Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 1: Architect’s Guide 1 - 33 5 FIRE SAFETY Requirements for fire safety are defined by national regulations but there are recognised international rules for assessing the fire resistance of steel structures. The minimum level of safety for structural fire design aims to provide an acceptable risk associated with the safety of building occupants, fire fighters and people in the proximity of the building. Levels of safety can be increased to protect the building contents, the building superstructure, heritage, business continuity, corporate image of the occupants or owner, and the environmental impact. Requirements are usually expressed in relation to:  Spread of fire: combustibility of the materials expressed in relation to time until flashover. It is classified as A1 (flashover not possible) down to E (flashover in less than 2 minutes) and F (not tested).  Smoke intensity: materials are classified from class A2 to F depending on the smoke produced on combustion.  Fire resistance : the period of time for which a structural component can perform in a standardized fire test. The three criteria of load-bearing capacity, integrity and insulation (commonly expressed as R, E and I) are considered and the rating is expressed as R30, R60 etc. where the number refers to the period in minutes. In order to achieve the required fire safety level in a single storey building the following items should be taken in account:  regulatory requirements  fire partitioning  fire spreading  escape routes Single storey buildings often have very modest requirements for fire resistance because occupants can escape quickly. The main requirement is often the prevention of fire spread to adjacent properties. To protect contents, especially in large production facilities and warehouses, partitioning may be needed or, where that is not feasible, alternative measures may be taken, such as the installation of a sprinkler system.