SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
FIRE SAFETY ENGINEERING MSc
PGEE11245
Exam Date: 09/12/2024 From and To: 13:00-15:00 Exam Diet: Dec 2024
Please read full instructions before commencing writing
Exam paper information
• This exam has specific technical instructions, provided separately on the Computer
Guidance document. Please read these carefully before starting your exam.
• This paper consists of THREE questions (35/35/30).
• Candidates should attempt ALL THREE questions.
Special instructions
• This is an open book exam. This means you can freely access any printed or electronic
materials to aid you in your answers. You may NOT engage in interactions or
discussions relating to the exam questions or examined subject matter in any form.
Sharing the answers to this exam in any way, by any means and in any form is
STRICTLY NOT allowed.
• Students should assume reasonable values for any data not given in a question nor
available on a datasheet, and should make any such assumptions clear in their answer
document.
• Students in any doubt as to the interpretation of the wording of a question, should make
their own decision, and should state it clearly in their answer document.
• This examination will be marked anonymously.
• Use of an approved calculator and dictionary is permitted.
Special items
• Computer Guidance Sheet (1 page)
Convenor of Board of Examiners: Professor Y Lu
External Examiner: Dr M Woodrow
PGEE11245 Fire Safety Engineering (MSc) – December 2024
Question 1 A new student residence is to be constructed at a university in north-
east England, on a green field site. The building will have 5 storeys,
each of height 2.6m, and it will be divided internally into several
discrete accommodation blocks orientated around individual stairs.
Each stair will give access to “flats” with 6 individual student bedrooms
and a single communal kitchen, shower room and bathroom on each
floor. For security reasons the flats will only be accessible from their
own single stair entrance.
You are asked for advice on the fire strategy and fire systems.
NB – where you take specific information from guidance and
standards make sure you clearly identify the relevant document
and cite the precise location.
a) Identify the main issues that you think should be considered when
developing the fire strategy. Where possible link your suggestions to
any relevant “Requirements” of the Building Regulations. (18)
b) Comment on the design of the escape routes, including both
horizontal and vertical components, clearly stating any specific limits
for the sizing of relevant elements of the routes. (17)
PGEE11245 Fire Safety Engineering (MSc) – December 2024
Question 2 Your client has acquired a disused industrial building and is
considering plans for its redevelopment. The building has two storeys
and the floor heights are 3 m. There are parking bays all around the
building perimeter and some storage units adjacent to the external
walls. There is no sprinkler system installed.
The internal walls are single leaf with 44 mm timber studs, assumed to
be at 60% load ratio, with symmetric linings each consisting of 25.0
mm of plasterboard (2 layers 12.5 mm). There is not thought to be
any infill in the walls.
The external walls are the same internally but the plasterboard on the
outside is replaced by 8.0 mm plywood and the adjacent cladding is
brickwork.
NB – where you take specific information from guidance and
standards make sure you clearly identify the relevant document
and cite the precise location.
a) Assuming the building was designed following the guidance in
Approved Document B, comment on the “Minimum periods of fire
resistance”. (6)
b) Now considering the expected performance of the existing internal
and external walls, comment on their likely sufficiency for the three
elements of the fire resistance, i.e. REI, considering the potential for
fire exposures from either side. (14)
c) Specifically in the context of the defined scenario, comment on
possible differences between the impacts of real fires on the structural
performance and the parallel simplified representation of the fire in the
standard test. (15)
PGEE11245 Fire Safety Engineering (MSc) – December 2024
Question 3 A building trade supplier is developing plans for a new warehouse for
storage of a wide range of small components for packing and sending
out to customers. It is intended that materials are to be stored on
racks, in a variety of configurations according to the nature of the
components. The client wants to maximise flexibility for storage, i.e.
the quantity of materials that can be accommodated, but is aware
there may be fire protection considerations which would need to be
taken into account, i.e. via the design of associated water suppression
systems.
You are engaged as a fire consultant and asked to provide input on
the plans in a report for the client. As well as setting out the design
recommendations, your report should indicate the underlying reasons
which dictate the ranking of the hazards and embedded strategies for
mitigation.
NB – where you take specific information from guidance and
standards make sure you clearly identify the relevant document
and cite the precise location.
a) First explain in qualitative terms how the “Material factor” of the
individual components depends on the breakdown of their plastic
content. (10)
b) Now explain in general terms how the local “Storage configuration”
might modify the hazard level dictated by the “Material factor”, giving
an example to illustrate your points. (10)
c) Considering the overall “Storage Configuration”, i.e. design of the full-
height units, what configuration would you recommend to the client?
Explain what this choice represents in terms of the balance of hazards
versus costs, with due consideration of any uncertainties. (10)
END OF PAPER
PGEE11245 Fire Safety Engineering (MSc) – December 2024
Examination Computer Guidance for Students
This examination allows you to use a standard university desktop computer for accessing your files and compiling
your answers document and uploading the electronic file for assessment. In addition, since the exam is Open
Book, any papers and notes brought by the student may be referred to.
A. Important Restrictions
1) The only hardware permitted for use during the exam is the desktop computers in the assessment venue;
use of laptops, ipads, or any other electronic devices is prohibited.
2) It is expected that the student will make use of files (guidance and standards, etc.) stored on your
Documents folder on the M: drive; a USB stick may be used as a back-up; it is the student’s own
responsibility to have assembled the files required for the course in an accessible location.
3) Other than the M: drive and the course page on Learn, use of the internet or messaging services during the
exam is strictly prohibited; all internet connections are logged by IS and can be analysed down to an
individual user, so any attempt to make unauthorised access will be clearly identified.
4) Submission of the answers document is via a dedicated upload link (see below) so email is not required.
B. Step-by-Step Instructions for Computer Use
1) On arrival, sit at any available computer in the area for your cohort (undergraduate and MSc separate).
2) Place your student card on the desk in clear view.
3) Compile your answers in a single document using a word processor; start each question on a new page;
the bulk of the responses will be free format text, but you are permitted to use computer applications
such as a calculator or spreadsheet for calculations, and if required an image or graph may be pasted,
and/or calculation formula from a spreadsheet, in order to show “working”.
4) Please include your exam number in the document (but do not include your name/matric number as
marking is anonymous).
5) During the exam, your working file should be saved frequently.
6) When exam finishes (as announced by the invigilators) you must stop work. Now save your answers
document as a single PDF file named with your exam number. Then log in to the course page on Learn and
submit this PDF file (only) via the Gradescope dropbox located under the Assessments folder.
7) When you first click on the link a Gradescope account is automatically created under your email address.
You are redirected to the Gradescope page where you should click on the exam name and select ‘Submit
PDF’. Locate the correct file and click ‘Upload PDF’.
8) A message will appear ‘Submission processing’; after that you can click on ‘Submit’, located bottom right
(there is no need to match submission pages to questions). Once submitted you will see a message
confirming the upload and you should also get a receipt of the submission by email. NB – do not leave the
Gradescope page until you have seen this submission confirmation message.
9) NB – in case of any error with the upload, overwrite of the already attached file is possible up until the
‘due date’ (by default, 15 minutes from the end of the exam).
Important: You are examination is assessed only on the work you upload in this PDF answers document.
C. Computer Problems
1) Can’t access your files or website – try using the Chrome browser; try refreshing, clearing cache (via
Settings, Privacy and security, Clear browsing data); try using the Incognito window; try logging out of
Learn and logging in again
2) Computer crash/hardware problem – alert the invigilator immediately. If the problem persists you will
need to move to another computer (there will be spare machines); any time lost in recovering files and/or
moving to another computer will be provided in full at the end.
3) Word processor crash – first try re-opening Word, normally an autorecover file will be accessible (you can
check default frequency via File, Options, Save, Save Autorecover information); see Microsoft support
document recovery guidance); if you suspect you have lost work/time alert the invigilator immediately,
you will be allowed extra time to check and hopefully recover your work.
4) Can’t see the dropbox in Learn – try refreshing the page; try logging out of Learn and signing in again:
[Link]
5) Other file upload problem – alert invigilator who will liaise with course organiser to solve the problem.