Measures to to ensure that information on the fire safety design of a building is passed on to the responsible person, the role of residential sprinklers and the need for improved guidance on escape for disabled people, are among the main proposals for revisions to Approved Document B, published in July. The draft guidance has been released for a period of consultation due to end on 18 November.
Improvements in the provision of information to building owners and occupiers is seen as key to the shift from prescriptive guidance to a risk managed and engineered approach. The document proposes that for non-domestic buildings, builders and developers should be required to pass on information on fire safety design and procedures for operating and maintaining a building’s fire protection measures to the owner or occupier.
The government is also considering requiring residential sprinklers in high rise apartments (usually those over 11 storeys high) and residential care homes but is asking for further input from stakeholders before reaching a firm decision. Among the other most significant proposals are to:
– Improve smoke ventilation of common access areas in apartment buildings – the current provisions for external wall ventilation to control smoke in stairwells, corridors and lobbies of apartment buildings are seen as inadequate.
– Provide for an additional smoke alarm in the main bedroom for dwellings and apartment buildings.
– Clarify the provision for smoke alarms for domestic extensions and treat loft extensions in the same way as three storey houses.
– Introduce a requirement for cavity barriers in floor voids and enhance the requirement for cavity closures.
– Introduce a national maximum unsprinklered compartment size for warehouses of 440,000 cubic metres and repeal the sprinkler provisions in local Acts.
– Design compartment walls to take into account deflections during a fire, incorporating the provisions of BS5950 Part 8 and SCI 288.
In addition to these intended changes, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has also proposed a list of revisions that it is ‘minded’ to make after further consultation. These include:
– Increased fire protection in corridors of ‘self-storage’ type warehouses.
– Provisions for firefighting shafts for assembly and recreation buildings.
– Provision of additional dry rising mains in stairways of unsprinklered buildings between 18m and 30m tall, so that the penetration distance along a route for laying hose does not exceed 45m (as opposed to 60m at present).
– Discounting stairs in tall buildings with phased evacuation procedures.
– Removing the provision for self-closing devices in apartments and dwellinghouses, except for doors into garages and onto common escape routes.
The document also proposes that AD B will cross-refer to the DfES Building Bulletin 100 (BB100) on designing against fire in schools.
In addition, there are a number of alternatives to existing provisions, for example, sprinkler protection instead of an alternative escape route in houses or apartments 4-storeys and higher.
The ODPM says the proposed changes would help ensure a higher level of fire safety for both building occupants and firefighters, while also providing for a new approach to make occupiers more aware of their building’s fire protection measures.
The consultation paper is available at: www.odpm.gov.uk/buildingregs and supporting research documents can be accessed at: www.bre.co.uk/adb
Initial Reactions
Initial reactions to the document were mixed. “I welcome the reference to third party accreditation schemes for the installation of fire protection systems as evidence of compliance with Building Regulations,” commented ASFP chief executive Graham Ellicott. “I am also pleased to see that our publications on best practice for passive fire protection and for fire stopping and penetration seals have been newly referenced in the consultation documents.” But he also drew attention to the large size of the proposed guidance, even though it had been split into two sections in an attempt to make it more accessible to smaller firms.
Stewart Kidd, secretary general of British Automatic Sprinkler Association said: “The sprinkler industry broadly welcomes the thrust of the proposals although we are concerned about the intention to scrap local acts on sprinklering of warehouse type buildings, replacing this with a blanket minimum of 440,000 cubic metres, which is extremely large. But we are very encouraged that the government is open to discussion on the subject and is asking some sensible questions.”
