Name: DOMINGOS SAVIO ALMONFREY
Publication date: 06/11/2023
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| EDUMAR RAMOS CABRAL COELHO | Advisor |
Summary: In the Brazilian context, there is an alarming trend of loss of historic buildings, of inestimable values and of social relevance due to fires. Given this reality, the fire sprinklers system stands out as a key tool in controlling and suppressing these accidents. This research focuses on the feasibility of implementing a shared fire sprinklers system to serve different buildings of inestimable value that are geographically close. The shared approach is presented as an effective solution by bringing together the system into a single reservoir and a single pressurization mechanism. This centralized model reduces the demand for multiple reservoirs, pump rooms and excessive use of materials and equipment. Additionally, there is a significant reduction in structural interventions and maintenance costs are spread across the buildings covered. In the context of this study, a case study was carried out on seven historic buildings in the Center of Vitória/ES (Vitória Municipal Library ‘Biblioteca Municipal de Vitória’, Anchieta Palace ‘Palácio Anchieta’, Maria Ortiz School ‘Escola Maria Ortiz’, Sônia Cabral Palace 'Palácio Sônia Cabral', Homero Massena Galery ‘Galeria Homero Massena’, Vitória Forum ‘Fórum de Vitória’, Hospital of the Public Employees Association of Espírito Santo ‘Hospital da Associação dos Funcionários Públicos do Espírito Santo’), revealing the effectiveness and versatility of the proposed system in comparison with individualized systems. The results indicated a saving of 69.2% in the volume of water stored by the shared system compared to the individualized system. If diesel pumps were used, the shared system would require 55.45% less volume of diesel compared to the individual system. The individualized system would require structural assessments/interventions in four of the seven buildings studied to accommodate the reservoirs and pump houses. In addition, a fire risk assessment for the seven buildings was carried out using the Event Tree methodology. The analysis considered current conditions and scenarios after the installation of automatic sprinklers, showing a significant reduction in fire risk. All buildings fell into low-risk fire scenarios. Finally, the research highlights that the interconnection of these networks in different buildings, especially when they cross public roads, although not expressly prohibited, requires specific regulation and authorization from the competent authorities.
