Fire prevention

Buildings must be properly protected against fire

At present, the regulations setting out all the requirements that buildings must meet to be properly protected against fire are those of the Technical Building Code (CTE), specifically in the Basic Document SI “Safety in the event of Fire”.

Buildings must have fire protection equipment and installations. Materials must be fire-resistant. Extinguishers, fire hose reels, etc. must be properly signposted. Signs must be photoluminescent.

The aim of this basic “Safety in the event of fire” standard is to reduce to acceptable limits the risk of users of a building suffering harm from an accidental fire, as a result of the characteristics of its design, construction, use and maintenance. To meet this aim, buildings shall be designed, built, maintained and used in such a way that, in the event of fire, the basic requirements are met.

For this reason, all buildings must have fire protection equipment and installations such as portable extinguishers, fire hose reels, firefighting lifts, external hydrants or automatic extinguishing systems.

Likewise, the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of all installations, materials and equipment must comply with the provisions of the “Regulation on Fire Protection Installations”.

One of the requirements that properties must meet is, for example, that buildings must be divided into fire compartments, each with a maximum permitted area. Any area whose intended use is different from and ancillary to the main use of the building or establishment of which it forms part must constitute a separate fire compartment.

In addition, the materials used in construction must have a specified fire resistance, as must the walls, ceilings and doors bounding fire compartments.

As regards the signposting of all fire protection equipment, point 2 of DB SI4 states that extinguishers, fire hose reels, external hydrants, manual call points and triggering devices for extinguishing systems must be signposted with signs measuring 210 x 210 mm where the viewing distance does not exceed 10 m, with signs measuring 420×420 mm where the viewing distance is between 10 and 20 m, and with signs measuring 594×594 mm where the distance is 20 to 30 metres. It is also essential that all signs are photoluminescent, since this is the only way to ensure they are visible when there is not enough natural light or when the general lighting supply fails.