Fire guidelines by nbc part 1

Fire guidelines by nbc

1. Fire guidelines by NBC Maneesh kumar Reddy Ps no 20092039 Hci metros

2. Basic Terminology- 1.Automatic fire detection and alarm system- Fire alarm system comprising components for Automatically detecting a fire, initiating an alarm of fire and initiating other actions as appropriate . 2.Automatic sprinkler system- A system of water pipes fitted with sprinkler heads at suitable intervals and heights and designed to actuate automatically , control and extinguish a fire by the discharge of water .

3. Basic Terminology- 3 . Down comer — An arrangement of fire fighting within the building by means of down-comer pipe connected to terrace tank through terrace pump , gate valve and non-return valve and having mains not less than 100 mm internal diameter with landing valves on each floor/landing. It is also fitted with inlet connections at ground level for charging with water by pumping from fire service appliances and air release valve at roof level to release trapped air inside.

4. Basic Terminology- 4. Emergency Lighting System — A complete but discrete emergency lighting installation from the standby power source to the emergency lighting lamp(s), 5. Escape Lighting — That part of emergency lighting which is provided to ensure that the escape route is illuminated at all material times . 7.Fire load- It is the measure of the maximum heat that will be released if all the combustibles in a fire area burn. It is expressed in kJ/kg ( one kJ is approx. equal to 1 btu). Or .. Calorific energy, of the whole contents contained in a space, including the facing of the walls , partition, floors and ceilings

5. Basic Terminology- 7. Fire Door — A fire-resistive door approved for openings in fire separation . 8. Fire Exit — Away out leading to an escape route having panic bar hardware provided on the door. 9. Fire Lift — The lift installed to enable fire services personnel to reach different floors with minimum delay, having such features as required in accordance with this Part.

6. Basic Terminology- 11. Stack Pressure: “ Pressure difference caused by a temperature difference creating an air movement within a duct , chimney or enclosure ” Explaination - Smoke moves from an area of higher pressure to one of lower pressure. Pressure differences may be caused by buoyancy from the fire, stack effect, wind and forces from building heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems . In tall buildings, these factors are complicated by the stack effect, which is the vertical natural air movement from the building caused by the differences in temperature and densities between the inside and outside air. This stack effect plays a vital role in smoke movement.

7. Basic Terminology- 11. Dry Riser — An arrangement of fire fighting within the building by means of vertical rising mains not less than 100 mm internal diameter with landing valves on each floor landing which is normally dry but is capable of being charged with water usually by pumping from fire service appliances . 12. Wet Riser- An arrangement for fire fighting within the building by means of vertical rising mains of not less than 100 mm diameter with landing valves on each floor/landing for fire fighting purposes and permanently charged with water from a pressurized supply . “Difference between wet and a dry riser, is that wet risers are permanently charged with water by a fire pump from a permanent water supply (which can either be an underground water tank or an elevated water tank at the terrace), whereas, the dry riser has to be fed with water by fire brigade after their arrival. Landing valves are nothing but internal hydrants fitted with standard instantaneous female couplings and may be of single or double outlet types”

8. Fire lift- A lift within the firefighting shaft with dual power supply and is capable of being commandeered by the Fire Service. Operation of the firefighter switch (usually situated at the ground floor level) activates the lift controls for firefighter use. The lift will only be controlled by the controls within the car and the doors will only open by pressing the door open button within the car 1 lift for Min area-1200 sq.m and shall be made exclusively available for firemen in an Emergency. Floor area not less than 1.4 sq.m per person ,automatically sliding door of min 0.8m width of 8 persons or 545 kg capacity Separate electric supply and along with normal electricity an alternate means of power Arrangement. Operation of lift should be made by a simple toggle or two button switch situated in a glass fronted box adjacent to lift at the entrance level Speed of the fire lift will be in such a way that it reaches top floor within a minute.

9. Internal stair case- Interior stairs should be constructed of non-combustible materials throughout and as a self-contained unit with an external wall constituting at least one of its sides and should be completely enclosed. A staircase should not be arranged round a lift shaft unless the latter is totally enclosed by a material of fire-resistance rating as that for the type of construction itself . Hollow combustible construction should not be permitted . No gas piping should be laid in the stairway. The minimum width of tread without nosing should be 25 cm for internal staircase of residential buildings. This should be 30 cm for assembly, educational, institutional, business and other buildings. The treads should be constructed and maintained in a manner to prevent slipping. The maximum height of riser should be 19 cm for residential buildings and 15 cm for other buildings and the number should be limited to 15 per flight . Hand rails should be provided at a minimum height of 100 cm and not exceeding 120 cm to be measured from the base of the middle of the treads to the top of the hand rails. Further, the gap between the two verticals should not exceed 30 cm. This gap should be reduced to 15 cm where children are likely to use the staircase . The number of people in between floor landings in staircase should not be less than the population on each floor for the purpose of design of staircase.

10. EXTERNAL FIRE ESCAPE STAIRCASE- Any door opening onto the stairway below the top floor and any door in the external wall beneath the stairway should be self closing and should have a minimum half hour standard of fire resistance. If windows are below or less than 1.8 metres horizontally from the stairway, they should be fixed shut and have the above standard of fire resistance . The route from the foot of the stairway to a final place of safety should be unobstructed and free from vegetation .. Fire escapes should not be taken into account in calculating the evacuation time of a building . All fire escapes should be directly connected to the ground. Entrance to the fire escape should be separate and remote from the internal staircase . Care should be taken to ensure that the wall opening or window opens on to or close to a fire escape . The route to the fire escape should be free of obstructions at all times . The fire escape should be constructed of non-combustible materials, and any doorway leading to the fire escape should have the required fire resistance . No staircase, used as a fire escape, should be inclined at an angle greater than 45° to the horizontal . Fire escape stairs should have straight flight not less than 75 cm wide with 20 cm treads and risers not more than 19 cm. The number of risers should be limited to 15 per flight . Hand rails should be of a height not less than 100 cm and not exceeding 120 cm.

11. EXTERNAL FIRE ESCAPE STAIRCASE- SPIRAL STAIR CASES- The use of spiral staircase should be limited to occupant load and to a building not exceeding 9 m in height unless they are connected to platforms, such as balconies and terraces to allow escapees to pause. Spiral fire escape should be not less than 150 cm in diameter and should be designed to give adequate headroom.

12. Fire Escape Plan- A fire escape plan is for use by the public and occupants in case of a fire as well as for the fire fighters. It should clearly show the layout of the floor in the correct building orientation and highlight the escape routes (in relation to viewer’s location), escape corridors and exit staircases using appropriate colours , directional signs and words Other information required on the plan are for fire fighting purposes and these include the following; ( 1) Firemen’s lift (2) Hose reels ( 3) Extinguishers ( 4) Dry and wet risers ( 5) Fire indicator board ( 6) Manual alarm call points T hese plans should be placed at common area locations in such buildings where the public and occupants of the building are most likely to frequent or use.

13. Fire Escape Plan-

14. DOOR WAYS- Every exit doorway should open into an enclosed stairway, or horizontal exit of a corridor, or passageway providing continuous and protected means of egress. No exit doorway should be less than 100 cm in width. Doorways should be not less than 200 cm in height .. Exit doorways should open outwards, that is, away from the room but should not obstruct the travel along any exit. No door, when opened, should reduce the required width of stairway or landing to less than 90 cm; overhead or sliding door should not be installed . Exit door should not open immediately upon a flight of stairs, a landing equal to at least the width of the door should be provided in the stairway at each doorway ; the level of landing should be the same as that of the floor which it serves .. Exit doorways should be openable from the side which they serve without the use of a key.

15. Revolving doors- Revolving doors should not be used as required exits except in residential, business and mercantile occupancies but should not constitute more than half the total required door width. In mercantile buildings where there is possibility of congregation of a large number of people (more than 200), revolving doors should not be permitted . Where the revolving door provided are completely made of glass (plate glass ), a red circle or emblem or logo at 1·5 m level above sill should be painted on the glass. The thickness of the glass should not be not less than 12 mm . Corridors and Passageways- Exit corridors and passageways should be of width not less than the aggregate required width of exit doorways leading from them in the direction of travel to the exterior . Where stairways discharge through corridors and passageways, the height of corridors and passageways should be not less than 2·4 m.