Common Issues and Rectification Plans for Building Fire Protection
Building fire protection issues are the most frequently identified category during fire acceptance inspections, mainly including the following aspects: Fire compartment area exceeding the limit — manifested as the fire compartment area of a hotel standard floor or podium commercial area exceeding the code-permitted value (the maximum permitted fire compartment area for a Class I high-rise hotel is 1500m2, which may be expanded to 3000m2 when an automatic fire extinguishing system is installed). The common cause is failure to reasonably divide fire compartments at the design stage or an area increase due to functional adjustments during construction. Rectification plan: when the excess area is small (not exceeding 10%), an automatic fire extinguishing system may be added to expand the compartment area; when the excess area is large, additional fire separation (fire walls, fire shutters, fire separation water curtains, etc.) must be provided. Insufficient evacuation width — manifested as insufficient total width of evacuation stairs (calculated per the width index per hundred persons, 1.0m per hundred persons for Class I high-rise buildings), insufficient clear width of evacuation doors (less than 0.9m), and insufficient evacuation corridor width (less than 1.4m). Rectification plan: prioritize adjusting the functional layout to reduce the number of occupants on that floor; if reduction is truly impossible, add evacuation stairs or widen existing stairs. Wrong fire door class — common issues include pipe shaft access doors not using Class C fire doors, equipment rooms such as fire pump rooms using Class B doors instead of Class A doors, and evacuation stairwells using ordinary wooden doors instead of Class B fire doors. Rectification plan: remove non-compliant fire doors and replace them with fire doors of the correct class; fire doors shall be fitted with accessories such as door closers, fire locks, and sequential closers (for double-leaf doors). Fire wall construction not meeting requirements — fire walls not extending from the foundation to the underside of the roof slab, ordinary doors and windows installed on fire walls (Class A fire windows or Class A fire doors should be used), and no fire sealing provided where pipes penetrate fire walls. Rectification plan: supplement fire wall construction measures as required by the code. Fire access roads and high-access operation areas — fire access road width less than 4m (including at sloped turning sections), turning radius not meeting fire truck turning requirements (not less than 12m), and insufficient length of fire high-access operation areas (for high-rise buildings, not less than 20m*10m). Rectification plan: adjust the site layout or negotiate equivalent alternative measures with the fire department.
Fire water supply and automatic fire extinguishing system issues
Fire water supply and automatic fire extinguishing system issues account for a relatively high proportion of fire acceptance inspections (about 30%), with common issues including: Insufficient effective volume of the fire water tank — calculation omitted the water consumption of the fire monitor system or outdoor hydrant water consumption, or failed to deduct the initial fire replenishment water. Rectification plan: recheck the water consumption of each system to accurately calculate the total demand; if the tank volume is indeed insufficient, consider reducing the deducted replenishment water or building an additional fire water tank. Improper installation of fire pump adapters — insufficient number of pump adapters (should be calculated based on the design flow of the fire pump and 10-15L/s per adapter), installation locations inconvenient for fire truck parking (unreasonable distance from the fire access road), and no permanent signage (indicating type and service scope). Rectification plan: recheck the quantity per the code, adjust installation locations to facilitate fire truck operation, and add unified signage. Poor management of pipeline valves — valves on fire pipelines in the normally closed state without signage (this issue was found in 40% of projects during acceptance inspection), and valves without chains or signal feedback. Rectification plan: inspect all valves and attach signage (green signage for normally open valves, red signage for normally closed valves), and add chains and signal monitoring devices to key valves (upstream of alarm valve assemblies, pump discharge pipes, etc.). Sprinkler selection or installation issues in automatic sprinkler systems — the distance between the sprinkler deflector and the ceiling does not meet the code (should be between 25-150mm), insufficient spacing between sprinklers and obstructions (not less than 300mm from light fixtures), and concealed sprinkler cover plates not flush with the ceiling. Rectification plan: adjust sprinkler installation height and position, and remove the ceiling to reinstall concealed sprinkler cover plates. Alarm valve assembly installation issues — installation locations inconvenient for operation (height above floor exceeding 1.2m), and incomplete drainage facilities (no drain pipe or drain pipe diameter less than DN50). Rectification plan: adjust installation height (0.8-1.2m above floor) and add DN50 drain pipes leading to a drainage ditch or sump pit. Non-standard installation of end water test devices — not installed at the most remote end of the compartment, direct drainage adopted (no air gap), and no pressure gauge downstream of the test valve. Rectification plan: relocate to the most remote sprinkler, provide a drainage funnel for indirect drainage (air gap not less than 50mm), and add a pressure gauge (range 0-1.6MPa).
Fire alarm and linkage control system issues
Common issues in fire acceptance of automatic fire alarm and linkage control systems include: Improper detector selection or layout — Detectors installed in high-temperature and high-humidity places such as kitchens were not selected as heat detectors (smoke detectors were still used, causing false alarms); smoke detectors were not installed in guest rooms (Type I high-rise hotel guest rooms should be equipped with them); smoke detectors were too close to air-conditioning supply outlets (less than 1.5 m), causing false alarms or missed alarms when the air conditioning is running. Rectification scheme: replace with detector types suitable for the location and adjust detector installation positions. Non-standard installation of manual call points — Installation height did not meet the 1.3–1.5 m requirement, markings were not conspicuous (a "press to alarm" marking should be provided), and some areas were not equipped as required by the code (corridor spacing not greater than 30 m). Rectification scheme: adjust installation height, add markings, and supplement missing points. Fire linkage control logic errors — Common issues include failure to link non-fire power supply cutoff with the fire confirmation signal, incorrect step-by-step descent logic for fire shutter doors, failure of the fire emergency broadcasting system to start automatically after fire confirmation, and failure of fire elevators to link and descend to the ground floor. Rectification scheme: recompile the linkage logic relationship table and reprogram and verify the correctness of the linkage logic on the fire linkage controller. System bus faults — Ground faults, short-circuit faults, or open-circuit faults occur on the fire alarm system bus (common causes are improperly handled joints during line construction, damaged line insulation, and improper module installation). Rectification scheme: use dedicated testing instruments (bus fault locators) to troubleshoot fault points section by section, and repair or replace faulty lines and modules. Insufficient backup power capacity — The backup battery capacity of the fire alarm controller did not meet the requirement of continuous operation for 8 h. Rectification scheme: replace with a high-capacity battery or add battery packs. Sound and light alarm and fire broadcasting linkage issues — After fire confirmation, the sound and light alarms and fire broadcasting did not play alternately (broadcasting 10–30 s and sound and light 10–30 s should alternate), and the installation positions of sound and light alarms were unreasonable (the sound pressure level should not be less than 60 dB at any position but should not be too loud to cause panic). Rectification scheme: reset the alternate playback logic of broadcasting and sound and light, and adjust the volume or installation positions of the sound and light alarms. Graphic display device issues — The graphic display device in the fire control room could not display the building floor plan, or the equipment positions were inaccurate, and alarm signals did not correspond to graphic positions. Rectification scheme: re-import the building floor plan (convert CAD format) and check the equipment position coordinates point by point.
Common issues and solutions for smoke control and exhaust systems
The smoke control and exhaust system is one of the systems most prone to issues and most difficult to rectify during fire acceptance inspection. Common issues include: excessive air leakage of smoke exhaust ducts — substandard duct fabrication and installation quality causes air leakage to exceed the allowable value in the code (not greater than 10% of design air volume). Rectification plan: inspect all flange connections and duct joints, re-seal with sealant or sealing tape, and dismantle and reinstall locations with severe leakage. Improper installation positions of smoke exhaust outlets/supply outlets — the distance from the smoke exhaust outlet to the farthest point exceeds 30 m (the code requires not greater than 30 m), and the supply outlet is installed too high or too low, affecting the positive pressure effect. Rectification plan: adjust outlet positions or increase the number of outlets. Smoke exhaust fire dampers fail to operate — the fusible link of the smoke exhaust fire damper is covered by paint or dust, preventing normal temperature-sensing fusing, or the electric control mechanism fails and cannot close electrically. Rectification plan: clean the fusible link, check whether the electric actuator operates normally, and manually reset and test the closing function. Insufficient or excessive residual pressure of positive pressure air supply — the residual pressure value in the stairwell is not within the 25–30 Pa range (less than 25 Pa cannot effectively prevent smoke, and greater than 30 Pa prevents evacuation doors from opening normally). Rectification plan: adjust the supply fan speed or supply outlet opening, and add a residual pressure valve (pressure relief valve) to automatically regulate the supply air volume. Unreasonable division of smoke control zones — the area of a smoke control zone exceeds 500 m2 or the long side exceeds 60 m (as specified in GB 51251-2017), and no smoke curtains are provided between smoke control zones, or the smoke curtain height is less than 500 mm. Rectification plan: re-divide the smoke control zones and add smoke curtains. No fire dampers where ducts penetrate fire walls — no fire dampers are installed where ducts penetrate fire walls (they should be installed on both sides of the penetration, not more than 200 mm from the wall). Rectification plan: add fire dampers on both sides of the penetration (closing by fusion at 70°C). Fan installation issues — the smoke exhaust fan is not located in a dedicated fan room, vibration isolators are not provided on the fan foundation, and flexible connections are not used between the fan and duct. Rectification plan: add a fan room (using fire partition walls and fire doors), install vibration isolators, and add flexible connections (fire-resistant canvas, length 150–200 mm). Missing or insufficient makeup air system — areas with mechanical smoke exhaust are not provided with a makeup air system, or the makeup air volume is insufficient (should not be less than 50% of the smoke exhaust volume). Rectification plan: add makeup air fans or expand the area of natural makeup air inlets.