in the world. Thousands of people work here and visit every day and millions of tourists

are drawn to its iconic splendour. Completed in the mid 1800's, many of the Palace's features

have never undergone major renovation. So what being done to tackle any problems, not

only to ensure the Palace continues to function as a working building, but also to preserve

its unique heritage for future generations?

In this video, we look at the fire safety precautions around the palace and what needs

to be done to bring the systems up to modern standards.

The new Palace of Westminster was built in the mid-1800s to replace the old Palace, which

burned down in 1834, following a major fire.

With that in mind, Charles Barry put fire-proofing firmly at the centre of his design, using

stone and iron to counter the risk from numerous smoke flues.

When it came to the interior decoration, he and Pugin used vast quantities of combustible

materials.

And the huge network of ventilation shafts and floor voids they included in their design

to aid ventilation had the unintentional effect of creating ideal conditions for fire and

smoke to spread through the building.

The 1974 fire precautions act was designed to protect occupants and buildings from fire.

But following the Windsor Castle fire in 1992, improved compartmentation was one of the key

fire protection measures recommended for all of the royal palaces.

By sub-dividing a building into compartments or blocks, separated by walls and floors of

fire resisting construction, it slows the spread of fire and smoke ñ by containing

it within a single compartment for at least 30 minutes; enough to safeguard lives; and

for at least 60 minutes; enough to minimise damage to the building and its contents.

In the 1990s, extensive compartmentation work was begun in the Palace of Westminster. But

given the building is in constant use, and the extremely invasive nature of the work,

only two thirds has been completed. So, at the moment, if there was a major fire, only

some compartments would be relied upon.

And the recent discovery of previously hidden Victorian ventilation ducts further complicates

the picture.

Evidence suggests that smoke could travel through these ducts, as well as architectural

voids. So, completing the programme of compartmentation is necessary to avoid this happening.

>> David Kaye

If we have a fire, it will stop the fire spreading. These compartments go from basement through

to the Principal Floor, all the way up to the top of the building, but because of the

invasive nature of the work and the extent of the work that is needed to complete it,

the compartmentation will take quite a while longer.

>> Narrator

Thereís over 6000 fire safety devices in the Palace, including break-glass call points,

smoke detectors, and voice alarms. At the moment, they function adequately but they

are reaching the end of their working life, and coverage by automatic fire detection and

alarm systems must be extended to comply with modern standards.

Theyíre part of the infrastructure that links the fire alarm system to the control room

ñ but many of them only give very limited signals. Also, this infrastructure services

the entire Estate, not only the Palace ñ and because of its age, it wonít support

the more modern, data heavy systems which have been installed.

>> David Kaye

Theyíve got devices, theyíve got automatic smoke detection in all the offices. We need

to be able to go in there, remove that, remove the break glass call points if they are there,

and rewire.

In a room like this for example, we would have to replace that smoke detector which

would include the wiring as well. If the wiring is traced down the walls anywhere then we

would have to disturb the wallpaper.

Thereíd be scaffolding in here, no one would be able to use it as a meeting room so therefore

this place would be out of bounds for a considerable time.

>> Narrator

Despite all of these problems, the Palace is a safe environment for people to work in

and visit, because everyone remains vigilant. And a fire safety improvement programme, as

well as appropriate measures, are in place to reduce the risk of fire as far as possible.

These include a team of experienced fire officers, on call 24 hours a day to investigate and

deal with suspected incidents, and to carry out regular inspections and patrols.

The basement is thought to be the area at highest risk of fire, because of congested

mechanical and electrical services, and the difficulty of access for the fire brigade.

A sprinkler system is virtually impossible to install without first resolving the intensely

overcrowded corridors. However, the current programme will deliver a high pressure water

mist system and smaller pipes, pumps and water supplies to the basement and high risk areas.

So, substantial work needs to be done to complete the compartmentation and to fit out and equip

the Palace so that it meets modern fire safety standards, and ensures the long term safety

of the building.

To find out more please watch the other videos in this series.