Part B

1
Part B Fire Safety

• Technical Seminar
• by
• Sussex Building Control
• West Sussex Fire Rescue Service

2
Programme

• 11.00 Welcome Martin Gentles
• 11.15 Regulatory Reform Order 2005
• Mick Langley - WSFRS
• 11.45 Part B Dwellinghouses
• Stephen Shorrocks
• 12.15 Part B Other buildings
• David Starr
• 12.45 Questions
• 13.00 Lunch

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Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

• Mick Langley
• West Sussex Fire Rescue Service

4
Dwellinghouses

• Stephen Shorrocks
• Sussex Building Control

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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

6
General

• Approved Documents
• Guidance only
• Transitional arrangements
• Full Plans application or Building Notice
  deposited before 6th April then new regulations
  do not apply

7
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)

8
Fire alarms

• Material alterations
• Where new habitable rooms are provided above
  ground floor
• Whole house to be provided with smoke alarms
• Standby power supply

9
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

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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

11
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?

12
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

13
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

14
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

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Galleries
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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

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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

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Other buildings

• David Starr
• Sussex Building Control

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The aims of today

• Background to changes.
• Aims of the changes.
• When will we be experts?
• What will we want from you?
• Discussion
• Education

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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

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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." 

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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.

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Part B Volume 2

• The main changes

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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 BCBs
  fire plans, management regimes
• Water supply requirements for sprinkler systems.
  Page 11 section 0.18
• Inclusive design. Page 12 section 0.19

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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 92512005 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.

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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-
  62004.
• 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 13501-52005.
  class t4 table 16
• Materials passing over a compartment wall

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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.

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Appendix B

• Self-Closing Devices Fire doors within flats
  need not be provided with self-closing devices.
  Fire doors

37
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.

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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

39
Summary

• Fire safety information
• Door width measurement
• Self-closing devices
• Hose run distances
• Notional boundaries
• Roof coverings
• Compartment walls (deflection)

40
Summary

• Escape for disabled people
• Care homes
• Use of sprinklers
• Smoke alarms
• Management of premises

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Thank you for attending

• Questions?