Hospitals - More Fire Safety Can Cost Less

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

MORE FIRE SAFETY CAN COST LESS. by Louis J. Krueger and Bichard M. Patton

Reprinted From:

FEBRUARY 1, 1977/VOLUME 51, NUMBER 3 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

Publisherl santmonthly by the Americon Hospital Association John Aletander McMah.on, president

f n November 1973, construction I began on an unusual clinical care facility at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City. The

facility is

scheduled

for

completion

by October 1978. The state architect of Kansas had planned many of the

in this faeility during the design stage; u'hen the bids innovations

came in, however, he found that additional innovations were needed to

offset, a 910 million cost overrun. lVith the help of project manage-

Clinical building's fire safety system cut construction cost overrun bv $5 million,

while providing more extensive effective protection

neurosurgical intensive care units; 90 examination rooms; and 80 physicians', stafr, and student offices. The second floor (140,000 square feet) houses the diagnostic radiology department and a centralized surgical suite with adjacent recov-

ery rooms and surgical intensive care units. The third floor is the central point housing the mechanical rooms (71,000 square feet). The fourth floor (100,000 square

feet) is

connected

by

pedestrian

bridges to visitors' areas. This floor ment consultants,* he brought costs houses five inpatient care units and linePerhaps into surprisingly, he one medical intensive care unit. The found that the largest portion of and fifth floor is the same in size and the cost reduction was needed in the configuration as the fourth floor. It fire protection contract and that houses inpatient and outpatient more safety can, in the long run, gynecology and obstetries facilities, cost a facility less. including the delivery suite, a gyneThe new facility is adjacent to cologieal intensive care unit, newthe existing clinical facility, the born nurseries, and a neonatal inThe basement level (approximatepediatrics clinic, and the power ly 140,000 square feet) houses the tensive care unit- The completed plant, and it is tied to them by enclosed pedestrian passageways. An- eentral receiving and storage, cen- facility will have 350 beds and 850,other important link is an under- tral sterile processing, Iinen sup- 000 square feet of space, Permanent. elements of the buildground tunnel through which the ply, pharmacy, dietary, respiratory ing are the basic structural frame; power plant supplies oxyg€n; com- therapy, and pathology departments. the exterior walls; the floors; the pressed air; and mechanical, elec- The ground floor (approximately trical, and plumbing services to the 120,000 square feet) contains the roof; the elevators; and the menew faeility. This massive, seven- emergency services, rvith 50 exam- chanical, eleetrical, and plumbing level building is 330 feet by 360 ination rooms; the family medicine systems. The building has a concrete feet, and its space is equivalent to department; the outpatient phar- foundation, a structural steel colmacy; 40 physicians'and business umn and truss frame, and a conthat of a 1Z-story building. crete floor system. It is enclosed rlsnsston-Kitch and Asmiate. l{ichita" KS. offices; the medical record and the Alrc participating in thir Drojct were; M$- patient accounting departments ; the rvith glass and with precast conahall & Brown-Sldorowicz, Kanrs Gltv, KS. employee cafeteria; and a mall with crete exterior rvalls. Heating and elsociate architetr; Taliaferro & Brome. Kansst Ciby, KS. a*goclete structurel enginem! air conditioning are provided by a shops for patients and visitors. end Burgw. Iatimer, and }llller, Kans Clty, M0, aasociate mech&nical entiner!, The first floor (approximately dual-duct system in which one duct 120,000 square feet) contains clin- carries heatetl air and one carries Louis J. Krueger is director of the Diviical diaguostic laboratories; medi- cooled air to a mixing box where sion ol Architectural Services, Stale of Kansas. Richard M. Patton ls president cal and psychiatric ambulatory pa- the air is blended to meet desired ot Patton, lnc., Design€rs, Gonsultants, tient care units, with 18 beds; the room temperature. In interstitial Fire Protection Engineers, Columbus, (Continued on page 130) surgical pathology department; 6 oH. FEBRUARY 1,1977, VOL. 51

127

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION (Ctntinued frorn

pd,ge

7g/) all lev*

spaces above the ceilings on

els of the building, the mechanical,

electrical, and plumbing systems (whieh need never change) travel horizontally. The interstitial spaces minimize the amount of usable floor

iuea occupied by the

meehanical

sysl.cms. Itr addition, a monorail delivery system transports medications, X rays, samples, and medical

records vertically through shafts and horizontally through the inter.stitial spaces to key gtations t.hrouchout. I hc building. Nonpermanent elements are the interior pnrtii,ion systems, the ceilinss, the equipment, and the office furnishings. Metal stud and gypsum board walls and acoustical tile eeilings form the interior spaces. The permanent elements, such as the 4& foot by ?Z-foot struetural steel column bays and the interstitial spaces, provide large, unobstructed ffoor area.s. In these area.s, the nonpermanent elements can be reorganized en^sily to accommodate technological chanFe, with minimal remodeling

that included tbe state fire marshal, ing was pricinS: out to about $60 the state hospital facilities planning million. He sent a team of his own coordinator, and the state director staff members and the consultants of soeial and rehabilitation serto survey some similar facilities for vices; the university's vice+hancel' possible eost reduction features. lor of medical administration end Architects for two of the hospitals the facilities officer of the univermentioned cost savings achieved sity's board of regents; and his own t.hrough tf,re us€ of a new type of engineers and consultants. This sprinkler system that uses smaller team reviewed all fire .safetY feapipes.; that, therefore, costs less; tures, including smoke detectors, and that involves some new and alarm and communicaiions sYstems, elevator controls, fi reproofing, exits, trasic concepts of proteetion against :rnd compartmentation, not only on fire.t After investigating the matter, an individual basis but also as comthe state architect hired the fire ponents of lhe tatal fire safety plan. The sprinkler syslem was the key prevention engineering firm for two jobs: (1) to design the flre protec- to the cost reductions. Because tion system for the buildings, sub- sprinklers were installed throughstituting the new sprinkler system out the entire building, fireproofln& for conventional sprinklers, and (2) the alarm system, and other fire to design a "Composite Fire Safety safety features could be modified. Plan" for the building. In the com- For example, sprinklers were inposite plan, the sprinkler system stalled in the interstitial spaces' g'a.s the primary fire safety tool, and thereby allowing a maior reduction in the amount of above-the-ceiling' the structural fireproofing and the compartmentation features were sec- spray-on fireproofing required. In ondary aspects. Excessive fire pro- addition, the earlier bid documents the S50 million medical center build-

costs and witi minimal interruption to vital services.

teetion costs were eliminated. Moreover, all local, state, and federal fire safety regulations were met. To ensure that the composite plan pre'

Eeonomieal fire eafety plan

pared by Patton, Inc., met these regulations, the state architect set up a state fire safety review team

Most industries must deal with inflation, but the construction industry must deal with "double inflation." First, the usual labor and materials costs inerease. Second, building eonstruction codes keep changinF, and the changes cost money. For example, during: the past l0 yeArs, new state fire safetY regulations have been added to new Iocal fire safety regulations. Through r,arious aFencies, the federal government ha-s imposed additional codes. Furthermore, various eodemaking organizations that write "voluntary consensus standards" have been prolificallv writinS: new fire safety rules. Consequently, iu planning a facility, one must consider the fact that the price of a smoke detector will increase but also that more smoke detectors must be installedConsequenuy,

it was no wonder that the state architect found that 130

lTlre phnner of the sprinkler stxtm is Petton. Ine. Deirners Gonsultaats, Fi* Pmtectlor Eagincss, Oolumbus. OH-

The lost thildren...

help srve them Tday 500lt0l! childrm are victine of serious mental illness. ltey are lost children-lost to tleir families, tbeir commcnitiee, and to themselves- About a

third of them can be helpedNew researcb is the only h{rp€

for the rest. The National Associgtion for lf,ental Fealtb sup-

ports sucb tesearch anil provides special tf,eetrnent services and schooling for these children. Save the lost chil-

fffi i#-'ffi{ry ttF dren-

:|11."t1 chaptar.

yorr locai

eontained a standard sprinkler sys-

for the basement level onlYThis Jeature was deleted, providing a credit of $403,000. Bids were rcceived on the new sprinkler system' and the total amount of the contract for the nev" system was $431'136. Thus, credit from the standard system, which was to be installed on tem

only one level, almost completelY oaid for the new system, which was

installed throughout the building. The three final results of the fire safety innovations were the follow-

ing:

r The building is safer

because

there are sprinklers throughout it.

r

Construetion costs were reduced

by more than $5 million. c The composite Plan is a sensible

plan, rather than a hodgepodge of regulations. It allows more rational correlation between the emergency plans and procedures and the emergency systems.

The fact that more than 5t) Percent of the $10 million in savings resulted frorn fire protection innoshows tbe degree to which "ations fire codes afrest construetion costs. Incidentally, the state architect and HOSPffALS, J,A.H.A.

his

cmgtrrrction cmsult8nts did

achiere t&e $10

millim

eost reduc"

tion, arit the prcjeet is pme€dingt

Old, ner fire eafcily cmoeptg tlore than iOo yo"" ago, fre srfety speeiplists concluilerl tlat the basicoonshmctim of a building was

the &ey to prrotecting huraa lives during fres. Conseqnently, cudes

bniHiu desien and costnretion materiab. A buildisg that was divided into many mall eom1nrtuots sag onsidercd to be en inherently aafe (freproof) building. The campartmote were intended fu con*ain fire rtile reupants escapeil r,egulated

natiC and ;nrnerliate fre suplrtlession es its prinsry ioatnot will proviile &e fo[owins advautages: r Bedaced bniHins eoistruetion. eosls- For example, ringed anil slprawlinSi builitings no loger sill be necessary.

r Greater freedsm of interior clesitp. Xore open interiors Yill tF prove dcienqr, rrill rcduce operatbg costs, ad wifl cnate more

bUm1ne fiar-litigg.

r Reduced nabtenenee costs. An excessively ffreproofeil aad conpertmented bruilding iuvolseg many hiil-

den rnaiatenr'fe ccts in addition to an messive iEitial capital outlayo "In'pliaee- pnotection for occu' pants. A fue witl be promPtlY det€ctd aait snppreseed; occuPaots will aot have to try to egcape- Use of esouomicel and useful construction materials. lfisguided erperts are trfring to regu}ate many of tles€ matesrids out sf use' r A possible rtnsissance in architecture- Mone tbsn 60 Percent of building regulations deal'with fire safelri rreatly cmfining the desigaen New construction concePts and

t.hmasb eneloseil exit waysNot futh consialered, bowwer, was tbe fac* ttrat the furnishings and tlte otlrer combustible cootents in the "iErcproof' structsres *ould bum just as fuel buras io a furnace. Regariiless of Lionparhnentation, tbe combugtior gas€s wmld sprea4 sould trap persons on the vay to t}te erita, aurl would hill tbqn In fires, the bunirs oontents of *6r+ proof' buildings eontinued to kill individuah, hrt tbe fire mde agm- solutjons till be possible. cig wrote nore snd morne restricfhe fautastic proliferetion of fire tive strueturel codessafety codes in recent Years was Assuning that a fre usua[y predictable. The eoncepts of coo' starts in the contents of a buildiag partmeutiar anil fireproofing were and tiat it becoaies a ileadty fire originated by tbe fire insurance iabefore the shucture is afiecteal, it itustry in the 19th centurY' not to becomes clear t&at solving tbe prcb' protect tife but to linit tJre extent len of life ssfety also will solve of proFrty loes- Cornpartmeutation problems of strnctural safety. The never sas a good solution to saving new sprinkler systeb and the com. lives aluring fres. Shis fact rss not posite plan are bas€il on the follow- considered to be important as long ing coneepts: as fire ras considerttl to be aD "Act r The contents of e building, not of God--that ic an unavoidable the structurg arre tbe 'major fre eatastrophe, sach as al earthquale probleu. gtructurd regulations can- or a f,ooil, Ilowel'er, in reeent yeam, not solve tbe interior fire problerntbe public bas been unwillirog to r The oaly solution to a eontents consider fre deatls to be "ural'oid6re is to put it oul The eonept able." Therefore, the inherent flaws tbat a 6re can be rendered osafe' of tbe comrr-trrented freProofed by beins "troFned" is very tlanger- buikliag bave sur{aceil fn response' oug. Moreover, it is better to ter. the trailition orimted fire safety minate the Sre t"han it is to try to erperts and ageacies desperstelY escape to tle outiloors ot to "ride have been trl'ing to Pa.teh an old conc@t and -olif' buildings sith ouf'tbe fre in a eomportment o A eystera that terminate-s a ooB- new regutations. What reallY is tents fre to pmteef tives also pro- needed is a new aPproach that is oriented directly tounrd the ba-sic tects tbe sfir'ucture. t problem-life safetS'. plan bas aute A nre sefey tbat HOSPITALS, J.A.H.A.