ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Richard Hosier is the
Regional Manager
in Asia/Pacific for
the world’s largest
manufacturer of mineral
cables the MICC Group:
www.miccltd.com Mr.
Hosier has lectured
at institutions and
universities around the
world publishing many
technical papers on
advanced fire safe cable design. He was the winner of
the Institute of Fire Protection Officers UK technical
trophy award in 2014 for his research into fire
performance wiring systems and previously served
on 3 Australian and New Zealand technical standards
committees for fire safe wiring systems and cables.
exception. In looking to world’s best practice, it is interesting
to note that other developed countries including America,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand Germany and Belgium have
for years, required testing of these essential cables to the
same fire time temperature protocol as every other building
element which is the same as used in BS476 pts 20-24 i.e.
ISO 834-1 / EN 1363-1.
Given most buildings rely on functional and reliable life
safety and firefighting systems to protect life and property
it would seem logical that these protected circuits should
be tested to perform to at least the same standard as
everything else because logically they will be in the same
fire. It might be better if they were subject to even higher
standards in order to ensure that the critical life safety and
firefighting systems remain functional during evacuation (as
is required in the USA and Canada).
In light of recent major fire events in the UK and around the
world, having British Standards years behind global best
practice for electrical wiring systems enabling life safety
and firefighting systems is unacceptable.
a ‘fit for purpose’ mandate, it remains necessary to exercise
‘reasonable skill and care’. Even if the builder and/or project
owners inherit more liability under the Sale of Goods Act
(5) due to implied terms that the goods and products
supplied will be of satisfactory quality where a purchaser
makes known a particular purpose (4), there remains
both an ethical and prudent incentive for the contracted
professional consultant to factor in the design any known
limitations in regulation or standards.
BRAC (Building Regulation Advisory Committee) is aware
of the Protect Circuit testing anomaly and hopefully will
address this in future revisions.
1. A Short History Of The “Standard” (Cellulosic) and
Hydrocarbon Time/Temperature Curves (2000) Paul Mather
Technical Engineering Manager Fire & Insulation Products,
International Coatings Limited.
2. Fire Safety of Buildings Based on Realistic Fire Time-
Temperature Curves (2013). Ariyanayagam, Anthony Deloge
& Mahendran, Mahen Queensland University of Technology.
3. Recent achievements regarding measuring of time-heat
and time –temperature development in tunnels (2004).
Haukur Ingason and Anders Lönnermark SP Swedish
National Testing and Research Institute.
4. Fenwick Elliott Annual Review 2014/2015 Understanding
your design duty – “reasonable skill and care” vs. “fitness
for purpose” – mutually incompatible or comfortably
coexistent?
5. Section 13, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
Whilst it is common to rely on code and professional
consultants are generally indemnified from designing with
http://www.temperature-house.com
Fortunately there is expertise and wiring systems both
approved and available in the UK market to assist electrical
design engineers find appropriate solutions for all major
projects where egress times are long or anticipated fire
profiles could be in excess of the minimum regulatory
requirements of today. The MICC Ltd company based in
Washington, Tyne & Wear is one such manufacturer who
produces essential wiring systems for Protected Circuits for
the most demanding applications in buildings, underground
built environments, nuclear power and industrial Petro
Chemical applications.
Other publications by this author:
Fire Resistant Cables – April 2017
Wiring Systems for Hospitals - June 2015
Wiring Systems for Nuclear Power Stations – July
2014
Wiring Systems for Road and Rail tunnels – July 2014
Electric Cables Fire Performance – May 2014