SERVICES : FIRE FIGHTING

FIRE ESCAPE ROUTES

NITESH SASIDHARAN PRAJEET P.

Planning escape routes

When escape routes are being planned the type of person likely to be involved must be considered. Occupants of flats will be familiar with the layout of the premises whereas customers in a shop may be completely unfamiliar with their surroundings. In schools the fundamental principle is the provision of an alternative means of escape and in hospital the main concern is with the adequacy of the means escape from all parts of the building. The provision of a safe escape route should however, allow at the same time an easy access for the fire brigade using the same routes, and since these routes are protected the risk of fire spread is minimised.

Basic principles embodied in Act 1971 with regards to means of escape in case of fire

(1). Limitation of travel distances. (2). Escape route considered in 3 stages: -Travel distance within rooms; -Travel distances from rooms to a stairway or final exit. -Travel within stairways and to final exit. (3). Provision of a protected route which is defined as a route for persons escaping from fire which is separated from the remainder of the building by fireresisting doors (escape door to lavatories), fire resistant walls, partitions and floors.

Means of escape from fire in a residential building:

i. ii. i. ii. iii. iv.

v.
vi.

There must be at least one escape route from the main entrance door of every flat the door of every communal room. An escape route must not be by way of a lift; or a passenger conveyor; or a turnstile; or a shutter; or a revolving door, an automatic sliding door or an automatic door, other than one of suitable design and construction; or a sliding door, other than one to which the public does not have access.

ESCAPE STAIRS FOR A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING.

An escape stair must be within a protected zone which encloses no other room, except an external escape stair which has a total rise of not more than 6 m and leads directly to a place of safety. A protected zone enclosing an escape stair must be provided with an unobstructed clear wheelchair space measuring not less than 700 mm x 1200 mm on every escape stair landing to which there is access from a storey,

TRAVEL DISTANCE

Travel distance from a flat or a communal room, or a plant room is the distance, measured along the shortest route of escape from the main entrance door to the nearest protected door or place of safety, and must comply with the table to this standard.

basic means of escape requirements for flats in a residential building

Every flat should have a protected entrance hall of half hour fire resistance. Every living room should have an exit into the protected entrance hall. Bedrooms should be nearer to the entrance door than the living rooms or kitchen. Maximum travel distance from any bedroom exit to entrance door to be 7.500m; if exceeded an alternative route is to be provided

ESCAPE ROUTE FOR HORIZONTAL SPREAD BUILDINGS:

An escape route must give access to a place of safety or to another compartment.a. directly; or b. by way of a protected zone or unprotected zone; or c. by way of an unprotected zone to a protected zone; or d. by way of an access deck, or e. by way of an exit to an external escape stair.

Travel distance for horizontal spread buildings.

The maximum travel distances for a building or part of a building related to available directions of travel, measured in accordance, are given in the table to this standard

Doors across escape routes

ESCAPE ROUTES:

WIDTH OF ESCAPE ROUTES The aggregate unobstructed width in mm of all escape routes from a room, or storey must be at least 5.3 x the occupancy capacity of the room or storey, Except in an enclosed shopping centre with a mall on not more than 2 storeys. HEIGHT OF ESCAPE ROUTES An escape route or circulation area must have a clear headroom of at least 2 m, except - in a doorway it may be reduced to not less than 1.9 m.

ESCAPE ROUTE FOR VERTICAL SPREAD BUILDINGS

Every escape stair must give access directly to a. a place of safety; or b. an escape route across a flat roof (see E5.9g); or c. an access deck; or d. a hospital street; or e. in the case of an enclosed shopping centre provided with appropriate smoke and heat exhaust ventilation system, the mall, provided alternative escape not via the mall is also provided from each shop or other unit having a frontage to the mall.

ESCAPE ROUTES
WIDTH OF ESCAPE STAIRS The width of an escape stair must be at least the width required for any escape route giving access to it, except a. where the number of people using the escape route is not more than 225, it may be reduced to not less than 1100 mm; and b. where the number of people using the escape route is not more than 100, it may be reduced to not less than 1000 mm.

Special requirements for means of escape for enclosed shopping centres with malls.

DIRECTION OF TRAVEL An enclosed shopping centre with a mall must be designed so that from every part of the mall and from every mall-level shop there must be at least 2 directions of travel leading to a place of safety without passing through any space in single occupation, except - a kiosk not more than 25 m2 and in which either the public are not admitted, or the depth from the mall is not greater than 5 m.

ESCAPE ROUTE WIDTH

The aggregate unobstructed width in mm of all escape routes from the mall in an enclosed shopping centre with a mall, must be at least 2.65 x the occupancy capacity of the entire shopping centre, (i.e. the mall and all shops), The aggregate unobstructed exit width in mm from each shop in an enclosed shopping centre with a mall, to the mall must be at least 5.3 x the occupancy capacity of the shop. The aggregate unobstructed exit width in mm from each shop in an enclosed shopping centre with a mall, to a route which does not enter the mall must be at least 5.3 x the occupancy capacity of the shop. The unobstructed width of each individual exit from the mall in an enclosed shopping centre with a mall must be at least 1.8 m wide.

Special requirements for means of escape for hospitals

ESCAPE STAIRS In areas of hospitals providing patient sleeping accommodation, an escape stair must be not less than1300 mm and designed to facilitate mattress evacuation. In a hospital where an escape stair in a protected zone serves an upper storey containing a department to which patients have access, access to the protected zone must be by way of a protected lobby. Every escape stair opening into the hospital street must be located so that the travel distance from an escape stair exit to a door leading directly to a place of safety is not more than 64 m.

STOREYS AT A HEIGHT OF MORE THAN 7.5 m In a hospital every storey at a height of more than 7.5 m containing departments to which patients have access, must either: a. comprise at least 4 compartments, each of which must have an area of at least 500 m2; or b. have a hospital street (see E8.9) and at least 3 other compartments. STOREYS AT A HEIGHT OF MORE THAN 18 m In a hospital every storey at a height of more than 18 m containing departments to which patients have access, must either a. comprise at least 4 compartments, each of which must have an area of at least 500 m2; or b. have a hospital street (see E8.9) and at least 3 other compartments each of which must have an area of at least 500 m2.

Fire escapes or external stairs

All fire escapes above ground level shall be directly connected to the ground and shall not lead to the basement floor; All entrances to a fire escape shall be separate and remote from the internal staircase; The route to fire escape shall be free of obstruction at all times except a door way leading to the fire escape which shall have the required fire resistance; Fire escapes shall be constructed of non-combustible materials. Stairs of fire escapes shall have straight flights not less than 75 cm. wide, 20 cm. tread and with risers not more than 19 cm. The number of risers shall be limited to 16 per flight. Handrails shall be of a height of not less than 100 cm. Spiral stairs (fire escape) - A spiral fire escape shall be not less than 150 cm In diameter and shall be designed to give adequate headroom.

Exit Requirements

Lifts and escalators shall not be considered as exits Fire- check doors for fire resistance of 1 hr. shall be provided at appropriate place along the escape routes to prevent spread of fire and smoke, and particularly at the entrance to lifts and stairs where a funnel or flue effect may be created, inducing an upward spread of fire.

Exits shall be so arranged that they may be reached without passing through another occupied unit. No exit door shall be less than 100 cm in width except assembly buildings where door width shall not be less than 200cms. Doorways shall be not less than 200 cm in height Exit door shall open outwards, that is, away from the room, but shall not obstruct the travel along the travel along any exit. No door when open opened, shall reduce the required width of stairway or landing or landing to less than 90cm; over head or sliding door shall not be installed Mirrors shall not be placed in exit ways or exit doors to avoid confusion regarding the direction of exit.

ARRANGEMENT OF EXITS
SR NO GROUP OF OCCUPANCY MAXIMUM TRA VEL DISTANCE

(1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

RESIDENTIAL Educational Institutional Assembly Business Mercantile Industrial Storage Hazardous

22.5 22.5 22.5 30 30 30 45 30 22.5

OCCUPANTS PER UNIT EXIT WIDTH SHALL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH TABLE

Occupants per unit exit width
Rs no Group of occupancy Number of stairways (1) 1) (2) Residential (3) 25 occupants ramps (4) 50 doors (5) 75

2)
3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

Educational
Institutional Assembly Business Mercantile Industrial Storage Hazardous

25
25 40 50 50 50 50 25

50
50 50 60 60 60 60 30

75
75 60 75 75 75 75 40

Means of Escape

The escape route is from the seat, along the clearway and gangway, and through exit doors immediately, or through an enclosed corridor, to the place of safety.

The means of Escape in case of fire are to be considered are

Limitation of time Escape Route considered in 3 stages

travel distance within the rooms; travel distance from room to stairway or final exit; travel within stairway and to final exits

Provision of a protected route which is defined as a route for persons escaping from fire which is separated from the remainder of the building by fireresisting doors, fire resisting walls, partitions and floors

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