Fire safety is the complete set of measures aiming to reduce the possibility of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage. These measures also aim to ensure that all the lives can easily get away and escape from the fire scene with as little damage as possible.
While fire safety measures can be handled during the construction process, they can also be applied to an existing structure later.
The Regulation on the Protection of Buildings from Fire states that the person or persons responsible for ensuring fire safety are defined as follows:
a. Authorities for issuing building permits,
b. Investor organizations,
c. Building owners,
d. Employers or their representatives,
e. Architects and engineers involved in design and implementation, implementing contractors and manufacturers,
f. Consultants, project control, building supervision and business officials involved in the construction and use of the building.
The Regulation clearly states that the fire consultant is bound to legal obligation. The fire consultant shall work with the employer to prevent and reduce the undesired effects of any potential fire, and to plan the fire safety requirements correctly.
The fire consultant should not take part in the material supply process and assembly works, but only consultancy, project design and application supervision services.
A conflict of interest would arise in the event that the consultant performs material supply and assembly works, hence the fire consultant must rather always maintain their impartiality.
There are no requirements for a qualification certificate to provide fire consultancy in Turkey. However, the fire consultant must have engineering knowledge and experience in all matters covered by local regulations.
In addition, fire consultants should have knowledge of international standards including EN, NFPA, FM and more. With their knowledge, fire consultants can offer solutions to reduce costs, prevent “business blindness”, offer advice to the employer or employer’s personnel
on legal obligations, and most importantly, can provide time and cost economy by ensuring that the fire safety investment is made correctly and wisely.
Efectis Era Avrasya and Fire Consultancy
Efectis Era Avrasya offers fire testing, certification, fire consultancy and engineering services to all global markets as a part of Efectis Holding.
Thanks to its extensive laboratory infrastructure, international certification competence, 70 years of experience and know-how gained by the Efectis Group and its experienced team, Efectis Era Avrasya can handle a wide range of fire consultancy services.
Efectis Era Avrasya fire consultancy team has also the opportunity to expand their know-how daily, by observing the fire performance of building materials via fire testing, discussing the performance requirements with test experts and familiarizing with the relevant standards, and thus evaluating the structures with a more holistic principle.
Manufacturers are required to have fire resistance tests performed to prove the fire performance of their products, which they declare to be fire resistant. These products are tested as a system including all relevant details.
The tested products must be produced and assembled in the same way in the field with whichever equipment and assembly method they are tested; otherwise, the products in question cannot provide the fire resistance time obtained and proven in the test.
Fire Consultancy Processes
Efectis Era Avrasya can perform in-situ assembly inspections for every structural element that requires fire performance, including fire and smoke dampers, while performing controls for fire doors, wall shaft transition insulations, fire walls, flooring, suspended ceiling, facade, dampers, smoke evacuation fans, and providing technical support during the purchasing phase.
In addition to structural fire safety, Efectis Era Avrasya fire engineering team can perform both extinguishing and detection system designs and check the accuracy of the designed projects.
Efectis Era Avrasya also offers performance-based solutions to its clients with the
help of advanced engineering services (CFD analysis), while its gravity has just begun to be grasped within the Turkish market.
Efectis Era Avrasya provides fire consultancy and engineering services with a holistic perspective in accordance with international regulations such as NFPA, FM Global, EN within the scope of ensuring fire safety in buildings.
Mustafa Salih Korkmaz
Engineering & Validation Manager
Efectis Era Avrasya
