UNITE Student Accommodation Aberdeen

Checkmate Fire was appointed to safeguard three of UNITE’s student accommodation units in the city of Aberdeen.

Shared accommodation buildings are seven times more likely to experience a fire incident, and as such, UNITE takes steps to implement safety procedures beyond those that are legally required.

By identifying weaknesses in their fire compartmentation, we offered a solution that delivers high ratings for fire and smoke resistance and improved the fire integrity of each property.

Requirement

King Street Exchange, The Old Fire Station and Spring Gardens accommodate hundreds of students, meaning they experience high levels of traffic. Regular inspections of its passive fire systems are therefore essential.

Checkmate Fire were contracted to complete comprehensive surveys of each property and repair the fire compartments to improve the fire integrity of the buildings.

Our specialists categorised the risk areas in levels of priority and phased the installation of fire-stopping materials to minimise disruption.

Approach

We conducted a survey of the three blocks, and found inadequate, damaged and missing compartmentation in numerous locations.

However, the occupied buildings posed a difficult scenario. Rectifying these issues would not be possible without tenants experiencing service-based and structural disruptions.

Nevertheless, we devised a solution that would remediate the works while ensuring the comfort of the occupants. Our specialists categorised the risk areas in levels of priority and phased the installation of fire-stopping materials, to minimise disruption.

Solution

The result is a collection of three buildings that now have robust, safe and compliant compartmentation – and Checkmate will continue to provide passive fire solutions to the blocks over the coming years.