With only one month to go till FIFA World Cup 26, there has been rapidly rising interest in how 16 host sports grounds and stadiums across the length and breadth of North America are readying themselves to welcome and safely manage the fans of the 48 participating teams. With some stadiums preparing to host more than 100,000 fans, rarely has there been a time when expert-led fire safety design has played a more important role in the story of the Beautiful Game.
The challenges
Modern stadiums are no longer simply just examples of functional infrastructure; indeed, it’s debatable they ever were. Today stadiums are invariably architectural icons that celebrate technological design and achievement, innovation and creative expression. Their synthesis of form, function and structural performance make them exciting for owners, spectators, and fans worldwide. But, at the same time they are exceptionally complex structures that require the expert inputs of highly accomplished fire engineering and design teams.
Despite occurring forty years ago, the tragic Bradford City Stadium fire in 1985 had a profound impact on the existing legislation and regulatory framework and is still frequently cited as a key reference point in relation to how fire safety engineering today in relation to the sector has evolved. The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and The Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987 are both integral to the legislative framework and standards relating to fire safety and have mandated significantly more authority to fire services in relation to comprehensive safety certification and oversight. In addition, The Sports Grounds Safety Authority released a publication known as the Green Guide, which was first published after the Ibrox disaster in 1971, with its sixth edition being published in 2018, which sets out critical design guidance for areas such as gangways, means of escapes, and access and egress for people with limited mobility.
The role of Fire Engineers
Leading fire engineering consultancies such as Joule Group play a critically important role through the lifecycle of a stadium, from design and construction to operation and renovation.
For us at Joule, our responsibilities typically include:
- Carrying out customised fire risk assessments;
- Developing comprehensive fire safety strategies;
- Installing tailored fire protection measures;
- Ensuring meticulous compliance with local, national, international fire safety codes; and
- Reviewing individual stadium operations in both ‘matchday’ and ‘non-matchday modes’.
With attendance at top flight football games frequently exceeding 30,000 fans, it has never been more important that stadiums are properly equipped and ready to face any kind of emergency, including a fire emergency. FIFA, for example, stipulates fire safety requirements, including the installation of both centralised fire alarm panel systems and backups in larger stadiums, to build in redundancy and ensure seamless operational continuity in the event of system malfunctions.
Larger stadiums must also be able to accommodate dual-mode operations, such that:
- Matchday mode involves heightened security, additional staff, and crowd control measures; and
- Non-matchday mode focuses more on ongoing maintenance, staff operations and limited public access.
Joule Group ensures that fire strategies are tailored to both modes, always guaranteeing that evacuation and egress routes are adequately sized, clearly signposted and accessible to all, recognising that a significant number of spectators may have limited mobility.
Joule Group’s Expertise
Joule Group is justly proud of its record of achievement in building robust fire safety strategies into stadiums and sports complexes, in a holistic way.
The Company was privileged to play a pivotal role in the organic development of the fire safety strategies for the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Most notably, this stadium was used for the FIFA World Cup Final in 2022, which hosted a gigantic 88,966 fans.
A legendary example of contemporary sports architecture with a capacity of over 88,000, it is a spell-binding and sinuous example of statement sports architecture, dappled by strong sunlight, and sure to withstand the test of time. Purpose-built for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, it is the largest football stadium in the Middle East, and an exemplar of all that is visionary and valuable in 21st century architectural innovation. Married to its iconic design is a five-star environmental rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), demonstrating the importance that was placed on its environmentally conscious design, in addition to its exacting fire safety standards.
Developing the fire life safety strategy for the Stadium was, therefore, an exciting and memorable challenge for Joule Group and the kind of lateral-minded professional problem-solving that the team relish and excel at. Key considerations included the smoke control assessment for the stadium bowl and the façade to the underground roadway and service tunnels in the surrounding area: all these issues needed to be managed in a seamless, organic and sustainable way. It was also imperative that the fire life safety strategy adhered to both international standards and FIFA requirements, ensuring that the cutting-edge architectural vision was never at risk of compromise by the need simultaneously to ensure the integration of world-class fire safety innovation.
The project’s delivery was also another demonstration that, for Joule Group and its team, no two projects are ever the same. That’s what we believe makes Joule Group stand out: it’s our belief in serving clients better and delivering solutions that are truly world-class in order precisely to meet client requirements and deliver projects on time and budget.
Get in touch
Joule Group delivers high-performance, operationally resilient and regulatory compliant fire safety solutions for sports grounds and stadiums around the world. To find out how our expertise can help support you deliver your next project, please contact us at info@joule-group.com.
References
BBC News – 270 seconds, 56 lives and 40 years: The story of the Bradford City fire
CheckFire – Fire safety at sports grounds
Fire Curtains – Fire Safety in Stadiums | Smoke and Fire Curtains Ltd
FIFA – 5.4 Safety and Security
Inside FIFA – Lusail Stadium earns five-star sustainability rating
Inside Fifa – Global Engagement & Audience Report (Executive summary)
UK Fire – Stadiums, fire and life safety