GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR EGRESS

DESIGN FOR MULTI-STOREY

BUILDINGS
BUILDING SERVICES 3
UNIT-III
3.8 Fire protection and means of exit requirement
1. General exit requirement:
● Can be a doorway,corridor, passageway to an internal or external staircase
or to a verandah or roof which have access to the street or to the roof of
the building or a refuge area. May include horizontal exit leading to the
adjoining building at same level
● Should be free from any obstructions in case of use in an emergency and shall provide
continuous means of egress to the exterior
2. Fire access staircase:
Buildings having more than 500 sq.m per floor shall have a minimum of two staircases.

3. Doorways:
● Shall open into an enclosed stairways or a horizontal exit of a
corridor providing protected means of egress.
● Shall not be less than 1000mm in width, except in assembly
buildings where it should not be less than 2000mm in width.
Shall not be less than 2000mm in height
4. Corridor and passageways:

● The width should not be less than that of the exit doorway which leads the occupants out.
● The height should not be less than 2400mm.
● Shall be adequately ventilated
5. Internal staircase:

● Shall be composed of non-combustible materials throughout.

● External walls of the building shall constitute one of its side.
● Staircase should not be arranged around a lift shaft.
● The minimum flight width=1000mm, maximum width=2000mm.
● Minimum thread= 250mm, maximum riser=190mm,minimum headroom=2200mm.
6. External staircase:
● External staircase are desired to be provided for high rise structures.
● It should be well maintained and in operable condition.
● It should be connected to the ground.
● There should not be any windows or doors that opens on to or closes to the external stairs.
● Route to the external stairs shall be free from obstruction all the time.
● Any doorway leading to the stairway should be fire resistant.
● The minimum flight width=1250mm, minimum thread=250mm, maximum riser=190mm
● The maximum number of riser per flight=15.
● Handrail height= 1000mm-1200mm, maximum gap between baluster-150mm.
● In case of spiral staircase, the diameter should not be less than 1500mm and it should have
adequate headroom.
● Unprotected steel staircase should not be accepted as a means of escape, however if the
staircase in an enclosed fire rated fire compartment has a 2hr fire rating, it can be accepted as
a means of escape.
7. Horizontal exits:

● The width of horizontal exit shall be same as that for the exit doorways.
● A horizontal exit shall be equipped with at least one fire / smoke door of minimum 1h fire
resistance, of self closing type.
● Where there is a difference in level between connected areas for horizontal exits, ramps not
more than 1 in 10 slope shall be provided, steps shall not be used.
● Doors in horizontal exits shall be operable at all times from both sides.
8. Refuge area:

● It should be on the periphery of the floor or on the a cantilever projection where one side at
least is open to air and is protected with suitable railing.
● For buildings above 24m, one refuge are will be provided on the area will be provided
immediately above 24m.
● For buildings above 39m- one refuge area will be provided immediately above 39m after every
15m.
● If the residential flat in the multi storied buildings have a balcony, they dont have to provide a
refuge area.
Construction
● All materials used for the load bearing construction such as the stairways,corridors and
facades should be made of non-combustible materials.
● The interior finishes should not have a flame spreadability rating exceeding Class 1.
● The internal wall or staircase shall be of brick or RCC with minimum of 2H fire rating
● Staircase shall be well ventilated.
● The roof of the shaft shall be one meter above the surrounding roof with fire resistance rating
of 2h.
Lift
● Walls of lift enclosure shall have fire rating of 2h with a vent on top for the lift shaft.
● The doors of the lift should have a fire resistance of not less than 1h.
● Collapsible gate for lifts shall not be permitted.
● The lifts shall not normally communicate with the basement.
● The number of lifts in a row should not be more than 4.
Fire lift:
● 1 fire lift can be provided per 1200 sq.m for the exclusive use of firemen in the case of
emergency.
● The lift should not be less than a 8 person lift.
● A separate electricity supply should be provided.
● The lifts should have a ceiling hatch.
● The term fire lift should be displayed in fluorescent paint on the landing of each floor.
● The lift speed should be such that it can reach the top floor to the ground floor within 1 min.
Service ducts/shaft:
Service Ducts should be enclosed by walls of 2h and doors of 1h fire
rating.A vent opening at the top of the service shaft shall be
provided.

Provision for first aid and fire fighting appliances:

The first aid fire fighting equipment shall be provided on all floors
including basements, lift rooms, etc. in accordance with good
practice in consultation with the authority.
● Some useful fire safety equipments
1. Safety guard:
The major roles of safety guards are:
● Restrict the area of access: Some areas require restricted access,where the public does not
require access. Such areas are demarcated using bright colours.
● Danger area marking: In case of a fire, the fire safety plans could include setting up danger
area marking to mark the areas which are unsafe, i.e, where combustible substances are
stored.
● Safety area marking: In case of a fire bright colours can be used to mark a safe gathering point
for the public and the employees.
2. Fire extinguisher:

Fire extinguishers is a basic requirement for a building with many occupants. Depending on the
typology of building and type of fire the fire extinguisher should be used.

Based on the area of a building, the number of required fire extinguisher should be calculated.

To calculate the number of extinguishers required in a building:

[Floor area (in sq.m) x 0.065] / 13 = No of fire extinguisher required

3. Emergency exit signs and lighting:

When a building catches fire, things can get out of hand quickly. During times like these, it is
important to have proper emergency exit markings and lights. It helps to locate the emergency exit
at ease during such events.
4. Fire sprinklers:

The ultimate fire safety system is a sprinkler system. It provides more time for the occupants to exit the building safely or reach
the nearest fire safety equipment which is required.

Light Hazard:(10-15 ft). Excluding heads in combustible concealed spaces, all sprinklers in this category have 15 feet (4.6 meters) of maximum allowable
spacing between them.

Ordinary Hazard: (15 ft). All sprinklers in these environments have a 15-foot (4.6-meter) maximum.

Extra Hazard: (12-15 ft). The rules vary by system type. Pipe-schedule systems and hydraulically calculated systems with a density at or over 0.25 gallons
per minute per square foot have a 12-foot (3.7 meters) maximum distance between sprinklers. Hydraulically calculated systems with less density have the
standard 15-foot (4.6-meter) maximum.

High-Piled Storage: (12-15 ft). Hydraulically calculated systems with a density at or over 0.25 gallons per minute per square foot have a 12-foot (3.7
meters) maximum. Hydraulically calculated systems with densities under 0.25 have the standard 15-foot (4.6-meter) maximum.
5. Standby electric generator:

A standby electric generator should be installed to supply electricity to the staircase and corridor
lighting circuits, fire lifts, standby fire pumps and all other fire fighting systems in case of failure of
normal electric supply.

6. Fire control room:

Fire control room is to be placed at the entrance floor of the building with communication system on
all floors in order to receive message from different floors.

7. Compartmentation:

Suitable compartmentation should be done so that the fire will not spread from the areas where it
has occured to the remaining parts or the building.
8. Helipad:

Helipad should be provided for tall buildings above 60 m in height.

Guidelines for fire drill and evacuation in a high rise building:
Fire safety plan:
Purpose:- To establish a method of systematic, safe and orderly evacuation of an area or a building
by its occupants in case of fire or any other emergency, in the least possible time to a safe area by
the nearest safe means of egress;also the use of available fire appliances.
Objective:- To provide proper education for all its occupants, to ensure prompt reporting of fire, the
response of fire alarms as designated and the immediate initiation of fire safety procedures to
safeguard life and contain fire until the arrival of the fire brigade.
-Should include names and contact numbers of the nearest fire station, the fire safety director,
deputy fire safety director, fire wards, building evacuation supervisor, etc.
● The main goal of fire safety is to protect the building occupants from injury and prevent any
● loss of life and reduce the property damage.
● Minimal fire safety equipment is mandatory for the development of any property according to the
Indian law.
● It has become a necessity to provide fire safety equipments to MNCs, offices, schools, high rise
buildings, multistorey buildings, etc.
● As per fire safety rules and NBC of India, it is mandatory to install minimum fire safety devices for
institutions, shopping complexes and high rise buildings.
● Installation of fire safety device is offered as a part of project by builders or developers.According to
National Building Code, at least one stair case shall be provided as a fire staircase as defined in the
National Building Code. The performance of a fire protection system depends not only on the quality of
the product, but in the quality of its maintenance program.