fire protection planner has a standardized method to assess risk (risk assess-
ment, classification according to extent and danger level, approximation of the
consequential costs of risk minimization) and knows which approaches are best to
reduce a particular risk in the most economic way.

However, regarding all the planning, we must never forget that in our daily life it is
mostly human being that constitute the weakest point – after all, the reliability of
structural and active fire protection is significantly higher than that of the people
involved.

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100% Responsibility for damage to people and property 0%

Most important problem zones:

• Escape routes (free, signaling)
Organizational • Instruction/rehearsal
fire protection • Process organization
• Responsibilities
• Information

Technical
fire protection

Structural
fire protection

0% Reliability and development level 100%

Figure 2.2: Weak point organizational fire protection

A good fire protection concept not only provides for good active and structural fire
protection but also lays a solid foundation for organizational fire protection.

The fire protection concept must encompass safety reserves, as individual meas-
ures may always fail. It must be ensured that, for example, an alarm is triggered
even when the night watchman does not come back from investigating the cause
of a fire, or that a fire cannot propagate uncontrollably because a fire door has not
been closed. Human failure is a vast field and must not lead to disaster.

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2.7 Safeguarding Investments

An investment is a long-term financial commitment. Investments in safety are lost
when the intended protection effect is no longer guaranteed. Safety is thus not
simply a package of measures but an economic way of thinking, aiming at develop-
ing economic action in the field of safety in such a way that highest benefits can be
achieved even at lowest costs.

The investment can only be safeguarded if the safety concept functions as re-
quested in case of emergency. Preventive maintenance must therefore make sure
that the systems work faultlessly and organizational processes run seamlessly.
From this perspective, it is obvious that the systems must be provided with a self-
monitoring function.

If the investment in corporate safety amounting to a few ten or a few hundred

thousand Euros fails in a critical situation, it would be better not to invest at all! The
decision on a safety concept is therefore equivalent to the decision on the constant
maintenance of the installed solutions.

This does not only mean safeguarding the operability, but also the continuous
adaptation of the safety concept to new conditions. A building extension, a room
partition or even a change of use of premises or change of staff have an impact on
the protection concept. Accordingly, the protection concept is not a one-time, laid-
down document but the basis for corporate risk management, which has to be
updated continuously.

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A.1 End Notes

Siemens and the former Cerberus have conducted basic research for many decades and have worked out
many documents on fire protection. Most of them have been made available for internal use only. This Fire
Safety Guide is based on these documents and on the extensive knowledge and experience of Siemens and
the former Cerberus. References appear only where they refer to documents that have been made publicly
available.

1 Gustav Hamilton: This is Risk Management, page 21

2 10 years average according to the building insurance of the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, 2003
3 The Geneva Association Risk & Insurance Economics, Geneva: World Fire Statistics 2003, page 5
4 The Geneva Association Risk & Insurance Economics, Geneva: World Fire Statistics 2003, page 4
5 According to the German vfdb, “Arbeitsgruppe Brandforschung“, total cost of German fire damages is
higher than 6 billion €
6 German FVLR, “Fachverband Lichtkuppel, Lichtband und RWA“, D-32758 Detmold: “Brand Aktuell“,
No. 16/03
7 E.g.: US property insurer Allendale Mutual and FVLR, „Fachverband Lichtkuppel“, “Lichtband und RWA”,
“Brand Aktuell”, Nr. 16/03
8 Report No. 9, International Technical Committee for Preventive Fire Protection and Extinguishing
9 Research report “Evaluation of Safety Guidance Systems under Smoke Conditions“ of the TU Ilmenau,
March 2003, page 80

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