The Function and Purpose of the UK Building Regulations - Assignment Example

Part A- Explain the function/ purpose of the UK Building Regulations The main purpose of UK building regulation is to secure reasonable standards of health and safety for persons in or about buildings or any other who may be affected by buildings or matters connected with buildings. It also includes energy conservation, welfare and convenience of building users (Begley 2004). Providing the building habitants with best service is another function of UK building regulations. The purpose and main elements of Fire Strategies Fire strategies are essential for every building in order to make to it safe and secure for the inhabitants. Main elements of fire strategies are evacuation, structure, internal and external fire spreads, fire fighting- internally and site wide, smoke management, automatic extinguishing system, fire detection alarms. The purpose and main elements of Fire Safety Management Plans The fire safety management plan includes elements which are based on assessment of building design like nature of building structure, type of material stored in building, use of building, means of escape, fire detection and fire alarm system, fire fighting equipments and emergency lighting (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). The five functional requirements for life safety addressed in Part B of the Building Regulations (as amended). The amended Part B of the Building regulation addresses five elements of life safety which includes escape in case of fire, access and facility for fire fighting, fire detection and warning system, control of flammable material, fire resistance of structural elements and so on (Building regs 2011). Meaning of prescriptive and performance based design and difference between them Prescriptive design can be defined as design of building which is based on prescribed specific design criteria. This criterion is numeric which can be easily measured like number of feet to an exit or number of exits. Performance based design is the design which is based on fire safety goals of the code. The basic difference between these designs is that prescriptive design is very traditional whereas performance based design is modern and flexible. The recommended travel distance limitations (single direction & more than one direction) for a normal hazard storage facility: For normal hazard storage facility, it is recommended that building should be constructed with non-combustible material. It should have normal and emergency ventilation system and inlets should be low in ground and exhausts at the highest point. For a normal hazard storage facility, the recommended travel distance limitation should be 10 meters for one direction and 20 meters for more than one direction (Begley 2004). The recommended travel distance limitations (single direction & more than one direction) for a place of special fire hazard: For a place of special fire hazard, the re commended travel distance limitation should be 20 meters for one direction and 35 meters for more than one direction. Why do elements of structure require a fire resistance? How is fire resistance determined? Elements of structure require a fire resistance to ensure safety against the fire. Fire resistance is determined on the basis of ability of a building that how long it can withstand with the fire. It is further based on particular standards of BS476 of parts 20-24 (Building regs 2011). What is meant by the following terms? (a) Life safety: Life safety is related with securing the life of people inside and outside the building against any hazard occurring due to fire. (b) Property protection: It can be defined as design and construction of the building should be in manner so that fire appliances can easily be accessed and property can be protected at the time of fire. (c) Fire resistance: It is ability of a building that for what time duration it can withstand the effects of the fire. (d) Cavity barrier: Cavity barriers are the hidden space, suspended ceilings and hollow walls which are built for the purpose of providing the route in case of fire so that spread of fire and smoke can be controlled within the cavities (Begley 2004). 8) What information is required when designing a means of escape from Fire in a premises or building? Information about the size of building, area of flats, nature of storage material and number of occupants are required for designing the means of escape. 9) What is the function of smoke control? Give examples of different types of smoke control system. Briefly explain how a smoke control system could be used to allow extended travel distances over those recommended in Approved Document B. Smoke control is developed to control the movement and spread of fire. Types of smoke control system includes pressurised stairwells, atrium smoke control system, pressurised elevators, zoned smoke control system. 10) Discuss the objectives of fire safety and the five tactics available to the fire safety designers seeking to fulfil the fire safety objectives? Define fire engineering and discuss its importance. Objectives of the fire safety is to ensure the safety of dwellers of building, familiarisation of the fire brigade with the premises, advice of fire safety matters, to ensure the availability of access and appropriate facilities of the fire brigade. The tactics are assessment of risk, proper design of building, use of preventive and protective measures, development of fire control, post fire investigation. Fire engineering is based on the understanding of people’s behaviour in case of fire so that people, property and environment can be protected through the application of engineering and scientific principles (Building regs 2011). 11) There are five main factors which will affect the development of fire growth within a compartment. They can be divided into two categories: those that are concerned with the compartment itself and those which are concerned with the fuel. Identify these factors. These factors include restricted area through compartmentation, compartment walls and floors of fire resisting construction, separation of place of place of special fire risk, assisting fire brigade and evacuation (Begley 2004). 12) What is the recommended minimum number of escape routes from a storey with 650 people? It should be 20. 13) What is the minimum exit width required to accommodate 220 people? It should be 1100 mm. 14) A building with five above ground floors is served by two escape stairs without lobby protection. What is the minimum width of the escape stairs if each floor accommodates 150 persons? It should not be less than 900 meters. 15) What classifications (National and European) should the linings in circulation spaces other than within dwellings have? National class is 1 and European class is C-s3 and d2. 16) Give four examples of where it is recommended to provide a compartment wall or floor. In complex building designs like high bay warehouse, atrium building compartment wall or floor is recommended. 17) What is the maximum recommended compartment size for each of the following cases? (a) A single storey shop with sprinkler protection- It should be 2000 m2. (b) A single storey industrial unit- No limit 18) Specify the classification for the external surfaces/walls of any building with a height of less than 18m above ground floor level which is located less than 1m from the relevant boundary. It can be classified as compartmentation in and unsprinkled shop, compartmentation in tall buildings, shallow basement and deep basement (Begley 2004). 19) Where are notional boundaries assumed to exist? Notional boundaries are assumed to be exist where building is in residential or assembly and recreation purpose group and more than one building is constructed on the same site but is to be operated by different organisations (Building regs 2011). 20) What is the maximum size of an opening (unprotected area) that can be discounted? It can be 18oo meter. 21) What is the maximum total percentage of unprotected area permitted on the elevation of a residential building that is 5m from the relevant boundary? Maximum 25%of unprotected area permitted on the elevation of a residential building that is 5m from the relevant boundary (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). 22) What are the fire service vehicle access requirements in the following cases? (a) A five storey building without fire mains where each storey is 200m2 and the top storey is 15m above fire service vehicle access level. There should be vehicle access to within 45m of all points within a dwelling. (b) A five storey building provided with dry fire mains where each storey is 200m2 and the top storey is 15m above fire service vehicle access level. There should be vehicle access to within 55m of all points within a dwelling. 23) In each of the following cases state whether a fire fighting shaft is recommended and if so whether or not a fire fighting lift is also required: (a) An office building with a top occupied floor of 200m2 located at 19m above fire service vehicle access level. Fire fighting shaft is not recommended in this case and fire fighting lift will also be required. (b) A four storey assembly building with a top storey of 1200m2 located 10m above fire service vehicle access level. Fire fighting shaft is recommended in this case but fire fighting lift will be required (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). 24) What components does a typical fire fighting shaft comprise? Components of fire fighting shaft include fire fighting lobbies, fire fighting lifts and fire fighting stairs. 25) What are the minimum recommended fire resistance periods in terms of load bearing capacity, integrity and insulation, for the following elements of structure etc: (a) A protected stairway which does not form part of a compartment wall or a protected shaft- It is 60 minutes. (b) Cavity barrier- It is 120 minutes. 26) What is the definition of an inner room? Inner room is the room through which escape is possible only by passing through another room (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). 27) What are the minimum recommended fire resistance periods for the following structures? (a) A 30m high sprinkler protected residential building- Its fire resistance should be 60 minutes. (b) A single storey shop with sprinkler protection- Its fire resistance should be 30 minutes. 28) What floor space factors would be appropriate in the following areas? (a) An office- 6m2 per person (b) A kitchen- 7 m2 per person 29) What purpose groups would be appropriate for the following premises? (a) An art gallery- Purpose group 5 (b) A restaurant- Purpose group 2 (b) (c) A car park- Purpose group 7 (b) 30) According to Table C1, what floor space factors would be appropriate in the following areas? (a) An office- 6m2 per person (b) A kitchen- 7m2 per person Part B- Fire safety is a relevant part of the building regulation and it is covered under part B. There are five parts in part B which is as follows: B1: Means of Escape B2: Internal fire spread (linings) B3: Internal fire spread (structure) B4: External fire spread B5: Access and facilities for the fire services Approved document B is a detailed guidance report which supports the brief functional requirements of every parts. B1: Means of Escape: In general terms escape means to get away from a situation. In the same way the motive of this part is to check that every building have sufficient number of escape routes which let the people safely get out of the building at the time of fire and the routes should be fire protected (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). B2: Internal fire spread (linings): The material used for laying down the linings of a building also helps the fire to spread across the building. So as per this part the materials used should meet the performance requirements as per the Approved document. B3: Internal fire spread (structure) The motive of this part is to ensure that the fire should not spread across the rooms and they should be locked in the room due to the structure of the room, so that the structural integrity is maintained. The doors used should meet the fire resistance performance. B4: External fire spread: The major concern of this part is to check that fire should not pass on to another building located nearby. There are certain limitations on the use of combustible materials on external surface as per diagram 36 in the Approved document. B5: Access and facilities for the fire services This part helps us to realize the importance of the requisite access to facilities which are helpful in order to fight fire (Association of Fire Chiefs International 2011). References Building regs. 2011. Building Regulation part B 'Fire'. [Online]. Available at: http://www.building-regs.org.uk/part_b.html [Accessed on: 18 Jan 2011]. Begley, J. 2004. Performance based fire safety design. [Online]. Available at: http://www.facilitiesnet.com/firesafety/article/PerformanceBased-Fire-Safety-Design--2017 [Accessed on: 18 Jan 2011]. Association of Fire Chiefs International. 2011. Fire Inspector: Principles and Practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Read More