building product law 

Q.: Can construction products for which there are harmonized European technical assessment bases (technical assessment documents or harmonized European standards) be used without hesitation?

A.: No, additional national requirements for the building could lead to further requirements for the construction products to be used.

Q.: What applies to fire protection doors in a raised installation position

A.: Such situations occur when raised floors with a height of more than 0.5 m are adjacent. Further proof of usability may then need to be obtained if the selected fire door has not been tested for this installation situation.

Q.: What needs to be considered when installing fire doors in drywalls?

A.: Installation requires knowledge of the associated installation instructions. In particular, it should be noted that fire protection doors installed in drywalls with a construction height of more than 5 m require special verification.

Q.: What needs to be considered with fire protection bulkheads?

A.: The design must be carried out in accordance with the associated usability certificates/applicability certificates. The design conditions are clearly defined in these documents (e.g. permissible cable type, permissible distances from each other and from neighboring penetrations, suspension, etc.).

Q.: How can defects in fire protection bulkheads be avoided as far as possible before installation?

A.: By creating wall views with representation of the opening geometry of the component penetration and representation of the pipe installations carried out. The cable types should also be shown (diameter, material, medium) and the associated distances to each other and to the opening boundaries. It is then possible to make an exact comparison with the specifications of penetration sealing systems.

Q.: Who is responsible for the professional installation of suitable penetration sealing systems?

A.: The company executing the penetration sealing systems is responsible for this. These companies must point out any deviations from the penetration sealing system specifications (confirmation of non-significant deviation if necessary).

Q.: Can busbar partitions also be used in components that are not specified in the associated type approval?

A.: It is still possible to install busbar trunking in components (e.g. drywall) that may not be specified in the associated type approval. However, a project-related type approval must be obtained for this.

Q.: How and where to apply for the project-related type approval?

A.: The project-related type approval must be applied for from the supreme building supervisory authority or the official body authorized by it. As a rule, a positive expert opinion from a materials testing institute recognized under building law must be obtained for the application. (Please note: Obtaining the expert opinion sometimes takes considerably longer than the processing of the application by the authority).

fire safety installations

Q.: What must be taken into account when planning the fire alarm system?

A.: The planning of the fire alarm system must be coordinated with the responsible BS department. This means that the planning of the fire alarm system has to be presented to the VB and comments have to be taken into account. The TAB must be observed during the planning itself. Only when the TAB have been observed and agreed with the fire department can it be assumed that the planning of the fire alarm system will be considered professional by the fire department so that the fire department can then approve the connection.

Q.: What is required so that a fire alarm system can be put into operation and connected to the emergency services?

A.: Observance of the TAB (local fire brigade regulations) and planning in accordance with the technical regulations (DIN 14675, EN 54, VDE 0833..), Coordination with fire brigade, Execution according to professional planning, Acceptance by test engineer with result "operationally safe and effective".

Q.: Are there other ways to minimize planning risks?

A.: Inspection of the BMA planning by the test engineer who checks the system before commissioning.

Q.: What is the most critical system of a building (in terms of time)?

A.: At the moment it is probably the radio system. An application for a radio frequency is required here. This is done at the Federal Network Agency (after preliminary coordination of the system with the local authorities). At present, a processing time of several months can be expected. It is not possible to speed up the procedure.

Q.: What should be done if safety-relevant systems are not ready for commissioning?

A.: Commissioning may still be possible if the unfinished system can be sufficiently compensated for. This should be demonstrated to the authorities in a separate commissioning concept.

Q. What needs to be taken into account when creating the fire control matrix?

A.: The fire alarm control matrix must implement the specifications of the fire protection concept with regard to activation in the event of a fire alarm. However, it should be designed as simply as possible to avoid programming errors.

Q.: How does the heat dissipation from the computers/servers in the data hall affect the fire alarm technology?

A.: Due to the construction of the building, ceiling areas can occur in which a heat cushion collects underneath the ceiling. This requires the positioning of automatic fire detectors with smoke detection (in particular VESDA systems) further below the ceiling in areas where the flow of smoke gases is not prevented by the heat cushion in the event of a fire.

Q.: Are alternative extinguishing system concepts applicable (e.g. hybrid extinguishing systems)?

A.: Alternative extinguishing system concepts can be used. The requirement here is to achieve operational safety and effectiveness. For this reason, the expert who inspects the system prior to commissioning in accordance with the Technical Inspection Ordinance must be involved in the planning phase.

building services

Q.: Do recirculating air cooling units in data halls have to switch off automatically in the event of a fire alarm?

A.: Especially in data halls with gas extinguishing systems, recirculating air cooling units do not have to be switched off in the event of a fire alarm. If a gas extinguishing system is used, the recirculating air cooling units even distribute the extinguishing gas more quickly. In other cases too, it is not absolutely necessary to switch off the recirculating air cooling units, although a property-specific assessment is essential.

Q.: Are automatic shutdowns of electrical systems required in data centers in the event of a fire?

A.: Automatic shutdown of electrical systems is not required by building regulations. However, procedures for dealing with electrical hazards must be defined (e.g. manual shutdowns by technically trained personnel).

Q.: Can lithium-ion battery storage systems be used?

A.: In principle, battery storage systems based on lithium-ion technology can also be used in data center construction. However, a detailed risk assessment as part of the fire protection concept to be drawn up is absolutely essential.

Q.: Can lithium-ion batteries also be used decentrally in the data halls in "power shelves"?

A.: The use of lithium-ion batteries in a decentralized manner is also possible in data halls. Here too, however, a detailed risk assessment is essential as part of the fire protection concept to be drawn up.

Q.: What else should be considered when using and especially storing lithium-ion batteries?

A.: Due to the composition of the batteries, reactions with extinguishing water can take place from which substances hazardous to water can arise. The necessity of extinguishing water retention measures must therefore be checked in particular.

Q.: Are there any particular risks associated with refrigeration technology?

A.: This depends on the refrigerant used. Refrigerants that can react dangerously when exposed to fire are increasingly being used. The use of such refrigerants generally requires a fire-resistant separation of the refrigeration machines. A waiver of this can be justified by the mandatory risk analysis to be prepared by the operator.

Q.: How can refrigeration lines with a water-glycol mixture also be routed in necessary corridors and escape routes with flammable insulation materials?

A.: On the basis of an expert assessment, it is possible to use a continuous sheet steel cladding (Frankfurt solution) and this must be described in the fire protection concept.

operational hints

Q.: What specifications must also be made in the required fire safety regulations?

A.: It has proven to be a good idea to organize an emergency team as part of the organizational fire protection, whose tasks include in particular the manual shutdown of electrical systems, preparation of the fire department and informing other important internal departments. The tasks of this emergency team must be described in detail in the fire safety regulations.

Q.: How can the fire protection engineer help to prevent errors during implementation?

A.: The fire protection review of the execution planning prior to execution has proven its worth - especially as a collision check using the BIM method.

Q.: What needs to be considered when commissioning only parts of a data center?

A.: A commissioning concept must be drawn up in which it is assessed to what extent commissioning is permissible for unfinished (safety-relevant) systems and under what conditions and compensatory measures.

Q.: Are the occupational health and safety requirements sufficient during operating hours?

A.: There has been an increasing trend for the authorities to demand a fire protection concept for the construction site, especially when it comes to comprehensive new campus construction.