OFR Advises Fire Strategy for Historic Scottish Castle
A team of fire engineering specialists from OFR Consultants have helped to deliver a fairy tale ending for a stunning heritage property in Ayrshire.
Located in beautiful rural Scotland, the new Endeavour Penthouse Apartment at the Category B listed 5-star Glenapp Castle Hotel completed last month following an extensive £2m refurbishment and is now open to guests.
OFR Consultants, led by Stephen Dickson and supported by director, Simon Lay and Technical Reviewers Jamie Gibson (Glasgow) and Kate Swinburne (Edinburgh) were brought in by Truestone Glenapp Ltd to advise on the complex project that had faced building control challenges over the 3-year duration.
Upon appointment the team quickly embedded itself in the scheme, understanding the client’s ambitions for the project and engaging early with Building Standards to ensure the fire strategy proposals were clearly communicated. This enabled OFR to build a good working relationship with both the Building Standards team and the local Fire and Rescue Service.
The project required an extensive and detailed fire safety strategy for the third-floor suite refurbishment as well as a retrospective fire strategy for the rest of the historic building, resulting in OFR delivering a full fire strategy for the building which will support on-going fire safety management for the whole hotel.
Providing support from initial concept to detailed design and through the construction phase, including several site inspections and associated reports, the team contributed significantly to the project. They were also involved in checking and reviewing detailed design information such as suppression drawings and design information, fire detection and alarm drawings, passive fire protection around historic cast iron structural elements and positive pressurisation system drawings.
Stephen explained: “We’re proud to have been involved in the exciting process of upgrading this really unique building – and that we were able to bring our technical expertise to ensure that this beautiful listed, historic property has achieved the required fire safety requirements whilst also following the important Historic Environment Scotland fire safety guidance.
“By integrating innovative systems and practices, including recommending a compartment floor upgrade from above, a positive pressurisation system for one of the main stairs and also active, dynamic signage within the third-floor suite to direct people away from a stair depending upon the location of a fire, we know that the fire life safety of occupants within the third-floor suite has been maximised.”
OFR Consultants is a dedicated fire engineering consultancy, founded in January 2016 by Simon Lay and Sam Liptrott. Andy Passingham and Ryan McCreadie joined as Directors in early 2017 and 2018 respectively. All of the senior leadership in the business come from a background of leading fire engineering teams in globally renowned engineering consultancies.
Since inception, the business has grown to 80 staff across 7 UK offices with a turnover of over £6M delivering high quality support to projects across the UK and around the world.
The business is wholly owned by its internal shareholders; the team of people who lead and work within the business and has been trading successfully as an independent entity for over 6 months. This internal ownership model gives staff the opportunity to have an active role in the future of this growing consultancy, whilst enabling independence and flexibility to rapidly respond to the market.
OFR Consultants’ approach is based on the conviction that a clear opportunity exists to deliver high quality, technically led, tailored fire safety solutions, from project conception through design and construction then on to operation and legacy. This has allowed the business to match the needs of its clients without the conflicts often associated with larger multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted consultancies.
OFR Consultants is not just a fire consultancy, it is a platform for enhancing the development and realisation of fire safety solutions. The delivery focus of the business is supported by a dedication to research which advances the understanding of the interaction between fire, people and structures whilst also taking a stance to share and collaborate with others for the benefit of society as a whole.
OFR Consultants has received recognition through the high-quality projects it has been invited to deliver for clients such as Google, The All England Lawn Tennis Club, Urban Splash, the Rugby Football Union, and leading UK and global Contractors.
