TABLE OF CONTENTS The design, construction, layout and furnishing of buildings has a key role to play in any fire safety management strategy. The building and how it is furnished has a huge impact upon not only whether a fire is likely to start, given the furnishings within, but also if the building itself can withstand a fire long enough for persons to safely escape in the event of a fire.
As the building has such a key role to play in relation to fire safety and risk management it is imperative that a knowledge of the Building Regulations Approved Documents, British Standards and official guidance is included within any course of study. Each of these areas is covered within this chapter and will have a signifi-cant impact on the preventive and protective control measures identified within a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment (see Chapter 14).
Throughout this section reference is made to some technical words which have the meanings provided in the following definitions:
Building any permanent or temporary building but not any other kind of structure.
Figure 9.1: Temporary building
Fire resistance the ability of a component of a building to maintain its integrity and stability when exposed to fire for a given period of time.
Means of escape a structural means whereby a safe route is provided for persons to escape in case of fire, from any point in a building to a place of safety, clear of...
