Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 7: Fire Engineering 7 - 5 2.3.5 Fire detection and fire alarms Adequate measures are necessary for detecting any outbreak of fire and for alerting the building occupants and the fire department of the occurrence of fire. In small single-storey buildings where all exits are visible, it is likely that any fire will be quickly detected by the occupants and a shout of ‘Fire!’ may be sufficient. In larger single-storey buildings, a simple sounder such as a battery powered alarm or rotary bell may be adequate. In an industrial building, the ambient noise has to be considered, to ensure that the alarm will be heard by the occupants. 2.3.6 Egress facilities For safe evacuation, appropriate means of escape are needed , such as a proper number and width of emergency exits and proper length, width and height of passages and evacuation accesses. Escape routes in small single-storey buildings generally lead directly to a safe location outside the building; they do not normally require any special treatment. In larger buildings, where travel distances are greater and where the fire is likely to make a single escape routes unusable, an alternative means of escape may be necessary. Consideration of disabled people must also be made