Project Overview
The Strule Shared Education Campus is a pioneering initiative that brings together six core schools—five post-primary schools and one special school—on a 125-acre site in Omagh. The project, commissioned by Lowry Woodvale and designed by architects Todds, Isherwood + Ellis, and Ostick + Williams, aims to provide state-of-the-art educational facilities for over 4,000 pupils. The campus includes school buildings, shared education spaces, a sports centre, a sports pavilion, synthetic pitches, and associated infrastructure.
Christian Brothers School
Christian Brothers Grammar School – Strule
- Total Floor Area: 10,966m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 1,114
- Architects: Ostick + Williams
- Scope: Ensuring fire safety compliance and resilience in line with modern educational building standards.
Loreto Grammar School
Loreto Grammar School – Strule
- Total Floor Area: 11,460m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 1,134
- Architects: Ostick + Williams
- Scope: Development of fire safety design and evacuation strategies tailored for a high-occupancy school environment.
Omagh Academy
Omagh Academy Grammar School – Strule
- Total Floor Area: 9,432m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 753
- Architects: Isherwood + Ellis
- Scope: Fire engineering solutions for a large-scale educational facility, ensuring safety compliance and risk mitigation.
Omagh High School
- Total Floor Area: 7,777m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 585
- Architects: Isherwood + Ellis
- Scope: Comprehensive fire safety strategy, integrating passive and active fire protection systems.
Sacred Heart College
- Total Floor Area: 13,896m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 1,218
- Architects: Todds Architects
- Scope: Providing a fire safety framework that aligns with the college’s operational needs while ensuring maximum safety.
Shared Education Centre
Shared Education Centre – Strule
- Total Floor Area: 6,749m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 750
- Architects: Todds Architects
- Scope: Fire safety strategy incorporating multi-use spaces, ensuring safe egress and emergency response planning.
Shared Sports Centre
- Total Floor Area: 3,867m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 2,700
- Architects: Todds Architects
- Scope: High-occupancy fire safety solutions for a shared sports complex, ensuring compliance with stringent safety standards.
Shared Sports Pavilion
- Total Floor Area: 1,471m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 753
- Architects: Todds Architects
- Scope: Fire protection systems designed for sports and leisure environments, enhancing safety for public and private use.
Facility Management Building
- Total Floor Area: 83m²
- Occupancy Capacity: 10
- Architects: Todds Architects
- Scope: Fire risk assessment and safety compliance for a small-scale facility management hub.
Project Challenges
The scale and complexity of the Strule Shared Education Campus presented several fire safety challenges:
- Diverse Building Types: The campus consists of nine buildings, each with unique fire safety requirements.
- Multiple Occupancy Considerations: The fire strategy had to accommodate students, staff, and visitors while maintaining safe evacuation routes.
- Compartmentation and Fire Spread: Managing fire and smoke spread in a campus with large open voids, shared spaces, and multiple interconnected structures.
- Firefighter Access: Ensuring accessibility for fire and rescue services across the expansive site.
- Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to fire safety regulations, including Building Bulletin 100 (BB100) and Technical Booklet E (TBE) of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations.
MH Fire Safety’s Solutions
MH Fire Safety Ltd provided a comprehensive fire engineering strategy, incorporating innovative solutions to address these challenges:
1. Means of Escape Design
- Occupancy Calculations: Ensured that design capacities met the needs of the Education Authority.
- Escape Route Optimization: Multiple escape routes were integrated to reduce reliance on single exits.
- Travel Distance Management: Conformed to BB100 and TBE limits, with adjustments for special fire risks.
- Dead-End Corridor Mitigation: Self-closing fire doors were installed in unavoidable dead-end corridors.
2. Active Fire Safety Systems
- Fire Alarm and Detection: A Category L5/L4 system was implemented, integrating audible and visual alarms for accessibility.
- Fire Curtains: Installed at servery hatches to maintain compartmentation and limit fire spread.
- Smoke Ventilation: Ensured compliance with fire safety regulations in open voids and high-risk areas.
- Mat Store Smoke Ventilation: Incorporated automatic louvred ventilators to mitigate risks associated with combustible materials.
3. Construction and Compartmentation
- Structural Fire Resistance: Ensured all buildings met 60-minute fire resistance standards.
- Vertical Compartmentation: Implemented where required to prevent fire spread between floors.
- Fire Doors: Installed in key locations, including FD60S and FD30S doors, to maintain fire separation.
4. Firefighter Access and Facilities
- Firefighting Shafts and Hydrants: A ring main system was installed in accordance with BS 9990, ensuring fire hydrant coverage within 90m of building entry points.
- Pump Appliance Access: Optimized routes to meet Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) requirements.
- Emergency Response Consultation: Engaged with Omagh Fire and Rescue Service to confirm vehicle accessibility and load-bearing capacities.
Consultation and Approval Process
To ensure full compliance with fire safety standards, MH Fire Safety Ltd worked closely with key stakeholders, including:
- The Education Authority
- Building Control
- Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS)
Conclusion
MH Fire Safety Ltd successfully delivered a robust fire engineering strategy for the Strule Shared Education Campus, ensuring compliance with BB100 and TBE while implementing innovative fire protection measures. The fire strategy enhances occupant safety, minimizes fire risks, and provides a resilient, future-proof fire safety framework for this landmark educational development.
