Transcript Slide 1

Part B – Fire Safety
Technical Seminar
by
Sussex Building Control
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
Programme
11.00
11.15
Welcome – Martin Gentles
Regulatory Reform Order 2005
Mick Langley - WSFRS
11.45
Part B – Dwellinghouses
Stephen Shorrocks
12.15
Part B – Other buildings
David Starr
12.45
13.00
Questions
Lunch
Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order 2005
Mick Langley
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
Dwellinghouses
Stephen Shorrocks
Sussex Building Control
Approved Document B
Two volumes
Volume 1: Dwellinghouses
Volume 2: Other buildings (including flats)
Why?
Easier for small builders and agents
Flats are often contained in complex buildings
Brings together all buildings covered by RRO
General
Approved Documents
Guidance only
Transitional arrangements
Full Plans application or Building Notice
deposited before 6th April then new regulations
do not apply
Residential sprinklers
Now recognised within the AD
Can reduce the risk to life and degree of
damage
Can be used as a compensatory feature
Designed and installed in accordance with
BS 9251: 2005
Further guidance
Sprinklers for Safety: Use and Benefits of
Incorporating Sprinklers in Buildings and
Structures, BAFSA (2006)
Fire alarms
Material alterations
Where new habitable rooms are provided
above ground floor
Whole house to be provided with smoke
alarms
Standby power supply
Means of escape (1)
Ground floor
Escape via entrance hall
Inner rooms provided with egress windows or
doors
First floor
Escape via stair and egress windows
Alternatively provide a protected stair
Means of escape (2)
Second floor
Escape via protected stair
No inner rooms allowed
Third floor
Escape via protected stair
Provide alternative escape or sprinklers
No inner rooms allowed
Loft conversions
Apply escape provision as new build
Example
Loft conversion to a two-storey house
Protect the stairway by providing fire resisting
doors and partitions
Undesirable to replace doors?
Open-plan ground floor?
Self-closers
Fire doors within individual dwellinghouses do
not require self-closing devices
Except door into an integral garage
Does not apply to a “House in Multiple
Occupation”
Smoke seals
Inner-inner rooms
May be acceptable providing
Complies with inner room criteria
Not more than one door separates the room
from an interlinked smoke alarm
None of the access rooms is a kitchen
Galleries
Provide alternative exit or egress window (first floor
only), or
Comply with the following
Gallery should overlook at least 50% of the room below
Distance from the foot of the access stair and the door
to the room should not exceed 3m
Distance from head of the access stair to any point on
the gallery should not exceed 7.5m
Any cooking facilities within the room should be
enclosed with fire resisting construction or positioned
to not prejudice escape
Galleries
Escape windows
New guidance – dimensions stay the same
Locks
With or without removable keys
Stays must have a release catch which may
be child resistant
Remain in open position without having to be
held by person making escape
Replacement windows should be of the same
size to that replaced or meet the minimum
criteria
Other points
Attached garage
As an alternative to the 100mm step the floor
should be laid to fall away from any access
door to the outside.
Fire appliance access
For new dwellings there should be vehicle
access to within 45m of all points within the
dwelling
Other buildings
David Starr
Sussex Building Control
The aims of today
Background to changes.
Aims of the changes.
When will we be experts?
What will we want from you?
Discussion
Education
Government aims
For non-domestic buildings, the key changes include the
introduction of a maximum unsprinklered compartment size for
single storey warehouses, new guidance on residential care
homes (including on the use of sprinklers) and a new
requirement to ensure occupiers are made aware of their
building's fire protection measures so as to assist with the
preparation of fire risk assessments under the new Regulatory
Reform (Fire Safety) Order regime.
It is important that provisions must be fully evidence-based and
justified and are taken forward in a robust and efficient manner
Announced by the Government today.
“This package represents better, more focussed
regulation that will deliver real benefits for both
occupants and fire fighters alike. Indeed the review
that led to the changes looked at fire safety in all
types of premises including dwellings, residential
care homes, public buildings and warehouses. It also
considered the important role sprinklers and other
types of fire protection measures may have,
particularly in buildings where the occupants are
most at risk from fire."
General
Approved Document B: The Approved Document
has been split into two volumes. Volume 1 deals with
dwellinghouses, Volume 2 deals with buildings other
than dwellinghouses.
These replace the 2000 edition.
Fire Safety Information: A new Regulation
(16B) has been introduced to ensure that sufficient
information is recorded to assist the eventual
owner/occupier/employer to meet their statutory
duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety)
Order 2005.
Part B Volume 2
The main changes
Introduction and guidance pages
These have had the layout altered and
information has been updated or added
Floor space factors – moved to appendix c
Guidance on design information required by BCB’s
fire plans,
management regimes
Water supply requirements for sprinkler systems.
section 0.18
Inclusive design.
Page 12 section 0.19
Page 11
Introduction
Management of Premises: New guidance is given on the need
to ensure that management regimes are realistic. RRO
requirements, care homes, other
0.13
Certification Schemes: Suitable schemes may be accepted by
Building Control Bodies as evidence of compliance. Door sets,
paint treatments. 0.15
Residential Sprinklers: The use of sprinkler systems in
accordance with BS 9251:2005 is recognised. 0.16
Alternative Approaches
i. HTM 05 “Firecode” should be used for the design of hospitals
and similar health care premises. 0.21-0.39doctors surgeries may be
part B
ii. BB100 should be used for the design of schools.
B1 Section 1
Fire Alarms in Flats: The guidance on smoke alarms in flats
has been amended such that alarms should be installed in
accordance with BS 5839- 6:2004.
Simple guidance has been retained, in the form of a
commentary on this standard similar to a house
i. All smoke alarms should have a standby power supply.
i. Locks and child resistant safety stays may be provided
on escape windows.
ii. New guidance has been provided on the provision of galleries
and inner inner rooms.
B1 Section 2
Means of escape:
Additional options of providing sprinkler protection and/or a
protected stairway instead of alternative escape routes has
been included for flats with more than one storey. 4 options
Guidance on the use of air circulation systems in flats with
protected entrance halls or stairways is given. Ducts, grills and
fire stopping 2.18
The provisions for smoke control in the common areas of flats
have been changed. 2.25-2.29
B1 Section 3
Guidance on means of escape in buildings with open
spatial planning has been included.
Alternative exits, openings, diagram 14
A method has been provided for calculating
acceptable final exit widths for merging escape
routes at ground floor level. Diagram 15 and formula
Guidance on the provision of cavity barriers
associated with subdivided corridors has been moved
to Section 3 and clarified. Diagram 16
Fire Alarms: The guidance for buildings other than
dwellings has been updated to take account of the
2002 edition of BS 5839-1.
B1 Section 3
Guidance applicable to small premises,
previously in BS 5588-11, has been
incorporated into the text. Number and Position of
stairs
New guidance on the design of residential
care homes has been given--- including the use of
sprinklers and/or free swing door closing devices. Greater
flexibility is also given where sprinkler systems are provided.
Sections 4 and 5
In tall a building with phased evacuation
consideration needs to be given to the interaction of
fire fighters with people attempting to evacuate the
building.4.27
More detailed guidance has been provided on the
protection of ventilation systems.5.46
Guidance on means of escape for disabled people
has been incorporated in the general guidance on
means of escape.
Provision of refuges,
communication, steps at final exits 4.7 4.14
B3 Section 8
Compartment Walls: The predicted deflection of a
floor, in the event of a fire, should be accommodated
in the design of compartment walls.8.27
Sprinkler protection in flats: Sprinkler systems
should be provided in blocks of flats exceeding 30m
in height.8.14
Warehouses: A maximum compartment size has
been introduced for unsprinklered single storey
warehouse buildings. 8.18 table 12
B3 Section 9 and 10
Concealed Spaces: This section has been completely
restructured. Table 13 (AD B 2000) has now been incorporated
into the text to reduce confusion.
Cavity barriers in floor voids
see below 9.1-9.16
Openings: Window and door frames should only be regarded
as cavity barriers if they are constructed of steel or timber of an
appropriate thickness.
New products may be required 9.3
Under Floor Voids: Extensive cavities in floor voids should be
subdivided with cavity barriers.
diagram 33
Fire dampers: Guidance on the specification and installation of
fire dampers has been provided.
Position, type and BS 10.11-10.15
B3 Section 11
Car Parks: Non combustible materials should be
used in the construction of a car park for it to be
regarded as ‘open sided’ for the purposes of
establishing the necessary period of fire resistance.
Other car parks should achieve the standard period
of fire resistance.
11.3-11.4
B4 Section 13 and 14
Notional Boundaries: Space separation should be considered
where more than one building is on the same site but operated
by different ‘organisations’.
13.6 diagram 42
Roof Coverings: The guidance on roof coverings incorporates
the new European system of classification set out in BS EN
13501-5:2005.
class t4 table 16
Materials passing over a compartment wall
B5 Section 15,16 and 17
Private Hydrants: A building with a compartment of 280m2 or
more, constructed more than 100m from a highway, should be
provided with suitable fire hydrants.
Vehicle Access: There should be access for a pump appliance
to within 45m of all points within a dwelling or a suitable fire
main should be provided 16.2
Firefighting Shafts: Assembly buildings with a floor exceeding
900m2, with a floor over 7.5m above ground level, should be
provided with firefighting shafts.
Hose distances: In unsprinklered buildings every part of every
storey over 18m in height should be within 45m of a fire main
outlet.
Appendix B
Self-Closing Devices: Fire doors within flats need not be
provided with self-closing devices.
Fire doors
Appendix C
Occupant capacity: The floor space factors table has been
updated and moved to this Appendix.
Door width: The method of measurement for door width has
been changed to align with Approved Document M.
Smoke ventilators: Guidance is given on the measurement of
free area for smoke ventilators.
Appendix G
Fire Safety Information: This new Appendix provides guidance
on the new requirement for fire safety information to be recorded
and passed on to the ‘responsible’ person.
Simple and Complex buildings
As built drawings
Fire safety strategy
A note will be required as to how the information is going to be
provided
Summary
Fire safety information
Door width measurement
Self-closing devices
Hose run distances
Notional boundaries
Roof coverings
Compartment walls (deflection)
Summary
Escape for disabled people
Care homes
Use of sprinklers
Smoke alarms
Management of premises
Thank you for attending
Questions?