FIRE SAFETY NORMS

GROUP 3

HEENA GUPTA SARAH ELIZABETH BIJU

LAGHIMA RUSTAGI SHIVANGI SHARMA
SANYA SETHI SRISHTI BATLA
TERMINOLOGIES
 Assisted Evacuation : Strategy that exists during which a designated person or persons provide
assistance, during an emergency, to another person(s) to leave a building or a specific part of the built
environment and to reach a final place of safety.

 Atrium : A large-volume space created by a floor opening or series of floor openings connecting two or
more stories that is covered at the top of the series of openings and is used for purposes other than an
enclosed stairway; lifts hoist-way; an escalator opening; or as a utility shaft used for plumbing,
electrical, air conditioning, or communications facilities.

 Automatic Fire Detection and Alarm System : A system comprising components and sub-systems
required for automatically detecting smoke, heat or fire initiating an alarm and other actions as
appropriate. This system also includes manually operated electronic fire alarm (MOEFA) system.

 Combustible Material : A material which either burns itself or adds heat to a fire, when tested for no
combustibility in accordance with accepted standard.

 Evacuation Lift : Lift that can be used, during an emergency, for self-evacuation.

 Exit Access : That portion of a means of egress that leads to an exit (for example, doorways, staircase
lobby, ramps, Veranda, corridor or passageway leading to an exit).

Source: NBC 2016

 Exit Access Corridor : A corridor in exit access which may not necessarily have the requirement of
exits being met.

 Exit Discharge : The component of a means of egress between the termination of an exit and a
public way.

 Firefighting Shaft (Fire Tower) : An enclosed shaft having protected area of 120 min fire resistance
rating comprising protected lobby, staircase and fireman lift, connected directly to exit discharge or
through exit passageway with 120 min fire resistant wall at the level of exit discharge to exit
discharge. These shall also serve the purpose of exit requirement/ strategy for the occupants.

 Fire Load : Calorific energy, of the whole contents contained in a space, including the facings of the
walls, partitions, floors and ceilings.

 Fire Load Density : Fire load divided by floor area.

 Fireman's Lift : A lift or a group of lifts invariably associated with all the features and requirements
of a fire-fighting shaft. Such lifts are installed to enable fire services personnel to reach different
floors with minimum delay, and shall meet the additional features as required in accordance with
this Part. This lift also serves the purpose of meeting the requirement of evacuation lift for assisted
evacuation.

Source: NBC 2016

 Fire Resistance : Fire resistance is a property of an element of building construction and is the
measure of its ability to satisfy for a stated period, some or all of the following criteria:
a) Load bearing capacity (Stability) (R) The ability of a load bearing element to withstand fire exposure
without any loss of structural stability.
b) Integrity (E) Resistance to penetration of flame and hot gases.
c) Insulation (I) Resistance to temperature rise on the unexposed face up to a maximum of 180°C at any
single point and average temperature of 140°C.

 Fire Resistance Rating : The time that a material or construction will withstand the standard fire
exposure as determined by fire test done in accordance with the standard methods of fire tests of
materials/ structures as per the accepted standard [

 Fire Separation : The distance in meter, measured from the external wall of the building concerned
to the external wall of any other building on the site, or from other site, or from the opposite side of
street or other public space for the purpose of preventing fire.

 Fire Stop : A fire resistant material, or construction, having a fire resistance rating of not less than
the fire separating elements, installed in concealed spaces or between structural elements of a
building to prevent the spread/propagation of fire and smoke through walls, ceilings and the like as
per the laid down criteria.

Source: NBC 2016

 Fire Suppression Systems :
a) Gas based systems : Systems that use gaseous agents as fire suppression media, such as, all agents
alternate to Halon gases, listed and approved for use by relevant Indian Standards; other
methods/types of gas based systems where their protection is equal to or better than what is
suggested above for the type of application subject to the acceptance of Authorities concerned may
also fall under such systems.
b) Water based systems : Systems that use mainly water as firefighting media such as hydrant system,
sprinkler system, water spray system, foam system and water mist system.

 Fire Wall or Fire Separating Wall : A fire resistance rated wall having fire protected openings,
which restricts the spread of fire and extends continuously from the foundation to the roof (and
through the roof at least 1m above the roof in case of combustible roof), with sufficient structural
stability under fire conditions to allow collapse of construction on one side or either side without
collapse of the wall.

Source: NBC 2016

•Horizontal Exit -A defend in place or a staging arrangement, providing safety from fire and smoke
•originating from the area of incidence, by allowing alternative egress from a compartment to an area of
•refuge or another compartment at or near the same level. A horizontal exit shall be through
•a fire door of 120 min rating in a fire resistant wall.

•Lift Lobby - A space from which people directly enter a lift car(s) and into which people directly enter
•upon exiting a lift car(s).

•Means of Egress - A continuous way of travel from any point in a building or structure to a public
•way, consisting of three separate and distinct parts, that is, exit access, exit and exit discharge.

•Means of Escape - A way out of a building or structure that does not conform to the strict definition
•of ‘means of egress’ but does provide an alternate way out.

•Pressurization - The establishment of a pressure difference across a barrier to protect exit, stairway,
•lobby, exit passageway or room of a building from smoke penetration.

Source: MPD 2021

•Pressurization Level - The pressure difference between the pressurized space and the adjoining area
•served by the pressurized space expressed in Pascal (Pa).

•Refuge Area - An area within the building for a temporary use during egress. It generally serves as a
•staging area which is protected from the effect of fire and smoke.

•Roof Exits - A means of escape on to the roof of a building, where the roof has access to it from the
•ground through alternative stair case or adjacent building.

•Smoke Barrier - A continuous membrane, or a membrane, where such membrane is designed and
•constructed to restrict the movement of smoke.

•Smoke Compartment - A space within a building enclosed by smoke barriers on all sides.

•Travel Distance - The distance to be travelled from any point in a building to a protected exit or
•external escape route or final exit measured along the line of travel.

Source: MPD 2021

•Venting Fire - The process of facilitating heat and smoke to leave a building as quickly as possible
•by such paths so that lateral spread of fire and heat is checked, firefighting operations are facilitated and
•minimum fire damage is caused.

•Ventilation - Supply of outside air into, or the removal of inside air from an enclosed space.

•Water Based Systems

•Hydrant System - A distribution system having a network of piping installed underground/above ground
around and/or through inside of a building with internal and/or external hydrants fitted with landing valves
at regular intervals according to the occupancy.

•Automatic Sprinkler System - A system of water pipes fitted with sprinkler heads at suitable intervals
•and heights and designed to actuate automatically, control and extinguish a fire by the discharge of water.

•Automatic Water Spray Systems - A special fixed pipe system connected to a reliable source of fire
•protection water supply and equipped with water spray nozzles for specific water discharge and distribution
•over the surface or area to be protected.

Source: MPD 2021

• Water Mist Systems - A distribution system connected to a pumping and water supply system that
•is equipped with nozzles capable of delivering water mist to the part/entire enclosure or area, intended to
•control, suppress, or extinguish fire and is capable of meeting the specified performance requirements.

•Foam Protection System - Firefighting systems where foam is made by mechanically mixing air with a
•solution consisting of fresh water to which a foaming agent (liquid concentrate) has been added. Firefighting
•foam is a stable aggregation of small bubbles of density lower than oil or water, and shows tenacious qualities
•for covering horizontal surfaces.

•Fire Zone No. 1 - This shall comprise areas having residential (Group A), educational
•(Group B), institutional (Group C), assembly (Group D), small business (Subdivision E-1)
•and mercantile (Group F) buildings, or areas which are under development for such occupancies.

•Fire Zone No. 2 - This shall comprise business (Subdivisions E-2 to E-5) and
•industrial buildings (Subdivisions G-1 and G-2), except high hazard industrial buildings
•(Subdivision G-3) or areas which are under development for such occupancies.

•Fire Zone No. 3 - This shall comprise areas having high hazard industrial buildings
•(Subdivision G-3), storage buildings (Group H) and buildings for hazardous uses (Group J) or areas which are
under development for such occupancies.

Source: MPD 2021

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
• An exit may be a fire exit doorway; an internal staircase, exit passageway, external doorway, external
•staircase and these having access to the street or to a Veranda or to a refuge area or to the terrace or roof of a
building.

•Unless otherwise specified, lifts, escalators, moving walks and revolving doors shall not be
•considered as exits and shall not constitute any part of the required exit.

•Every exit, exit passageway and exit discharge shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions
•or impediments to full use in the case of fire or other emergency.

•Every building having human occupancy shall be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe egress
•of occupants, in case of fire or other emergency.

•In every building or structure, exits shall comply with the minimum requirements of this Part, except
•those not accessible for general public use.

•No building shall be so altered as to reduce the number, width or protection of exits to less than that
•required

•For non-naturally ventilated areas, fire doors with 120 min fire resistance rating shall be provided and
•particularly at the entrance to lift lobby and stair well
• Exits shall be so arranged that they may be reached without passing through another occupied unit/passage
in others control, if they pose challenge or restriction in means of egress.

• At least half of the required exit stairs from upper floors (rounded to the next higher number) shall
discharge directly to the exterior or through exit passageways.

• Unless otherwise specified, all the exits and exit passagewaysto exit discharge shall have a clear ceiling
height of at least 2.4 m. However, the height of exit door shall be at least 2.0 m.

• he capacity of the means of egress required from any storey of the building shall not be reduced
along the path of egress travel until arrival to the exit discharge.

• The lifts, escalators, moving walks, turnstiles and revolving doors shall not be considered in
determining the required capacity of means of egress for the individual floor(s) or the building.

• Suitable means shall be provided so that all access controlled exit doors, turnstiles, boom barriers
and othersuch exits shall automatically operate to open mode during emergencies like fire, smoke, acts of
terrorism, etc, so that people can safely and quickly egress into safe areas outside.

Source: NBC 2016

Walking surfaces in exit access shall comply with the following requirements for smooth exit:
a) Walking surfaces shall be nominally level.
b) The slope of walking surface in the direction of travel shall not exceed 1 in 20 unless the
ramp requirements are met
c)Walking surfaces shall be slip-resistant along the entire path of travel.

Source: NBC 2016

 OCCUPANT LOAD
For determining the exits required, the number of persons within any floor area or the occupant load
shall be based on the actual number of occupants declared.

Source: NBC 2016

 NUMBER OF EXITS

The minimum required number of exits in a building

shall be determined based on occupant load and
width required per person (see Table 4) as appropriate
to the type of exit for respective occupancies, subject
to complying with maximum travel distance
requirement (see Table 5).

Source: NBC 2016

 ARRANGEMENT OF EXITS
The dead end corridor length in exit access shall not exceed 6 m for educational, institutional and
assembly occupancies. For other occupancies, the same shall be 15 m.

Exits shall be placed as remote from each other as possible and shall be arranged to provide direct access in
separate directions from any point in the area served.

DOORS

Every exit doorway shall open into an enclosed

stairway or a horizontal exit of a corridor or passageway
providing continuous and protected means of egress.

No exit doorway shall be less than 1 000 mm in width

except assembly buildings, where door width shall be
not less than 2 000 mm. Doorways shall be not less than
2000 mm in height.

Exit doorways shall be operable from the side which

they serve, without the use of a key.

Mirrors shall not be placed on exit doors and in exits to

avoid confusion regarding thedirection of exit.
Source: NBC 2016
 ACCESS CONTROLLED DOORS

Access controlled doors . Access controlled doors and electromagnetic doors shall fall under this
category. These shall meet the following requirements:

1) Doors shall have fire rating as per the requirements at the location of installation.

2) Activation of the building automatic sprinkler or fire detection system, if provided, shall
automatically unlock the doors in the direction of egress, and the doors shall remain unlocked
until the
automatic sprinkler system or fire-alarm system has been manually reset.

3) Loss of power to the part of the access control system that locks the doors shall automatically
unlock the doors in the direction of egress.

4) A manual release device shall be provided in the readily accessible vicinity of the egress door
with a signage .PUSH TO EXIT. and when the same is operated, it shall result in direct interruption
of power to the lock, independent of the acces control system electronics.

Source: NBC 2016

 CORRIDORS
Corridors and passageways shall be of width not less than the calculated aggregate width of exit
doorways leading from them in the direction of travel to the exit.

In the case of buildings where there is a central corridor, which is part of exit access, the doors
of rooms (except for rooms having assembly occupancy) shall open inwards to permit smooth
flow of traffic in the corridor.

STAIRCASE
All exit staircases shall discharge, at the level of exit discharge, to the exit discharge, either,
a) directly, or
b) through an exit passageway, or
c) through a large lobby.

The minimum width of tread without nosing shall be250 mm for staircase of residential buildings.
This shall be minimum 300 mm for assembly, hotels, educational, institutional, business and other
buildings.

The treads shall be constructed and maintained in a manner to prevent slipping. The maximum
height of riser shall be 150 mm as per our requirements. The number of risers shall be limited to 12
per flight.
Source: NBC 2016
 INTERNAL STAIRCASES
The internal staircases may be constructed with an external wall, or otherwise, and shall comply with the
following:

a) Internal stairs shall be constructed of non- combustible materials throughout, and shall have fire resistant
rating of minimum 120 min.

b) A staircase shall not be arranged round a lift shaft.

c) Exits shall not be used as a portion of a supply, return or exhaust air system serving adjoining
areas. Any opening(s) shall not be permitted in walls or in doors, separating exits from
adjoining areas.

d) No flue chimney, electromechanical equipment, air conditioning units, gas piping or electrical panels
shall be allowed in the stairway.

e) Not withstanding the detailed provision for exits, the following minimum width shall be provided for
staircases for respective occupancies:

•Residential hotel (A-5 and : 1.50 m A-6)

•Assembly : 2.00 m
(NOTE . The width of stairs may be accepted to be 1.50 m in case of assembly occupancy having less than 150
persons.)
•Educational : 1.50 m
•Institutional : 2.00 m
•All other occupancies : 1.50 m
Source: NBC 2016
 INTERNAL STAIRCASES

A handrail shall be provided on one side of the staircase of width less than 1 500 mm, and on both sides of
the staircase of width 1500 mm and more.

The minimum headroom in a passage under the landing of a staircase and under
the staircase shall be 2.2 m.

Access to exit staircase shall be through a fire door of a minimum 120 min fire resistance rating.

No living space, store or other fire risk shall open directly into staircases.

The exit (including staircases) shall be continuous from refuge floors or terrace level, as applicable, to the
level of exit discharge. No electrical shafts/air conditioning ducts or gas pipes, etc, shall pass through or open
in the staircases.

Lifts shall not open in staircase.

No combustible material shall be used for decoration/wall panelling in the staircase.

8) Beams/columns and other building features shall not reduce the head room/width of the staircase.

Source: NBC 2016

 EXTERNAL STAIRCASE

All external stairs shall be directly connected to the ground. Entrance to the external stairs
shall be separate and remote from the internal staircase.

The external stairs shall be constructed of non- combustible materials, and any doorway
leading to it shall have minimum 120 min fire resistance.

No external staircase, shall be inclined at an angle greater than 45° from the horizontal.
External stairs shall have straight flight not less than 1500 mm wide.

Handrails, to be provided on both sides, shall be of a height not less than 1 000 mm and not
exceeding 1200 mm. There shall be provisions of balusters with maximum gap of 150 mm.

The use of spiral staircase shall be limited to low occupant load and to a building not
exceeding 9 m in height. A spiral staircase shall be not less than 1 500 mm in diameter and
shall be designed to give adequate headroom.

Source: NBC 2016

 RAMPS
The slope of a ramp shall not exceed 1 in 12 (8 percent).

Ramp(s) shall be surfaced with approved slip resistant materials that

are securely attached. No perforations are permissible on ramp
floors.

Any changes in travel direction in ramp shall be preceded by landings

of 1.5 m × 1.5 m size.

Ramps and intermediate landings shall continue with no decrease

in width along the direction of egress travel.

Outside ramps and landings shall be designed to minimise water

accumulation on their surfaces.

Ramps shall have landings located at the top, at the bottom, and at
doors opening onto the ramp.

Every landing shall be not less than 1 500 mm long in the direction of
travel.

Where the ramp is not part of an accessible route, the ramp landings
shall not be required to exceed 1250 mm in the direction of travel,
provided that the ramp has a straight run.
Source: NBC 2016
Handrails shall be provided on all ramps on both sides.
 PRESSURIZATION
Pressurization is a method adopted for protecting the exits from ingress of smoke, especially in high-
rise buildings. In pressurization, air is injected into the staircases, lobbies, etc, as applicable, to raise their
pressure slightly above the pressure in adjacent parts of the building. As a result, ingress of smoke or toxic
gases into the exits will be prevented. The pressurization of staircases and lift lobbies shall be adopted as
given in the table.

Source: NBC 2016

 Lift Enclosure/lift

• Lift shafts shall have a vent at the top of area not less than 0.2 sq m.

• Lift motor room shall be located preferably on top of the shaft and separated from the
shaft by the floor of the room.

• The number of lifts in one lift bank shall not exceed four.

• For buildings 15.0 m. and above in height, collapsible gates shall not be permitted

• Exit from the lift lobby, if located in the core of the building, shall be through a self-
closing fire smoke check door of one-hour fire resistance.

• Suitable arrangements such as providing slope in the floor of the lift lobby shall be
made to prevent water used during fire fighting, etc at any landing from entering the
lift shafts.

Source: NBC 2016

Fire Lift
• The lift shall have a floor area of not less than 1.4 sq.mt.
• It shall have a loading capacity of not less than 545 kg. (8 persons lift) with automatic
closing doors.
• To enable fire service personnel to reach the upper floors with the minimum delay, one
or more of the lifts shall be so designed so as to be available for the exclusive use of the
fireman in an emergency and be directly accessible to every dwelling/lettable floor
space on each floor.
• The operation of a fire lift shall by a single toggle of two-button switch situated in a
glass-fronted box adjacent to the lift at the entrance level.

Provision of helipad

• All high-rise buildings of height 200 m. and above shall have provision for a Helipad
as per clause no 5.5.8 of the Bye-Laws.

Source: NBC 2016

Service ducts/refuge chute

• Service duct shall be enclosed by walls and door, if any, of 2 hours fire rating.

• If ducts are larger than 10 sq m. the floor should seal them, but provide suitable opening
for the pipes to pass through, with the gaps sealed.

• A vent opening at the top of the service shaft shall be provided between one-fourth and
one-half of the area of the shaft.

• Refuge chutes shall have an outlet at least of wall of non-combustible material with fire
resistance of not less than two hours.

• They shall not be located within the staircase enclosure or service shafts or air-
conditioning shafts.

• Refuge chutes shall not be provided in staircase walls and A/C shafts etc

Source: NBC 2016

 BASEMENT

• The access to the basement shall be either from the main or

alternate staircase providing access and exit from higher floors.
• Where the staircase is continue the same shall be enclosed type
serving as a fire separation from the basement floor and higher
floors.
• Open ramps shall be permitted if they are constructed within
the building line
• In case of basement for office, sufficient number of exit ways
and access ways shall be provided with a travel distance not
more than 15.0 m. The travel distance in case of dead-end shall
be 7.5 m.

• The basement shall be partitioned and in no case compartment shall be more than 500 sq m. and less
than 50 sq m. area except parking. Each compartment shall have ventilation standards as laid down in
Bye-Laws separately and independently. The partition shall be made in consultation with Chief Fire
Officer.
• The first basement (immediately below ground level) can be used for services/parking/other permissible
services. Lower basement, if provided, shall exclusively be used for car parking only.

Source: MBBL 2016

 Each basement shall be separately ventilated. Vents with cross-sectional area (aggregate) not
less than 2.5 percent of the floor area spread evenly round the perimeter of the basement shall
be provided in the form of grills or breakable starboard lights or pavement lights or by way of
shafts.
 Alternatively a system of air inlets shall be provided at basement floor level and smoke outlets at
basement ceiling level.
 The staircase of basement shall be of enclosed type having fire resistance of not less than 2 hours
and shall be situated at the periphery of the basement to be entered at ground level only from the
open air
 The smoke from any fire in the basement shall not obstruct any exit serving the ground and upper
stories of the building
 In case of basement being used as car parking only, the travel distance shall be 45 m with fire
resisting self closing door of one hour rating
 In multi-storeyed basements, intake duct may serve all basements levels, but each basement and
basement compartment shall have separate smoke outlet duct or ducts.
 Mechanical extractors for smoke venting system from lower basement levels shall also be provided.
The system shall be of such design as to operate on actuation of smoke, heat sensitive
detectors/sprinklers.

Source: MBBL 2016

•Mechanical extractors shall have an alternate source of power supply.
•Ventilating ducts shall be integrated with the structure and made out of brick masonry or RCC as far as
possible and when this duct crosses the transformer area of electrical switchboard, fire dampers shall be
provided.
•Kitchens working on gas fuel shall not be permitted in basement/sub-basement.
•If cutouts are provided from basement to the upper floors or to the atmosphere, all side cutout openings in
the basements shall be protected by sprinkler heads at closed spacing so as to form a water curtain in the event
of a fire.
•Dewatering pump shall be provided in all basements.

Fire Control Room

For all buildings with a height of 15 m and above and Group Housing with a height of 30m and above, there
shall be a control room on the entrance floor of the building with communication system (suitable public
address system) to all floors and facilities for receiving the message from different floors. Details of all floor
plans along with the details of firefighting equipment and installations shall be maintained in the fire control
room. The fire control room shall also have facilities to detect the fire on any floor through indicator board
connections; fire detection and alarm systems on all floors. The fire staff in-charge of the fire control room
shall be responsible for the maintenance of the various services and firefighting equipment and installations in
co-ordination with security, electrical and civil staff of the building.

Source: UBBL 2016

Manner of Providing Refuge Area
a. The refuge area shall be so located that it shall preferably face the access road(s) or otherwise face the
wider open space on the side of the building perpendicular to the main access road.
b. The refuge area shall necessarily be of RCC Type.
c. The refuge area up to 54.0 m height shall be provided with railing / parapet of 1.10 m height and 1.50 m
above height of 54.0 m.
d. The refuge area shall have access through a two hour rated fire door which shall be
painted with a sign in luminous paint mentioning ‘Refuge Area’.
e. The lifts shall only be permitted to open into Fire Tower wherever constructed.
f. Drenchers shall be provided in refuge areas above 70.0 m height. All refuge areas shall have direct
access to the nearest staircase in such a way that occupant can reach the staircase without reentering the
building.

Fire Check Floor/ Fire Cut off Floor

a. A high rise building having height more than 70 m shall be provided with fire check
floor (entire floor) above 70 m at immediate habitable floor level.
b. The fire check floor shall not be used for any purpose and it shall be the responsibility
of the owner/occupier/ registered society to maintain the same clean and free of
encumbrances and encroachments at all times. Drinking water facility and toilet
facility shall be provided.
c. Periphery of the Fire Check floor shall not be enclosed.
d. Fire Drenchers shall be provided at the periphery of the each fire check floor
externally.
e. Fire Check Floor/ Fire Cut off Floor shall be free of FAR.
Source: UBBL 2016
Fire Dampers

a) These shall be located in air ducts and return air ducts/passages at the following points:
i) At the fire separation wall.
ii) Where ducts/passages enter the central vertical shaft.
iii) Where the ducts pass through floors.
iv) At the inlet of supply air duct and the return air duct of each compartment on every floor.
b) The dampers shall operate automatically and shall simultaneously switch off the air- handling
fans. Manual operation facilities shall also be provided.
Note: For blowers, where extraction system and dust accumulators are used, dampers shall be
provided.
c) Fire/smoke dampers (for smoke extraction shafts) for building more than 24 m. in height.
For apartment houses in non-ventilated lobbies/corridor operated by detection system and
manual control sprinkler system.
For other buildings on operation of smoke/heat detection system and manual control/sprinkler
system.
d) Automatic fire dampers shall be so arranged so as to close by gravity in the direction of air
movement and to remain tightly closed on operation of a fusible link.

Source: NBC 2016

Automatic sprinklers

Automatic sprinkler system shall be installed in the following buildings:

a) All buildings of 24 m. and above in height, except group housing and 45 m. and above in case of
apartment /group housing society building.
b) Hotels below 15 m. in height and above 1000 sq m. built up area at each floor and or if basement
is existing.
c) All hotels, mercantile, and institutional buildings of 15 m. and above.
d) Mercantile buildings having basement more than one floor but below 15 m. (floor area not
exceeding 750 sq m.)
e) Underground Shopping Complex.
f) Underground car / scooter parking /enclosed car parking.
g) Basement area 200 sq m. and above.
h) Any special hazards where the Chief Fire Officer considers it necessary.
i) For buildings up to 24 m. in height where automatic sprinkler system is not mandatory as per
these Bye-Laws, if provided with sprinkler installation following relaxation may be considered.
ii) Automatic heat/smoke detection system and M.C.P. need not be insisted upon.
iii) The number of Fire Extinguisher required shall be reduced by half.

Source: NBC 2016

DELHI BYE LAWS
FIRE ESCAPES

•Fire escapes shall not be taken into account in calculating the evacuation time of a building.

•All fire escapes shall be directly connected to the ground.

•Entrance to fire escape shall be separate and remote from the internal staircase.

•The route to fire escape shall be free of obstructions at all times, except a doorway leading to the fire escape
which shall have the required fire resistance.

•Fire escape shall be constructed of non-combustible materials.

•Fire escapes stairs shall have straight flight not less than 75cm wide with 25 cm treads and risers not more
than 19 cm. The number of risers shall be limited to 16 per flight.

•Handrails shall be of a height not less than 90cm.

•The use of spiral staircase shall be limited to low occupant load and to a building of height 9 m unless they
are connected to platforms, such as balconies and terraces to allow escapes to pause.

•A spiral fire escape shall be not less than 150cm in diameter and shall be designed to give adequate head
room.
Source: NBC 2016
RAMPS

•Ramps with a slope of not more than 1 in 10 may be substituted for and shall comply with all the
applicable requirements of required stairway as to enclosure, capacity and limiting dimensions.,
Large slopes shall be provided for special uses but in no case greater than 1 in 8. For all slopes
exceeding 1 in 10 and where the use is such as to involve danger of slipping, the ramp shall be surfaced
with approved non-slipping material.

•The minimum width of the ramps in hospitals shall be 2.25m.

•Handrails shall be provided opn both sides of the ramp.

•Ramps shall lead directly to outside open space at ground level or courtyards or safe place.

•For building above 24 m in height, access to ramps from any floor of the building shall be through
smoke stop door.

Source: NBC 2016

 CORRIDORS

•The minimum width of a corridor in a residential building shall be 1.0 m and in

all other buildings shall be 1.5m

•In case of more than one main staircase of the building inter-connected by a
corridor or other enclosed space, there shall be atleast one smoke stop door across
the corridor or enclosed space between the doors in the enclosing walls of any two
staircases.

Source: NBC 2016

REFUGE AREAS

•Refuge Area-For all buildings exceeding 15 m in height, refuge area shall be provided as follows :

for floors above 15 m and upto 24 m -one refuge area on the floor immediately above 18m.

for floors above 24 m and upto 36 m-one refuge area on the floor immediately above 24m.

for floors above 36 m-one refuge area per every five floors above 36m

• Refuge area shall be provided on the external walls as cantilever projections or in any other manner
(which will not be covered in FAR) with a minimum area of 15 sq mtr. And to be calculated based on
the population on each floor at the rate of 1 sq.m. per person.

Source: NBC 2016

 LIFTS

•All the floors shall be accessible for 24 hours by the lifts. The lifts provided in the
buildings shall not be considered as a means of escape in case of emergency.

•Grounding switch at ground floor level to enable the fire service to ground the lift
in case of an emergency shall also be provided.

•The lift machine room shall be separate and no other machinery shall be installed
there in.

Source: NBC 2016

FIRE PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS

Buildings shall be planned, designed and constructed to ensure fire safety and this shall be done in
accordance with para IV Fire Protection of national Building code of India, unless otherwise specified
in these bye-laws. In the case of buildings (identified in Bye-laws No. 6.2.4.1), the building schemes
shall also be cleared by the Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Service.

The additional Provisions related to fire protection of buildings more than 15 m is height and
buildings identified in Bye-law No. 6.2.4.1, shall be as given in Appendix-K

GENERAL REQUIREMENT

In addition to the provisions of part IV Fire Protection of National Building Code of India, the Chief
Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Service may insist on suitable provisions in the buildings from fire safety and
fire fighting point of view depending on the occupancy and height of buildings.

Source: NBC 2016

STAIRCASE ENCLOSURES

•The internal enclosing walls of staircase shall be of brick or R.C.C. construction having fire resistance of
not less than two hours. All enclosed staircases shall have access through self-closing doors of at least
half-hour fire resistance- These shall be single swing doors opening in the direction of the escape. The
door shall be fitted with check action door closers.

• The staircase enclosure on external wall of the building shall be ventilated to atmosphere at each
landing.

• Permanent vent at the top equal to 5% of the cross sectional area of the enclosure and openable sashes'
at each floor level with area equal to 15% of the cross sectional area of the enclosure of external wall shall
be provided. The roof of the shaft shall be at least lm above the surrounding roof. There shall be no
glazing or glass bricks in any internal enclosing wall of a staircase. 1f the staircase is in the core of the
building and cannot be ventilated at each landing, a positive pressure of 5-mm. w.g. by an electrically
operated blower/blowers shall be maintained.

• The mechanism for pressurizing the staircase shaft shall be so installed that the same shall operate
automatically and also with manual operation facilities, when the automatic fire alarm (See Bye-law No.
K. 11) operates.

Source: NBC 2016

LIFT ENCLOSURES

• The walls enclosing lift shafts shall have a fire resistance of not less than two hours. Shafts shall
have permanent vents at the top not less than 1 800 sq. mm. in clear area. Lift motor rooms
preferably be sited at the top of the shaft and shall be separated from lift shafts by the enclosing
wall of the shaft or by the floor of the motor rooms.

• Landing doors in lift enclosures shall open in the ventilated or pressurized corridor/lobby and
shall have fire resistance of not less than one hour.

• The number of lifts in one lift bank shall not exceed four. Shaft for fire lift in a lift bank shall be
separated from each other by a brick masonry or RCC wall of fire resistance of not less than two
hours.

•If the lift shaft and lift lobby are in the core of the building a positive pressure of not less than 2.5
mm and not more than 3 mm. w.g. by an electrically operated blower shall be maintained in the lift
lobby and positive pressure of not less than 5 mm w.g. shall be maintained in the lift shaft. The
mechanism for pressurising the lift shaft and lift lobby shall be so installed that they shall operate
automatically when the automatic fire alarm operates. The mechanism shall have facilities to
operate manually.

Source: NBC 2016

LIFT ENCLOSURES

• Exit from the lift lobby shall be through a self-closing smoke stop door of half-hour fire
resistance.

• The lift machine room shall be separate and no other machinery shall be installed therein.

• Lifts shall not normally communicate, with the basement. However, one of the lifts may be
permitted to reach the basement levels provided the lift lobby at each basement level is
pressurized and separated from the rest of the basement areas, by smoke actuated fire
resisting door of two hours fire resistance.

Source: NBC 2016

BASEMENTS

•Each basement shall be separately ventilated. Vents with cross sectional area (aggregate) not less than
2.5% of the floor area spread evenly round the perimeter of the basement shall be provided in the form
of grills or breakable stall-boards light or payment light or by way of shafts.

•The staircase of basements shall be of enclosed type having fire resistance of not less than two hours
and shall be situated at the periphery of the basement and shall communicate with basement through a
lobby provided with fire resisting self-closing doors of half-hour fire resistance. If the travel distance
exceeds 18.50m additional staircases at proper places shall be provided.

SERVICE DUCTS

•Service ducts for electrical conduits, cables etc.shall be enclosed by walls having a fire resistance of not
less than two hours. Doors for inspection or access shall also have a fire resistance of not less than two
hours.

•If the. Cross-sectional area exceeds 1 sq. m. it shall be sealed where it passes a floor by carrying the floor
through the duct. The floor within the duct shall be pierced for any service pipe or ventilation trunk and
shall fit as closely as possible around any such pipe or trunk.

Source: NBC 2016

REFUSE CHUTES AND REFUSE CHAMBERS

•Hoppers to refuse chutes shall be situated in well ventilated positions and the chutes shall
be continued upwards with an outlet above roof level and with an enclosure wall of non-
combustible material with fire resistance of not less than two hours. The hoppers shall not
be located within the staircase enclosure.

• Inspection panel and hopper (charging station) opening shall be fitted with tight fitting
metal doors, covers, having a fire resistance of not less than one hour.

• Refuse chutes shall not be provided in staircase walls, air-conditioning shafts, etc. K-6.4
Refuse chambers shall have walls and floors of roofs constructed of non-combustible and
impervious material and shall have a fire resistance of not less than two hours. They shall be
located at a safe distance from exit routes.

Source: NBC 2016

FIRE LIFTS
•To enable Fire Services personnel to reach to the upper floors with the minimum delay, one of the lifts
shall be so designed so as to be available for the exclusive use of the Firemen in an emergency and be
directly accessible to every dwelling lettable floor space on each floor.

•The lift shall have a floor area of not less than l.5 sq.m. It shall have loading capacity of not less than 500
kg. (8 persons lift) with automatic closing doors.

•The electric supply shall be on a separate service from electric supply mains in a building and cables run
in route safe from fire, that is, within the lift shaft. In case of failure of normal electric supply it shall
automatically trip over to alternate supply.

•The operation of a fire lift is a simple toggle or two button switch situated in a glass fronted box adjacent
to the lift at the entrance level. When the switch is on, landing call-points will become inoperative and the
lift will be on car control only. When the switch is off, the lift will return to normal working. This lift can
be used by the occupants in normal times.

•The words "FIRE LIFT" shall be conspicuously displayed in fluorescent paint on the lift landing doors at
each floor level.

•For buildings above 15 m in height collapsible gates shall not be permitted for lifts and shall have solid
doors with fire resistance of 2 hours.
Source: NBC 2016
THANKYOU
QUIZ
Ques.1) Fire resistance of a building depends on?

a) Load bearing capacity (R)

b) Integrity (E)

c) Insulation(I)

d) All of the above

d) All of the above
Ques.2) Fire separation is the distance measured for the purpose of preventing fire from?

a) the external wall of the building

concerned to the external wall of any
other building on the site

b) the external wall of the building

concerned to the external wall of any
other building from other site

c) the opposite side of street or other

public space

d) All of the above

d) All of the above
Ques.3) In case of basement for office, sufficient number of exit ways and
access ways shall be provided with a travel distance not more than:

a) 15 m

b) 7 m

c) 12 m

d) 10 m
a) 15 m
Ques.4) The travel distance in case of dead-end shall be?

a) 7.5 m

b) 10.5 m

c) 15 m

d) 9 m
a) 7.5 m
Ques.5) The staircase of basement shall be of enclosed type having fire
resistance of not less than

a) 2 hours

b) 1.5 hours

c) 2.5 hours

d) 1 hour
a) 2 hours
Ques.6) A Fire Fighting shaft is an enclosed shaft having protected area of _____ fire resistance
rating comprising protected lobby, staircase and fireman lift, connected directly to exit
discharge or through exit passageway.

a) 120 mins

b) 100 mins

c) 140 mins

d) None of the above

a) 120 mins
Ques.7) Where should a lift room preferably be:

a) Top of the shaft

b) Adjacent to lift

c) Separated from the shaft by the

floor of the room
a) Top of the shaft
Ques.8) What is the minimum floor area required by a lift:

a) 2.4 sq. mt

b) 1.4 sq. mt

c) 4.4 sq. mt.

b) 1.4 sq. mt
Ques.9) Minimum area required by lift shaft vent :

a) 0.2

b) 0.4

c) 0.6
a) 0.2
Ques.10) Maximum number of lifts in one lift bank shall be :

a) 2

b) 4

c) 6
b) 4
Ques.11) Refuge chutes shall not be provided in

a) Staircase walls

b) A/C shafts

c) Both of the above

c) Both of the above
Ques.12) Which space within a building is enclosed by smoke barriers on all
sides.

a) Fire compartment

b) Water Compartment

c) Smoke Compartment

c) Electricity Compartment
c) Smoke Compartment
Ques.13) For non-naturally ventilated areas, what should be the fire
resistance rating of the fire exit doors?

a) 180 mins

b) 150 mins

c) 120 mins

c) 90 mins
c) 120 mins
Ques.14) What is the continuous way of travel from any point in a building or structure to a public
way, consisting of three separate and distinct parts, that is, exit access, exit and exit discharge.

a) Means of escape

b) Means of egress

c) Emergency exit

d) None of the above

b) Means of egress
Ques.15) A system of water pipes fitted with sprinkler heads at suitable intervals and heights and
designed to actuate automatically, control and extinguish a fire by the discharge of water.

a) Automatic Water Spray Systems

b) Automatic Sprinkler System

c) Water mist system

d) all of the above

b) Automatic Sprinkler System
Ques.16) Incase of basement being used as car parking only, the travel distance shall be?

a) 40m

b) 50m

c) 35m

d) 45m
d) 45m
Ques.17) Any changes in travel direction in ramp shall be preceded by landings of size?

a) 1.5m X 1.5 m

b) 1.2m X 1.2 m

c) 2.0m X 2.0m

d) None of the above

a) 1.5m X 1.5m
Ques.18) The slope of ramp should not exceed:

a) 1:8

b) 1:15

c) 1:12

d) None of the above

c) 1:12
Ques.19) External stairs shall have straight flight not less than:

a) 1500 mm wide

b) 1250 mm wide

c) 1350mm wide

d) None of the above

a) 1500 mm wide
Ques.20) What is the minimum height of fire exit doorways?

a) 2000 mm

b) 2100 mm

c) 1850mm

d) None of the above

a) 2000 mm
THANKYOU