1. The intention of this Part is to ensure that the structure of a building and the parts of a building will remain stable in the event of fire and will restrict the spread of fire and smoke within the building and the spread of fire to other buildings.
2. To restrict the internal spread of fire, a building may have to be divided into compartments separated from each other by compartment walls or compartment floors intended to provide a complete barrier to fire between the compartments. In practice, the continuity of such walls and floors will have to be breached by openings for circulation or services and special precautions are necessary where this occurs to maintain the effectiveness of the barrier.
3. The acceptable size of a compartment for this purpose is determined by its likely fire load which is, in turn, influenced by the purpose group of the building, or part of the building, in which it is situated and the provision, or otherwise, of active fire protection measures such as a sprinkler installation.
4. The elements of structure must continue to function, and remain capable of supporting and retaining any necessary protection of escape routes and fire access routes during a fire, for an adequate period of time.
5. In order to reduce the danger to the occupants of other buildings, suitable separation must be provided between one building and another by either structure or distance. The acceptable distance between a building and its relevant boundary is dictated by the amount of heat likely to be radiated in the event of fire by the wall facing that boundary. This will be influenced by the extent of openings, or other unprotected areas, in the wall and the likely fire load of the building. Acceptable methods of calculating separation by distance are given in the "Provisions deemed to satisfy the standards". Provision is also made to reduce the likelihood of fire spreading to roofs from an external source.
6. Information on methods of determining fire resistance, non-combustibility and external fire exposure designation of roofs is contained in the Appendix to Part D.
STRUCTURAL FIRE PRECAUTIONS
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(1) Every building shall be so constructed that, for a reasonable period, in the event of fire - |
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(2) This regulation shall not be subject to specification in a notice served under section 11 of the Act. |