Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 6: Fire Engineering 6 - 6 structural elements separating one compartment from another. Dividing a multi-storey building horizontally and vertically into a number of fire compartments will help to limit the spread of fire and smoke inside the building, giving occupants adequate time to escape. Some national regulations permit a relaxation in the limits of compartment size if the building is fitted with a sprinkler system. Structural fire resistance requirements are normally defined in terms of time periods during which a structure or structural member will perform adequately when assessed against the load bearing, insulation and integrity criteria. The requirements for fire resistance for multi-storey buildings are generally specified with regard to the use and height of the building, as shown in Table 2.2. Typically, the fire resistance requirements for multi-storey buildings range from 60 minutes (R60) to 120 minutes (R120), but some national regulations may require up to 4 hours fire resistance. If a building is fitted with a sprinkler system, the fire resistance period required for the structural elements by prescriptive regulations may be reduced. Table 2.2 Typical fire resistance requirements Fire resistance (min) for height of top storey (m) <5  18  30 >30 Residential (non-domestic) 30 60 90 120 Office 30 60 90 120* Shops, commercial, assembly and recreation 30 60 90 120* Closed car parks 30 60 90 120 Open-sided car parks 15 15 15 60 * Sprinklers are required, but the fire resistance of the floor may be 90 minutes only. Roof Height of top storey measured from upper floor surface of top floor to ground level on lowest side of building Height of top storey excludes roof-top plant areas This table is based on UK practice; other European countries may have different requirements. As an illustration of the differences in fire requirements, the German regulations state that open multi-storey car parks in Germany do not require any fire resistance (R0).