Fire Prevention Life safety Fire Protection

• Covering aspects of • Covering life safety • covering the

fire prevention provisions in the significant
pertaining to design event of fire and appurtenances and
and construction of similar emergencies, their related
buildings on passive also addressing components and
fire protection construction and guidelines for
measures, also occupancy features selecting the correct
describing the that are necessary to type of equipment
various types of minimize danger to and installation
building materials life from fire, smoke, meant for fire
and their fire rating. fumes or panic. protection of the
building, depending
upon the
classification and
type of the building
HEADING DESCRIPTION
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION Group A Residential A.1 - Lodging or rooming houses,
A.2-Private Dwellings,
A.3- Dormitories,
A.4- Apartments,
A.5- Hotels,
A.6- Starred Hotels
Group B Educational B.1- Schools upto senior secondary,
B.2- All other training institutes
Group C Institutional C.1- Hospitals & sanatoria,
C.2- Custodial Institutions,
C.3- Penal & Mental Institutions
Group D Assembly D.1- For over 1000 persons,
D.2.- for upto 1000 pax,
D.3- 300 pax or more without fixed seats,
D.4- less than 300 pax ,
D-5 all other types of assembly,
D.6- Mixed use- Cinema , shopping, restaurant etc.
Group E Business E1- Offices, Bank, Professional Establishment,
E-2: Lab, research, library,
E.3- Computer Installations,
E.4- Telephone Exchanges,
E-5 Broadcasting station
Group F Mercantile F-1: Shops, Stores upto 500 sqm,
F-2: Shops, stores more than 500 sq m
F-3: Underground shopping centre
Group G Industrial G-1: Low hazard,
G-2: Moderate Hazard,
G-3: High Hazard
Group H Storage storage or sheltering of goods, ware or merchandise, vehicles or animals, for
example, warehouses, cold ,storage, freight depots, transit sheds, storehouses,
truck and marine terminals, garages, hangers, grain elevators, barns and stables.

Group J Hazardous
 Above 15 m Above 30 m Above 18 m Above 60 m No Restriction

• Not • Not • Not • Not • A5, A6 and

permitted permitted permitted permitted group E
for for Groups for G1 & G2 for A3 & A4
occupancies B,C,D & F occupancies occupancies
A1, A2, G3,
Groups H & J

The approach to the

building and open
The road shall not
The width of the spaces on all its sides
terminate in a dead A turning radium of
main street on which upto 6m width and
end ; except in the 9m. shall be provided
the building abuts the same shall be of
case of residential for fire tender
shall not be less than hard surface capable
building, up to a movement
12 m of taking the mass of
height of 30 m.
fire engine weighing
upto 45 tonnes.
 Openings in walls or
floors which are
necessary to be Medium and low
provided to allow The inspection The inspection voltage wiring
passages of all running in
building services shall door for electrical door for other shafts/ducts, shall
be protected by shafts/ducts shall be services shall be not either be armoured
enclosure in the form not less than 2 h less than 1 h type or run through
of ducts/shafts having metal conduits.
afire resistance not
less than 2 h.

Every vertical • cement mortar

opening between • gypsum-based plaster
the floors of a • cement or gypsum vermiculite/perlite mixes
building • glass fibre, crushed rock, blast furnuace slag, or
shall be suitably ceramic based products (with or without resin
enclosed or binders), and intumescent
protected • mastics
 Transformer
• If transformers are housed in the building
below the ground level they shall
necessarily be in the first basement in a
separate fire resisting room of 4h rating.
• The entrance to the room shall be
provided with the fire- resisting door of
2h fire rating
• Oil filled transformers shall not be housed
on any floor above the ground floor.
Boiler
• Boilers may be allowed in the basements
away from escape routes.
• The boilers shall be installed in a fire
resisting room of 4h fire resistance rating,
and this room shall be situated on the
periphery of the basement.
• The boiler room shall be provided with
fresh air inlets and smoke exhausts
directly to the atmosphere.
 NATIONAL BUILDING CODE:
Air conditioning system should confirm to:
.4utomatic fire
Inspection panels No combustible Wherever the The duct
Where dampers
crosses a dampers
Wherever shall
thebe
shall be provided rrgwerial shall be fixed ducts pass shall operate
compartment which is
Escape routes like nearer than 150 mm fire rated, the ducts so arranged
Where plenumas to
is
in the main through fire walls automatically Fire/smoke
metallic ducts
staircases, to &y duct unless such Fire damper shall shall be fire rated for close by gravity
used for return
trunking to or floors, the and shall dampers
shall (for
be used
common The isducting
duct properly shall
(glass be located in same fire rating. inairthepassage,
direction
facilitate the
corridors, lift wool or spunglass
beneoprene
constructed with
of
opening around Further
conditioned air depending on smoke
simultaneously extraction
even for the ofceiling
air movement
cleaning of ducts facing the ducts shall be switch offpassing
services the air- shafts) for and its
substantial
lobbies, etc, shall enclosed gauge
and wrapped ducts and return around the duct work, return air instead and to remain
fixtures shall be
of accumulated sealed with handling fans. buildings more
not be used as With metal
aluminimum air which may get of space above tightly of non on
closed
dust and to sheeting) at least 3.2 materials having affectedManual
in case of fire than 24 m in
return air ducts/passageat the false ceiling. operation
combustibleof a
obtain access for mm thick and which fire resistance operation
temperature rising, height.
passage. fusible
maintenance of would not readily rating of the facilities
the shall
ducts shall be material.
conduct heat. insulated. link/smoke
fire dampers. compartment. also be provided.
detector.

The air-handling If the air-handling

Area more than unit serves more When the
2 units shall be
750 m on than one floor automatic fire
Air ducts serving separate for each proper
individual floor alarm operates,
main floor areas, floor and air arrangements by The vertical shaft
shall be the respective
corridors, etc, ducts for every way of automatic for treated fresh
segregated by a air-handling units
shall not pass floor shall be fire dampers air shall be of
fire wall and working on smoke of the
through the separated and in masonry
automatic fire detector/ or fusible airconditioning
staircase no way inter- construction.
dampers for link for isolating all system shall
enclosure. connected with ducting at every
isolation shall be automatically be
the ducting of floor from the main
provided . switched off.
any other floor. riser shall be made.
 NATIONAL BUILDING CODE:
Air conditioning system for basement should confirm to:

All floors shall be

Each basement In multi-storey compartmented with
shall be separately basements, intake area not exceeding
ventilated. Vents ducts may serve all 750 m2 by a
The staircase of basement levels, but Mechanical separation wall with
with cross-sectional extractors for smoke
basements shall be each basement levels 2 h fire rating, for
area (aggregate) venting system from floors with sprinklers
of enclosed type and basement
not less than 2.5 lower basement
having fire compartment shall the area may be
percent of the floor levels. Mechanical
resistance of not have separate smoke increased by 50
area spread evenly extractors shall be
less than 2 h and outlet duct or ducts. percent. In long
round the Ducts shall have the designed to building, the fire
shall be situated at
perimeter of the same fire resistance permit 30 air changes separation walls shall
the periphery of the
basement shall be rating as the per hour in case of be at distances not
basement to be
provided in the compartment itself. fire or distress exceeding 40 m. For
entered at ground
form of grills, or
level only from the Fire rating may be Call & shall actuate departmental stores,
breakable taken as the required
open air. by smoke detectors shopping centres and
stallboard lights or smoke extraction basements, the area
pavement lights or time for smoke may be reduced to
by way of shafts. extraction ducts. 500 m2 for
compartmentation
 A system of air
inlets shall be The staircase of The staircase of
provided at basements situated basements situated
basement floor level at the periphery of at the periphery of
and smoke outlets the basement to be the basement to be
Departmental
stores, shops, at basement ceiling entered at ground entered at ground
level. Inlets and level only from the level only from the
storage of Basement shall open air. It shall open air. It shall
flammable oils and not be permittedNATIONAL BUILDING
extracts shall beCODE:
communicate with communicate with
below the ward
gases, banquet Air conditioning terminated at
system for basement
ground basement through
level with should confirm to: a basement through a
hall, auditorium, block of a hospital/ stallboard or lobby provided with lobby provided with
discotheque, nursing home pavement lights fire resisting self fire resisting self
restaurants etc, unless it is fully Stallboard and closing doors of one closing doors of one
shall not be sprinklered. pavement lights hour resistance. If hour resistance. If
permitted in should be marked the travel distance the travel distance
basements. .SMOKE OUTLET. exceeds the desired exceeds the desired
OR .AIR INLET* level, additional level, additional
with an indication of staircases shall be staircases shall be
areas served at or provided at proper provided at proper
near the opening. places. places.
For all buildings 15m in Details of all floor plans
height and above, there along with the details of
shall be a control fire fighting equipment
and installations shall
room on the entrance be displayed NATIONAL BUILDING CODE:
in the fire
floor of the building with control room. The fire It should have an area of The room should be air-
communication systemAir conditioning system for basement should confirm conditioned
to: and should
control room shall also 16m2 to 20m2, preferably have emergency lighting
(suitable public address have facilities to detect on ground floor.
the fire on any floor system.
system) to all floors and
facilities for through indicator board
connection to fire
receiving the message detection and alarm
from different floors systems on all floors..
 No. Of Exits
• All buildings more than • No exit doorway shall
15 m
• and all buildings used as
educational, assembly,
institutional, industrial,
storage, and hazardous
occupancies and mixed
occupancies with any of
the aforesaid
occupancies, having area
more than 500 m2on
each floor shall have a
finimum of two
staircases.
Doorways Corridors
• Where stairways
be less than 1000
discharge through
mm in width except corridors and
assembly buildings
where door width
passageways, the
height of corridors
shall be not less than
2000 mm. Doorways and passageways
shall be not less than shall be not less
2000 mm in height. than 2.4 m.
 Staircases Staircase Widths Treads

• A staircase shall not be • The minimum width

arranged round a lift of tread without
shaft. nosing shall be 250
• No gas piping or mm for internal
electrical panels shall be
staircase of
allowed in the stairway.
Ducting in stairway may residential buildings.
be permitted if it is of 1 This shall be 300 mm
h fire resistance rating. for assembly, hotels,
educational,
institutional, business
and other buildings.
 Risers, no. of steps, handrail
• The maximum height of riser shall be
190 mm for residential buildings and
150 mm for other buildings
• the number shall be limited to 15 per
flight.
• Handrails shall be provided at a height
of 1000 mm
Staircase
External exit door of staircase
enclosure at ground level shall
open directly to the open spaces
or through a large lobby, if
necessary.
Minimum headroom 2.2 m
 Fire Refuge

For floors above 24 m and

Up to 39 m
For buildings more than 24
The refuge area shall be -One refuge area on the
m in height, refuge area of
provided on the periphery floor immediately above
15 m2 or an area
of the floor or preferably 24 m.
equivalent to 0.3 m2 per
on a cantilever projection -For floors above 39 m —
person to accommodate
and open to air at least on One refuge area on the
the occupants of two
one side protected floor immediately above
consecutive floors
39 m and so on after every
15 m.
 The emergency lighting shall be
Emergency lighting shall be powered
provided to be put on within 1 s of
from a source independent of that
the failure of the normal lighting
supplying the normal lighting
supply.

The luminaries shall be mounted as

continuous operation for a minimum
low as possible, but at least 2 m
duration of 1 h and 30 m
above the floor level.