Sense-making of Fire Safety Deemed-to-Satisfy Solutions in the Modern Built Environment

Fire safety has long been delivered under the assumption that the use of deemed-to-satisfy (DtS) solutions results in specifications for buildings which are appropriately safe in the event of fire. This has the consequence that regulatory compliance can be achieved through the application of DtS solutions without further deliberation, or (in a performance-based regime) through the comparison of the performance of a performance-based design with that of a DtS design. However, recent research, recent incidents, emerging technologies, methods and materials of construction should have the fire engineering community questioning the suitability of DtS solutions. This article highlights potential limitations of DtS solutions from the perspective of developing a fire safety strategy. Specific emphasis is placed on the changing context of fire safety given the rising complexities in modern buildings. The changing context is conceptualised using a sense-making device called the Cynefin framework. A view through the Cynefin lens highlights the need for a deliberative and critical approach to the adoption of DtS solutions considering: (i) the challenges of identifying the non-linear cause-and-effect relationships, especially taking into account changing contexts; (ii) the impact of knee-jerk rulemaking i.e., the introduction of rules in the absence of supporting theoretical knowledge.