Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Survey of Fire Loads on Private Residential Balconies in England

  • Published:
Fire Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fire loads are often used in the fire safety design of buildings as part of the assessment of the severity of potential fires. Despite recognition that balconies may contain combustible items which could contribute to fire development, there has been little research on balcony fire loads. This paper presents the results of a survey of 1020 balconies on private dwellings across England and the calculated fire loads. Consideration is also given to the influence of key parameters on the fire load energy density. It is found that balconies in England have an average fire load energy density of 64.4 MJ/m2, with an 80th percentile value of 110 MJ/m2. The influence of selected key parameters on balcony fire loads is also assessed. The results presented provide balcony fire loads which could be considered as part of building design.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. BSI, ‘PD 7974–1:2019 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Initiation and development of fire within the enclosure of origin (Sub-system 1)’, BSI, London, 2019.

  2. Thomas PH (1986) Design guide: structure fire safety CIB W14 Workshop report. Fire Saf J 10(2):77–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-7112(86)90041-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Culver C and Kushner J (1975) A program for survey of fire loads and live loads in office buildings. National Bureau of Standards, NBS Technical Note.

  4. Kose S, Morishita Y, Matsunobu S, Kawagoe K (1988) Survey of movable fire load In Japanese dwellings’. In: Shal V (ed) Fire Safety Science - Proceedings of the Second International Symposium. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, New York, pp 403–412

    Google Scholar 

  5. Thauvoye C, Zhao B, Klein J, Fontana M (2009) Fire load survey and statistical analysis. Fire Saf Sci 9:991–1002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bwalya A, Sultan M and Benichou N (2004) A pilot survey of fire loads in Canadian homes, National Research Council Canada, p. 159

  7. Bwalya A, Lougheed G, Kashef A and Saber H (2008) Survey results of combustible contents and floor areas in multi-family dwellings, Institute for Research in Construction Fire Research Program, p. 253

  8. Elhami-Khorasani N, Gustavo Salado Castillo J, Saula E, Josephs T, Nurlybekova G, Gernay T (2019) Digitized fuel load survey methodology using machine vision. Fire Technol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-020-00989-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Spearpoint M, Tohir M, Abu A, Xie P (2015) Fire load energy densities for risk-based design of car parking buildings. Case Stud Fire Saf 3:44–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csfs.2015.04.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Babrauskas V (1991) Tables and charts. In: Shal V (ed) Fire Protection handbook. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy

    Google Scholar 

  11. Building Specifier (2018) ‘Britain sees increase in number of high rise buildings’, buildingspecifier.com. https://buildingspecifier.com/britain-sees-increase-in-number-of-high-rise-buildings/. Accessed 17 Jan 2022)

  12. Aydin D, Sayar G (2020) Questioning the use of the balcony in apartments during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Emerald Insight. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-09-2020-0202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Brown J and Kirk-Wade E (2021) ‘Coronavirus: a history of English lockdown laws, House of Commons Library. [Online]. Available: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk. Accessed 11 Feb 2022

  14. Mayor of London (2010) London housing design guide, London development agency. [Online]. Available: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/interim_london_housing_design_guide.pdf

  15. Greater London Authority (2021) The London plan: the spatial development strategy for greater London. Greater London Authority. [Online]. Available: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/the_london_plan_2021.pdf

  16. ‘London Plan Guidance Housing Design Standards’. Greater London Authority.

  17. Holland C, Shipp M, Crowder D (2016) Fire safety issues with balconies. BRE Global, Watford

    Google Scholar 

  18. Metropolitan Fire Brigade (2014) Post incident analysis report, Melbourne, Report No: 1403134A

  19. Britton P (2018) ‘Fire alarm systems were operational and activated at blaze-hit Northern Quarter tower block’, Manchester Evening News, Manchester. [Online]. Available: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/fire-alarm-systems-were-operational-14109692. Accessed 14 Jan 2022

  20. Price D (2022) Poplar fire spread “due to timber balconies”, not ACM, Construction News. https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/buildings/poplar-fire-spread-due-to-timber-balconies-not-acm-02-06-2021/. Accessed 14 Jan 2022).

  21. AliDeck (2022) Balcony Fires of Great Britain Report: 2017–2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.alideck.co.uk/balcony-fires-report/balcony-fires-report-2017-2020/. Accessed 17 Jan 2022

  22. AliDec (2022) Balcony Fires of Great Britain Report: 2020–2021.. [Online]. Available: https://www.alideck.co.uk/balcony-fires-report/balcony-fires-report-2020-2021/. Accessed 17 Jan 2022

  23. London Fire Brigade (2020) Fire safety guidance note: Fires involving balconies in residential premises - information for housing providers, residents groups and individual residents, London Fire Brigade, GN95

  24. MHCLG (2020) Advice for Building Owners of Multi-storey Multi-occupied Residential Buildings.

  25. AVIVA (2020) Balcony and terrace safety: residential buildings. AVIVA, New York

    Google Scholar 

  26. ‘Our guide to balconies and fire safety’, Leeds & Yorkshire Housing Association. [Online]. Available: https://www.lyha.co.uk/sites/default/files/Balcony%20fire%20safety%20flyer%20PDF.pdf. Accessed 09 Nov 2021

  27. London Fire Brigade, ‘Don’t be the cause of a balcony blaze, warn firefighters’, 2020. https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2020-news/may/don-t-be-the-cause-of-a-balcony-blaze-warn-firefighters/

  28. Welsh Government (2020) ‘Advice Note on Balconies on Residential Buildings’. Welsh Government. [Online]. Available: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-07/fire-risks-of-flats-with-balconies-guidance.pdf. Accessed 07 Dec 2020

  29. ‘When was my house built?’, propertysolvers.co.uk. https://www.propertysolvers.co.uk/blog/when-was-my-house-built/. Accessed 06 Jan 2022

  30. Google (2021) Google Maps Street View SL1 2JW. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5053953,-0.5982851,3a,31.5y,77.96h,109.36t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWQMN4ia2-1578rZ96IKC4A!2e0!5s20201101T000000!7i16384!8i8192

  31. B&Q, Denia Wooden Foldable 4 seater able, diy.com. https://www.diy.com/departments/goodhome-denia-brown-wooden-foldable-4-seater-table/1561082_BQ.prd?rrec=true. Accessed 07 Jul 2021

  32. B&Q, ‘Denia Natural Wooden 6 seater table’, diy.com. https://www.diy.com/departments/denia-wooden-table/1829923_BQ.prd. Accessed 07 Jul 2021.

  33. ‘DIY.com Dark grey plastic smooth round planter’, diy.com. https://www.diy.com/departments/dark-grey-plastic-smooth-round-planter-35cm/8716443110023_BQ.prd

  34. Office for National Statistics, ‘Quick Statistics - Social Grade’, Jun. 03, 2021. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160202162549/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs613ew. Accessed 03 Jun 2021

  35. Office for National Statistics (2021) Quick Statistics - Dwellings, Office for National Statistics. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160202162933/https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs418ew. Accessed 03 Jun 2021).

  36. The Market Research Society (2021) 2011 Census results, Market Research Society, Jun. 03, 2021. https://www.mrs.org.uk/geodemographic/census. Accessed 03 Jun 2021).

  37. Schleich J, Cajot L-G (2001) Valorisation project - natural fire safety concept. Profil Arbed, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  38. Babrauskas V (2016) Heat release rates, SFPE handbook of fire protection engineering, 5th edn. Springer, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  39. BSI (2017) BS 9999:2017 Fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings. Code of practice. BSI, London

    Google Scholar 

  40. HM Government (2020) The Building Regulations 2010, Approved Document B (Fire Safety) Vol. 1 (2019 edition, as amended 2020)

  41. BSI (2015) BS 9991:2015 Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings. Code of practice. BSI, London

    Google Scholar 

  42. OPDC (2018) Tall building statement. Mayor of London. [Online]. Available: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/52._tall_buidings_statement_2018.pdf

Download references

Funding

This work was carried out as part of the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) research project CPD 004/0120/205 Fire Safety: Balconies, Spandrels, and Laminated Glass.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. OFR Consultants, Edinburgh, UK

    Sam Bryant & Ieuan Rickard

  2. OFR Consultants, Manchester, UK

    Michael Spearpoint

Authors
  1. Sam Bryant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ieuan Rickard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael Spearpoint
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

SB—Investigation, Formal analysis, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Visualization. IR—Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Original Draft, Visualization. MS—Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review & Editing, Funding acquisition.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sam Bryant.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bryant, S., Rickard, I. & Spearpoint, M. A Survey of Fire Loads on Private Residential Balconies in England. Fire Technol 59, 3415–3443 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-023-01467-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-023-01467-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation