Case Studies

Galbraith House, Gt Charles St, Birmingham.

IG Fire Safety were engaged by the owners and property management agents of the building housing Birmingham’s “most expensive apartment” in December 2020.

Although only converted to residential properties from a former General Post Office building in 2018, flaws in both design and construction had resulted in the regulatory body (West Midlands Fire Service) becoming involved, with enforcement proceedings imminent and potential for a “waking watch” to be recommended at a cost of several thousand per week.

IG Fire Safety liaised on behalf of the client with the regulatory bodies, identified the shortcomings, and verified a comprehensive methodology of moving forward, prioritising the safety of residents, whilst working towards safeguarding the future operations of the building. As part of this, IG carried out;

  1. Full Fire Risk Assessment

  2. Compartmentation Survey including intrusive analysis

  3. Service & Maintenance of all Active Safety Systems and Alarms

  4. Installed a wireless heat detection system, aligned to an updated evacuation strategy

  5. Developed a Fire Strategy for the Building

  6. Interviewed and appointed Passive Protection Specialists to carry out all works

  7. Liaised with all relevant bodies, including residents’ committees to keep all abreast of progress.

  8. Concluded and quality assured all construction works, remediation and systems.

  9. Reviewed Fire Risk Assessment, updated Fire Strategy.

  10. Liaise with regulators, client and close out the project.

By implementing a carefully structured and progressive approach IG Fire Safety were able to prevent deterioration of the building, whilst maintaining and enhancing safety of the building and all its' residents.

With the government’s relaxation of planning legislation to convert commercial properties to residential, this type of scenario could foreseeably become commonplace. IG Fire Safety saved the client circa £500k, plus potential costs of prosecution, increased insurance premiums and other factors. And all in our home town.