Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Design and General Guidelines of Fire Safty in Buildings
Design and General Guidelines of Fire Safty in Buildings
Design and General Guidelines of Fire Safty in Buildings
3.
Fire Triangle
OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Life safety
Property protection
Continuity of operations
Environmental protection
Heritage conservation
Fire Prevention
Life Safety
Fire Protection
Additional Occupancy-Wise
Requirements
Part 5: Building Materials
Used Materials
Storage of Materials
Methods of Test
List of Standards
Gas Supply.
Part10: Landscaping, Signs and Outdoor
Display Structures
content
General Classification
Group-A Residential
Lodging & Rooming Houses, Dormitories, Hotels, One & Two Family
Dwellings etc.
Group-B Educational
Schools and other educational/training institutions.
Group-C Institutional
Hospitals, Sanatoria, Custodial Institutions, Penal & Mental Institutions.
Group-D Assembly
Theatres with stages, motion picture, Sports Stadia, with or without
permanent seating arrangement, Banquette Hall, Night Club and other similar
occupancies. Building with mixed occupancies having shopping malls, cinema
theatres, restaurants etc.
Combustibility of Materials
Noncombustible Materials :
Materials that produce a negligible amount of heat when exposed to a thermal environment
representative of a postflashover fire. These materials are referred to as noncombustible.
Steel and Concrete are considered as noncombustible.
Combustibility of Materials
Terms related to Reaction to Fire
Fire resistant signifies the ability of a
structure, material, or assembly
to resist the effects of a large-scale
severe fire exposure.
Typical Steel Column Protection of
Concrete, Masonry or Sprayed Fibers
Combustibility of Materials
Interior Finish
Interior finish affects fire hazard in four ways.
(1) Affect the rate of fire build-up to flashover conditions.
(2) Contribute to fire extension by flame spread over its surface.
(3) Add to the intensity of a fire by contributing additional fuel.
(4) Produce smoke and toxic gases that can contribute to life hazard and property
damage.
From a fire safety standpoint, the most desirable interior finish is one made of a
relatively dense and non-combustible material that is a good conductor of heat,
does not speed up flashover, does not add fuel to the fire, provides no path for
surface flame spread, and produces little or no smoke or toxic gases.
Means of Egress :
Most of the building codes describes the term Means
of Egress as a continuous path from any point inside
the building to a public way, outside at open air, at
ground level. Egress consists of three separate and
distinct parts.
The Exit Access : From any point in the floor to the
entrance of an exit. E.g. doors, corridors etc.
The Exit : The portion of a means of egress that
provides the protected path to the exterior of the
building. E.g. protected stairways, corridors, ramps etc.
The Exit Discharge : Portion of means of egress
between termination of exit and the public way. E.g
courtyard etc.
1.0m
1.5m
2.0m
1.5m
2.0m
1.5m
Exit corridors and passageways shall be of width not less than the
aggregate required width of exit doorways leading from them in the
direction of travel to the exterior.
Windows are not exits. They may be used as access to fire escapes in
existing buildings if they meet certain criteria concerning the size of
window opening and the height of the sill from the floor.
These windows are for rescue and ventilation and must meet the
criteria for size of opening, method of operation, and height from the
floor.
Audio-visual alarm, bed vibrator for be used for hearing impaired persons.
For high rise buildings, assembly occupancies etc. providing wheel chair at the area of
refuges.
Fire doors with 2 h fire resistance shall be provided at the entrance to lift lobby
and stair well where a funnel or flue effect may be created.
Suitable arrangements such as providing slope in the floor of lift lobby, shall be
made to prevent water used during fire fighting, etc, at any landing from
entering the lift shafts.
No living space, store or other fire risk shall open directly into the
staircase or lift lobby.
External exit door of staircase enclosure at ground level shall open directly
to the open spaces or through a large lobby, if necessary.
The main and external staircases shall be continuous from ground floor to
the terrace level.
The same principles of design apply to fire escapes that apply to interior stairs, though
requirements for width, pitch, and other dimensions are generally less strict.
Fire escape stairs should extend to the street or to ground level. When sidewalks would be
obstructed by permanent stairs, swinging stair sections designed to swing down may be
used for the lowest flight of the fire escape stairs.
The area below the swinging section must be kept unobstructed so the swinging section
can reach the ground.
Preferred access to fire escapes is through doors leading from the main building area or
from corridors, never through rooms that may have locked doors except where every room
or apartment has separate access to a fire escape. Although preferred access to fire
escapes is by doors, windows may be used, in which case sills should not be too high above
the floor.
Fire Escape
Windows should be of ample size, and, if insect screens are installed, they should be of a
type that can be opened or removed quickly and easily. Decorative grilles or security bars
should not be installed over windows that provide access to fire escapes.
A protected enclosure is designed and used for the purpose of safe evacuation.
The aim is to provide a smoke, heat & dust free environment during fire or any
other emergency.
The walls and floors of any protected enclosure should be fire rated for suitable
duration, generally for 2 hrs.
Only those openings are allowed which are necessary for access to the enclosure
from normally occupied spaces and for egress from the enclosure.
It is not good practice to use protected enclosures for any purpose that could
interfere with their value as safe means of egress. For example, exit stair
enclosures should not be used for storage or any other use not associated with
egress or areas of refuge for mobility impaired persons.
The doors at the opening of the enclosure should be fire rated and self closing type.
Electrical cables required for lighting (both normal and emergency) of the enclosure
should be the only services inside a protected enclosure.
The gap between any service penetrating the wall and floors should be filled with fire
rated sealant to protect it from smoke from occupied area.
The Exit Enclosure should preferably be pressurised. This will stop the smoke to enter
the enclosure through the doors during operation.
Combustible materials should not be used for wall and floor finishes.
Fire Door
Fire doors are necessary to prevent a fire from
spreading from one fire area to another. Fire
doors should be properly rated and close
automatically in the event of a fire.
Every place of assembly, every tier or balcony and every individual room used as a
place of assembly shall have exits sufficient to provide for the capacity thereof as
determined in accordance with Part-4. Door width for assembly buildings shall not
be less than 2000mm.
Every place of assembly of having theatrical or motion picture or any other stage
having fixed seats for over 1000 persons, shall have at least four separate exits as
remote from each other as practicable.
Three exits shall be required for over 600 persons.
Two exits shall be provided as a minimum.
For any place of assembly having theatrical or motion picture or any other stage, at
least half the required means of exits shall lead directly outdoors or through exit
ways completely separated from exits serving other parts of the building.
Seats in places of public assembly, accommodating more than 300 persons, shall be
securely fastened to the floor, except if permitted in NBC or by local fire authority.
Clear aisles not less than 1.2min width shall be formed at right angles to the line of
seating.
No seat shall be more than seven seats away from an aisle.
Aisles should directly meet the Exit Doors.
In case, the above is not feasible, cross aisles should be provided for every 10 rows,
parallel to the rows, directly meeting the Exit Doors.
Cross aisles shall have no steps, slopes of 1 in 10 shall be provided to overcome
level difference.
Special diligence regarding control of display and sitting arrangement must be exercised
to ensure unimpeded egress and to maintain the proper travel distances to exits.
Building Services
Electrical System
Special consideration for Electrical System:
Bus bar should be installed in dedicated electrical room at every floor, generally required
for high rise towers.
Fire hazard from electrical system is generally due to short circuit or heating due to over
loading,
Building Services
HVAC & Smoke Control System
Special consideration for HVAC & Smoke control System:
Address :
Building # 99 (new), First Floor,
19th Main Road, 1st N block,
Rajaji Nagar, Nagapura Ward# 14,
Bangalore- 560 010.
Email : sumon@ckr.co.in; vinod@cke.co.in