FIRE SAFETY DESIGN

STRATEGIES AND MATERIALS

SYLLABUS:
1. What is Fire
2. Fire fighting equipments
3. Tanks, Sprinkler systems
4. Site visit

5. Fire rated materials

6. Guidelines
7. Codes
8. Regulations
9. Design Criteria

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 Fire safety Planning PART 2:
TOPICS COVERED

➢1. Planning of escape routes in the multi storey building and basements and at campus level.
➢2. Fire resistance of material and fire rated material
➢3. Fire safety codes, rules and regulations.
➢4. Fire bye laws and safety measures

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

What is fire rated material?

Fire-rated materials, such as fire-resistant drywall, intumescent coatings, and fireproof insulation, are
designed to withstand high temperatures and slow the spread of flames.

Fire class ratings are a way of classifying materials by their ability to support and propagate fire and also
indicate the smoke produced by the material. This is determined by a flame spread index. Flame spread
index is a numerical value that is typically obtained by examining how the material responds during a ten-
minute tunnel test.

Fire-retardant materials should not be confused with fire-resistant materials.

A fire resistant material is one which is designed to resist burning and withstand heat.
An example of a fire-resistant material is one which is used in bunker gear worn by firefighters to protect
them from the flames of a burning building.

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

Fire-retardant materials should not be confused with fire-resistant materials.

A fire resistant material is one which is designed to resist burning and withstand heat.
An example of a fire-resistant material is one which is used in bunker gear worn by firefighters to protect
them from the flames of a burning building.

A fire retardant is a substance that is used to slow down or stop the spread of fire or reduce its intensity. This
is commonly accomplished by chemical reactions that reduce the flammability of fuels or delay
their combustion.

Fire retardants may also cool the fuel through physical action or endothermic chemical reactions. Fire retardants are available as powder, to be
mixed with water, as fire-fighting foams and fire-retardant gels. Fire retardants are also available as coatings or sprays to be applied to an object.
Fire retardants are commonly used in fire fighting, where they may be applied aerially or from the ground.

THINK OF EXAMPLES!

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

Fire resistant materials

Iron
Mineral wool
Gypsum boards
Asbestos cement
Perlite boards
Corriboard
Calcium silicate
Sodium silicate

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

Fire resistant materials

Potassium silicate
Treated lumber plywood
Treated vegetable fiber
(e.g., cotton, jute, kenaf, hemp, flax,
etc..)
Fire-retardant treated wood
Brick
Concrete
Cement render
Intumescent paint
Glass
Magnesium oxide (MgO)

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

Fire resistant materials

Potassium silicate
Treated lumber plywood
Treated vegetable fiber
(e.g., cotton, jute, kenaf, hemp, flax,
etc..)
Fire-retardant treated wood
Brick
Concrete
Cement render
Intumescent paint
Glass
Magnesium oxide (MgO)

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

Fire rated textiles

PBI
Aramid - para and meta
Flame retardant cotton
Coated nylon
Carbon foam (CFOAM)
Melamine
Modacrylic

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 FIRE SAFETY MATERIALS

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Fire safety systems in buildings

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NBC Guidelines - Building Typologies
categorized for Fire and life safety

Group A
Group D Assembly Group G Industrial
Residential

Group B
Group E Business Group H Storage
Educational

Group C
Group F Mercantile Group J Hazardous
Institutional

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 Fire safety codes

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 Fire safety codes
NBC Part 4 – Fire and Life safety specifies the demarcation of fire zones, restrictions on construction of buildings
in each fire zone, classification of buildings based on occupancy, types of building construction according to the
fire resistance of the structural and non-structural components and other restrictions.
According to the Part 4 of the NBC, “Every building shall be constructed, equipped, maintained and operated as to
avoid undue danger to the life and safety of the occupants from fire, smoke, fumes or panic during the time
necessary for escape.”
An emergency plan for orderly and systematic evacuation shall be prepared, and fire drills should be conducted at
least once in six months. The code says that no alterations should be made in a building to reduce the number,
width or protection of exits.
Automatic fire detection, and alarm facilities are a must as per the guidelines in fire and life safety part of the
NBC. Based on the occupancy use and height, all the buildings have to be protected by fire extinguishers, wet
risers, automatic sprinkler installations, water sprays, etc.
The NBC regulations can be immediately adopted or enacted for use by various departments, municipal
administrations, public, and private bodies. It lays down a set of minimum provisions designed to protect the
safety of the public with regard to structural sufficiency, fire hazards and health aspects of buildings.

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 Fire safety codes
Emergency power supplying distribution system for critical requirement for functioning of fire and life
safety system and equipment shall be planned for efficient and reliable power and control supply to
the following systems and equipment where provided:
a) Fire pumps.
b) Pressurization and smoke venting; including its ancillary systems such as dampers and actuators.
c) Fireman’s lifts (including all lifts).
d) Exit signage lighting.
e) Emergency lighting.
f) Fire alarm system.
g) Public address (PA) system (relating to emergency voice evacuation and annunciation).
h) Magnetic door hold open devices.

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 Fire safety codes
Air conditioning, ventilation and smoke control Air conditioning and ventilating systems shall be so
Installed and maintained as to minimise the danger of
3.4.8.1 air conditioning and mechanical ventilation Spread of fire, smoke or fumes from one floor to other
Requirements of different rooms or areas in any Or from outside to any occupied building or structure.
Many high-rise buildings integrate smoke management
Occupancy shall be as given in part 8, building Systems into their conventional HVAC systems. In such
Installation, it requires special design considerations,
Services, section 1 lighting and natural ventilation’ Including safe and adequate controls, acceptable and
And section 3 air conditioning, heating and Documented testing and regular maintenance systems.
Wherever batteries are provided, the same shall be
Mechanical ventilation of the code. Segregated by 120 min fire rated construction.
Ventilation to the room shall be provided as per
Manufacturers instructions.

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 Fire safety codes
Fire or fire/smoke dampers
3.4.8.4.1 These dampers shall be evaluated to be located in supply air ducts, fresh air and return
air ducts/passages at the following points:
a) At the fire separation wall,
b) Where ducts/passages enter the verticalshaft,
c) Where the ducts pass through floors, and
d) At the inlet of supply air duct and the return
air duct of each compartment on every floor.

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 Fire safety codes
Glass facade shall be in accordance with the
following:
a) For fully sprinklered buildings having fire separation of 9 m or more, tempered glass in
a non-combustible assembly, with ability to hold the glass in place, shall be provided. It
shall be ensured that sprinklers are located within 600 mm of the glass facade providing
full coverage to the glass.

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 Fire safety codes
Surface Interior Finishes
3.4.11.1 The use of combustible surface finishes walls (including facade of the building) and ceilings
affects the safety of the occupants of a building. Such finishes tend to spread the fire and even though the
structural elements may be adequately fire resistant,serious danger to life may result.
It is, therefore essential to have adequate precautions to minimize spread of flame on wall, facade of building and ce
surfaces. The finishing materials used for various
surfaces and decor shall be such that it shall not generate
toxic smoke/fumes.

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 Fire safety codes
General Exit Requirements 4.2.2 Unless otherwise specified, lifts, escalators,
4.2.1 An exit may be a fire exit doorway; an internal moving walks and revolving doors shall not be
staircase, exit passageway, external doorway, external considered as exits and shall not constitute any part of
the required exit.
staircase and these having access to the street or to a 4.2.3 Every exit, exit passageway and exit discharge
Veranda or to a refuge area or to the terrace or roof of shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions
or impediments to full use in the case of fire or other
a building. An exit may also include a horizontal exit
emergency.
leading to an adjoining building/fire compartment 4.2.4 Every building having human occupancy shall
having its further access to unlocked/public exit at the be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe egress
of occupants, in case of fire or other emergency
same level.

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 Fire safety codes
In every building or structure, exits shall comply with the minimum requirements of this Part, except those not accessible for general public use.

4.2.6 No building shall be so altered as to reduce then every building or structure, exits shall comply with the minimum requirements of this Part, except those not
accessible for general public use.

4.2.6 No building shall be so altered as to reduce the number, width or protection of exits to less than that required.

4.2.8 Exits shall be so arranged that they may be reached without passing through another occupied unit/passage in others control, if they pose challenge or
restriction in means of egress.

4.2.9 Doors in exits shall open in the direction of exit.

In case of assembly buildings (Group D) and institutional buildings (Group C-1), exit door shall not open immediately upon a flight of stair and all such

entries to the stair shall be through a landing, so that such doors do not impede movement of people descending from a higher floor when fully opened (see

Fig. 4A). While for other occupancies, such doors shall not reduce the pathway in the landing by more than half the width of such staircase (see Fig. 4B). Overhead
or sliding doors shall not be installed.

4.2.10 At least half of the required exit stairs from upper floors (rounded to the next higher number) shall discharge directly to the exterior or through exit
passageways.

4.2.11 Unless otherwise specified, all the exits and exit Passage waysto exit discharge shall have a clear ceiling height of at least 2.4 m. However, the height of exit

door shall be at least 2.0 m (see Fig. 5).

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 Fire safety codes
Where changes in elevation of more than 300 mm are encountered in the exits, ramps or sloped
surfaces shall be used with handrails and floor finish materials that contrast with the adjacent
finish materials.
4.2.13 The capacity of the means of egress required from any storey of the building shall not be
reduced along the path of egress travel until arrival to the exit
discharge.
4.2.14 The lifts, escalators, moving walks, turnstiles and revolving doors shall not be considered
in determining the required capacity of means of egress for the individual floor(s) or the
building.
4.2.15 Turnstiles or similar devices that restrict travel to one direction or that are used to restrict
unauthorized entry shall not be so placed as to obstruct any required means of egress.
Alternative door openings of required
exit width shall be available within 3 m ofsuch devices,
if installed.
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 Fire Preventive strategies
1. In case of a fire, call 101 immediately. Never assume
someone has already done it!
2. When you notice a fire, activate your building’s fire alarm
and shout FIRE at the top of your voice to alert others. Do
not yell anything else – it could lead others to take longer to
realise the seriousness of the situation.
3. Never get into a lift when there is a fire. Use the stairs.
4. When caught in smoke, cover your mouth and nose with a
wet cloth!
5. If you’re caught in a room with smoke and can’t find a way
out, close the door and seal all cracks with wet towels or
sheets. This will prevent smoke from coming in.
6. If your building is on fire, unless you are trapped, get out,
stay out and call the fire service on 101 immediately.
7. Invest in a smoke alarm for your home or office. Prevention
is always better and smarter.

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Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria
1.Crowd movement in buildings is made up of three basic components which can be
represented as follows;
Flow = Speed * Density * Width
where: Speed = speed of crowd travel
Density = population per unit area
Width = width of exit facility under study
Population = Flow * Flow time

2.Population is the number of persons a movement facility can serve in a defined

time, flow capacity is the number of persons passing a point in a unit of time, and
flow time is the total time required for a crowd to move past a point in the egress
system.

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Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria
1. Structure
The structural framework can be in R.C.C or steel. In case of steel structure, it will be necessary to encase the structural
components by tiles, concrete or bricks.
The fire resistance of load bearing walls, columns and beams should not be less than two hours.
2. Internal Walls & Partitions
Internal walls could be in brick, hollow concrete blocks, tiles or timber.
The materials of the wall should, however, be treated in such a manner that they should have fire resistance of not less than
one hour.
3. Staircase
The enclosing walls of the main staircase should have a fire resistance of not less than one hour.
The staircase enclosure should be of self contained type with one side preferably being adjacent to an external wall.
Staircase should not be arranged around the lift shaft.
Access to the staircase should be through doors having fire resistance of at least half-an-hour. The doors should be of swing
type opening in the direction of the escape.
The door of the staircase enclosure at ground floor should open out into an open space.
Adequate number of staircases should be provided to meet the travel distance requirements of the type of building.

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Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria
4. Fire Escape or External Stairs
In addition to the main staircase it is necessary to make suitable provision of fire escape in the form of external stairs.
All fire escapes should be directly connected to ground floor and their entrance should be away from the internal staircase
of the building.
5. Basements
The basement should be properly ventilated.
The main staircase of the building should preferably terminate at ground floor and as far as possible the access to
basement should be through a separate staircase.
The staircase of basement should be of enclosed type and should have fire resistance of not less than two hours.
In case the basement is to be used for car parking, installation of electric sub-station, storage of combustible material, etc
it is necessary to install sprinkler system for extinguishing fire.
6. Water Storage Tank
There should be a provision of an underground water storage tank of 100,000 to 200,000 liters capacity exclusively meant
for firefighting purposes.
The tank should have arrangement of replenishment of the water either by municipal means or by tube well.
7. Fire Detection and Extinguishing System
All multi storied buildings should have adequate provision for fire detection and fire extinguishing system.

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 Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria

Small Premises
If the premises is small and has a simple layout, the normal entrances and exits may be sufficient. There should be no
possibility of anyone being cut off by smoke or flames before they can make their escape.
Large or Multi-Storey Premises
Where the building increases in size and complexity, escape routes need to become more sophisticated.
The general rule is that people should be able to turn their back on a fire, wherever it may start in a building, and move
away from the fire to a safe place. Usually this means outside the building and a safe distance from it in case the fire
grows (i.e. not into an enclosed yard, courtyard, etc.). Where there are two or more escape routes, care should be taken
to ensure that smoke and flames cannot affect more than one escape route at the same time.

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 Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria

In All Premises – Campus level egress strategies

Escape routes should be kept clear of all obstructions. Generally, escape routes should be at least one metre wide. The escape route should
lead to a place of safety, normally outside and away from the building. Doors on escape routes must always be available for use without the
use of a key.

Depending on the risk, push pads or panic bar devices should be used. Security should never take precedence over safety. Many devices
are now available that satisfy both safety and security requirements. Where there are roller shutters or security grills fitted on an escape
route, these must be open when persons are on the premises

When considering the escape routes from a place of work, an employer must be sure that that he has evaluated the entire journey to a
place of safety. All routes must be kept clear, including areas outside the premises that are included in the escape route.

Employees must be made aware of all possible escape routes and emergency drills should be used regularly to practice using them as part
of emergency routines.

All premises should have an escape plan that clearly identifies the action that employees and others should take in the event of a fire. This
may include duties for employees to check areas are clear, close doors and assist others.

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 Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria

Occupant Fire-fighting
Fire-fighting equipment must be in place for employees to use, without exposing themselves to danger, to extinguish a
fire in its early stages. The equipment must be suitable to the risks and appropriate staff will need training and
instruction in its proper use. In small premises, having one or two portable extinguishers may be all that is required.
Signboards or a safety colour (or both) shall be used to mark permanently the location and identification of fire-fighting
equipment.
In larger or more complex premises, a greater number of portable extinguishers, strategically sited throughout the
premises, are likely to be the minimum required. Other means of fighting fire may need to be considered.
Maintenance and Testing
Fire safety measures and equipment in the workplace must be kept in effective working order. This includes all fixtures
and fittings such as fire doors, staircases, corridors, fire detection and alarm systems, fire-fighting equipment, notices
and emergency lighting. Regular checks, periodic servicing and maintenance must be carried out, whatever the size of
the workplace. Any defects should be put right as quickly as possible.

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Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria

Escape Plan Basics

•Include two ways out of every room in all escape plans
•Designate a location to meet outside the building
•Verify that smoke alarms are installed to provide early detection and warning so you’ll have enough time
to execute your escape plan
•Make sure doors located in your path of travel can be opened from the inside under all lighting
conditions
•Verify that doors located in your path of travel do not require a key to open from the inside

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Fire Egress strategies and precautions – Design criteria

If your secondary escape route is a window

•Make sure the window can be opened from the inside
•Assure the window is large enough for you to pass through the opening
•Verify the windowsill is low enough to allow you to crawl through the opening
•Make sure any security bars can be opened from the inside without the use of a key, and that you can open
them under all lighting conditions
•Determine how you will escape if the window is above the first floor: will you purchase a rope ladder or
other emergency escape device, or will you wait for the fire department to arrive and evacuate you?
•Make sure sloping terrain, the location of the window, or other factors will not prevent the window from
being used as a secondary escape route

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Most common elements that are included in a fire
escape plan are:
• The exact exit route from the building to a safe location is shown in bold and clear fonts. You can use

designated exit symbols to mark the exit routes from a building or a complex.

• Emergency contact details of all the personnel in charge. Suppose you are creating a fire escape plan for an

elevator, including the contact details of the security guard of the building. If you are creating a home escape

plan, include the contact details of the nearest fire brigade team.

• Complete the address of the shelter-in-place, accompanied by the contact details and route to reach the

location.

• Remember to include the right stairway location on each floor while you start drawing a fire escape plan for a

complex.

• the right stairway location.

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Tips for Making Fire Escape Plans
Once you decide to create your fire escape plan, there are a couple of generic tips that you
should follow:
• A fire escape plan should be as simple as possible.
• You should include all the relevant symbols and information in the fire escape plan.
• The fire escape plan should be updated if there are any changes in the building's architecture.
• The fire escape floor plan should have the important details of the local or concerned authorities.
• Always inspect all the possible exits and escape routes -- then only decide which exit route is the
best for your building.
• When you cross-check your fire escape plan, ensure the escape routes are clear and that
everyone in the family can easily open doors and windows.

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How Should You Test a Fire Escape Plan?
A fire escape plan or any other plan is placed in any building for the safety and assurance of the residents. After
creating a fire escape floor plan, the first thing that you should do is to ensure that whatever design you have
created must follow the guidelines provided by the local authorities. In addition to this, you should follow a
couple of steps that ensure that your home escape plan actually works:
Practice Drills: It is now mandatory to have quarterly emergency drills in most corporate companies. It ensures
that the employees follow the right protocol, adhere to the fire escape plan and that all the residents are reaching
together at the shelter-in-place.
Test Smoke Alarms: Smoke alarms or smoke sensors are all electric devices that run on batteries. You should
experience them first-hand the moment you install them in your building. Check the alarms once a month to see
if they are actually working - replace the batteries if you think they are not responding correctly. Another
important aspect is that the residents should know how the smoke alarm sounds. In case of any emergency, they
should differentiate between normal sound and alarm sound.
Guide Your Children: Children should be well aware of the protocols, the fire escape plan, and the exit routes if
they find themselves in any fire-related emergency. Sit down with your children, read out the escape plan, and
then ask them to go on emergency drills with you. This will ensure that your children will be well prepared if there
is any fire emergency.

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