UCL Fire Technical Note No: 006

Fire Safety Technical

Guide

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TERMS &

DEFINITIONS
Reference: BS EN ISO 13943: 2000: Fire Safety Vocabulary - for further information and definitions

1.0. FIRE SAFETY ABBREVIATIONS KEY

1.1. General shorthand and abbreviations used in UCL Fire Safety
documentation:

ABBREVIATION DESCRIPTION ABBREVIATION DESCRIPTION

Fire Resisting Construction Thumb Turn fitted to door in direction of

FR 30/60 T/T
(30/60 minutes) escape

Fire Resisting Glazing (30/60 Free From Fastenings (i.e. No locking

FRG 30/60 FFF
minutes Resistance device to be fitted to door)

FD30 Fire Door 30/30 minutes Emergency Fastening (i.e. door to be

EF fitted with an emergency device to allow
FD60 Fire Door 60/60 minutes escape at all times)

Cold smoke seals / brushes

(S) S13 Sign ‘Fire Door Keep Shut’ or similar
required.

Sign ‘Fire Door Keep Locked Shut When

SC Self Closing Device S14 Not in Use’ or similar [Self Closing device
not required]

Vision Panel - If in a fire door

VP S22 Sign ‘Running man’ Fire Escape
must be appropriate FRG

Fire Door, Smoke Seals, Self Directional arrow used in conjunction with
FD30(S)SC&VP S26
Closing with Vision Panel sign S22 ()

3 Hour Non-Maintained
3NM AFD Automatic Fire Detection
Emergency Light Fitting

3 Hour Maintained Emergency

3M S(i) Smoke detector (Ionisation) type
Light Fitting required

Fish tailed test key facility -

Test Key wired to provide a local lighting S(o) Smoke detector (Optical) type
circuit failure.

Addressable Addressable Emergency

Emergency lighting system as per Advance H (RoR) Heat detector (Rate of Rise)
Lighting Electronics Ltd

Manual Call Point (Red - Fire Heat detector (Fixed) normal setting 65C
MCP H
Alarm Break Glass unit) - unless specified

Self-Closing Automatic – Magnetic (Door

Sounder (Voice) Voice Sounder to be used SCA hold open device connected to the fire
alarm system).

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Last Amended: Jan 15 1.
Issued by the - Fire Safety Manager, UCL Estates, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT - This guide is to be regarded as a general statement of requirements and is in
addition to relevant British Standards or any other instructions received from the Local Fire or Building Control Authorities.
 UCL Fire Technical Note No: 006
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.0. DEFINITIONS OF TECHNICAL FIRE SAFETY TERMS USED

2.1. In fire safety reporting and specifications, the terms / words and associated
meanings will be used:
SPECIFIC WORDS DEFINITION:

'Shall' and 'Must' Are Mandatory (you will do)

'Will' Is Informative

'Should' Is Advisory
'Provide' Means - Supply, fix or Install
'Approved' Means - Approved in Writing
Means -Suitable in the opinion of the authority having
'Suitable'
jurisdiction

2.2. Various terms are used in fire safety guides and documentation because of
their importance concerning the Means of Escape for existing buildings, are
defined below.

SPECIFIC WORDS DEFINITION:

Means - a room, which forms the only, escape route from an

Access Room
inner room (See Inner Room)
Means - a stairway, which is provided for the convenience of
Accommodation Stairway occupant; in addition, to that or those required for escape
purposes
Means - a construction provided to close a concealed space
Cavity Barrier against penetration of smoke or flame, or provided to restrict the
movement of smoke or flame within such a space
Is a part of the building separated from all other parts of the
Compartment same building by fire resisting compartment walls and /or
compartment floors
Means - a fire-resisting wall or floor used in the separation of one
Compartment Wall or Floor
fire compartment from another
Means - an area from which escape is possible in one direction
Dead-End Condition
only
Means - the actual distance that a person needs to travel
Distance of Travel
between any point in a building and the nearest storey exit
Means - that part of the emergency lighting system provided for
use when the supply to the normal lighting fails so as to ensure
Emergency Escape Lighting
that the Means of Escape can be safely and effectively used at
all material times
Means the termination of an escape route from a building giving
direct access to a ‘Place of Safety’ such as a street,
Final Exit passageway, walkway or open space, and sited to ensure that
persons can disperse safely from the vicinity of the building and
the effects of fire

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Last Amended: Jan 15 2.
Issued by the - Fire Safety Manager, UCL Estates, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT - This guide is to be regarded as a general statement of requirements and is in
addition to relevant British Standards or any other instructions received from the Local Fire or Building Control Authorities.
 UCL Fire Technical Note No: 006
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPECIFIC WORDS DEFINITION:

Means - a door assembly which is designed to hold back fire and smoke
for a designated period, and has been tested under the following:
 The conditions of test for door assemblies described in British
Standard 476: Part 22; or
 The conditions of test contained in the British Standard currently in
force at the time of the bringing into use of the premises as a
factory, office, shop or railway premises; or
Fire Door  The conditions of test in the British Standard currently in force at the
time the door was manufactured; would satisfy the criteria for
integrity for 20 minutes or for such longer periods, as may be
specified in particular circumstances
Notes:
1. Normally, such doors should be positively self-closing
2. Door assemblies with non-metallic leaves should be maintained in
accordance with the provisions of British Standard 8214
Means - the ability of a component or the construction of a building to
satisfy for a stated period of time some or all of the appropriate criteria
Fire-Resisting (Fire specified in the relevant part of British Standard 476
Resistance) Note: In existing premises, it may not be possible to define the fire
resistance of some elements of structure, and a judgement will need to be
made on whether the fire resistance is acceptable

Is an approach, which takes into account the total fire safety package
Fire Safety
and sets a range of fire safety features against an assessment of the fire
Engineering
hazard and fire risk for the particular premises

Are seals provided to close an imperfection of fit or design tolerance

Fire / Smoke stopping between elements or components to restrict the passage of fire, heat and
smoke

Means - a room from which escape, is possible only by passing through an

Inner Room access room (Note: Inner Rooms are not permitted (travel from inner room
to Access Room, only discharging to safety such as corridor etc)
Is the structural means whereby a safe route is provided for persons to
Means of Escape travel from any point in a building to a place of safety beyond the
building without outside assistance
Members of the
Guests - not being employed or studying at UCL
Public
Means - place beyond the building in which a person is no longer in
Place of Safety
danger from fire
Means - corridor, which is adequately protected from fire in adjoining
Protected Corridor accommodation by fire-resisting construction (usually to a minimum of 30
minutes Fire Resting Standard

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Last Amended: Jan 15 3.
Issued by the - Fire Safety Manager, UCL Estates, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT - This guide is to be regarded as a general statement of requirements and is in
addition to relevant British Standards or any other instructions received from the Local Fire or Building Control Authorities.
 UCL Fire Technical Note No: 006
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPECIFIC WORDS DEFINITION:

Is a fire-resisting enclosure providing access to a protected stairway via

Protected Lobby two sets of fire-resisting and self-closing doors, into which no rooms open,
other than toilets or lifts
Means - a route having an adequate degree of protection from fire
including walls (other than any part that is an external wall of a building),
Protected Route
doors, partitions, ceilings and floors separating the route from the
remainder of the building

Means - a stairway, which is adequately protected from fire in adjoining

Protected Stairway accommodation by fire-resisting construction and either discharges
through a final exit or a protected route leading to a final exit

Means an exit through which persons are no longer at immediate risk from
the effect of fire and includes a final exit, an exit to a protected lobby or
Storey Exit protected stairway (including an exit leading on to an external stairway),
and an exit provided for Means of Escape through a compartment wall
via which a final exit can be reached
Means a fire resisting or plain glazed panel found in doors or partitions,
Vision Panel (VP) placed there for safety to view an access room circulation traffic beyond
the door

FIRE DOOR AND GLAZING ABBREVIATIONS:

2.2. In fire safety reporting and specifications, the following abbreviations will be
used when referring to fire doors:
ABBREVIATION DEFINITION:

Means - Fire Resisting Door 30 or 60 minutes:

FD30 / 30
 Integrity (to keep its structural properties without failure during the
or specified period)
FD60 / 60  Insulation (to keep its structural properties without failure and not
allowing heat to pass through it during the specified period)
Means - Fire Resisting Door 30 minutes fitted with Intumescent seals (Hot
Smoke Seals) all new fire doors must now be fitted with intumescent seals
with a minimum of 12 mm doorstops planted on the frame
FD30(I) Intumescent seals activate at approximately 100°c where they will swell to
70%+ of their volume and to form a seal around the door and frame to
prevent hot gases passing through to escape routes or allowing the hot
gases to spread the fire further through the building
Means - Fire Resisting Door 30 minutes fitted with Cold Smoke seals /
FD30(S)
brushes
Means - a Fire Resisting Door 30 minutes fitted with a suitable approved
FD30SC
Self-Closing device
Means - Fire Resisting Door 30 minutes fitted with a Vision Panel (made from
FD30VP
FRG)
FD30(S)SC&VP Doors can be commonly abbreviated to:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Last Amended: Jan 15 4.
Issued by the - Fire Safety Manager, UCL Estates, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT - This guide is to be regarded as a general statement of requirements and is in
addition to relevant British Standards or any other instructions received from the Local Fire or Building Control Authorities.
 UCL Fire Technical Note No: 006
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.3. In fire safety reporting and specifications, the following abbreviations will be
used when referring to fire glazing:
ABBREVIATION DEFINITION:

Means - Fire Resisting Glazing 30 minutes, which can be specified with

both:
FRG30 / 30
 Integrity (to keep its structural properties without failure during the
specified period)
FRG 60 / 60
 Insulation (to keep its structural properties without failure and not
allowing heat to pass through it during the specified period)
End

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date Last Amended: Jan 15 5.
Issued by the - Fire Safety Manager, UCL Estates, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT - This guide is to be regarded as a general statement of requirements and is in
addition to relevant British Standards or any other instructions received from the Local Fire or Building Control Authorities.