Fire Protection
What SANS 10400: Part T – Fire Protection Says
What the Act Says
Essentially the legislation is concerned quite simply with the need for all buildings to be designed, constructed and equipped so that in the event of fire:
- the occupants or people using the building will be protected – including persons with disabilities;
- the spread and intensity of any fire within buildings, and the spread of fire to any other buildings, will be minimized;
- sufficient stability will be retained to ensure that such building will not endanger any other building: provided that in the case of any multi-storey building, no major failure of the structural system shall occur;
- the generation and spread of smoke will be minimized or controlled to the greatest extent reasonably practicable; and
- adequate means of access, and equipment for detecting, fighting, controlling and extinguishing such fire, is provided.
The requirements of the Act will be deemed to have been satisfied if the design, construction and equipment of buildings complies with SANS 10400 Part T and satisfies the local authority.
The Act also specifies several offences that owners of buildings need to avoid, including the need for fire extinguishers that comply with SANS 10105. Also, if people do anything to obstruct escape routes in buildings, they will be guilty of an offense.
What the Standard Says
The regulations for Fire Protection are contained in a 91 page document published by the SABS, SANS 10400: Part T Fire Protection. Much of the information is the same as that published in the 1990 version of the Standard that you can download from this site.
SANS 10400 Part T is broken down into several parts:
Requirements
The bulk of the Standard is made up of a vast number of different “requirements” that relate not only to dwelling houses, but to every other possible type of building, from hospitals to parking garages.
The requirements for effective fire protection include:
- general requirements,
- regulations relating to safety distances,
- fire performance,
- fire resistance of occupancy-separating and division-separating elements,
- fire stability of structural elements or components,
- tenancy-separating elements,
- partition walls and partitions,
- protection of openings (Note that the drawings in SANS 10400 – 1990 that illustrate this have not changed),
- raised access and suspended floors of combustible material,
- roof assemblies and coverings (the drawings remain unchanged in the new version of the Standard) including thatch,
- ceilings,
- floor coverings,
- internal finishes,
- provision of escape routes,
- exit doors,
- feeder routes,
- emergency routes,
- dimensions of components of escape routes,
- width of escape routes,
- basements,
- stairways and other changes of level along escape routes (the drawing that shows the position of doors in relation to a change in level has not changed),
- ventilation of stairways in an emergency route,
- pressurization of emergency routes and components,
- openings in floors,
- external stairways and passages,
- lobbies, foyers and vestibules,
- marking and signposting,
- provision of emergency lighting,
- fire detection and alarm systems,
- provision and maintenance of fire-fighting equipment, installations and fire protection systems,
- water reticulation for fire-fighting purposes,
- hose reels,
- hydrants,
- automatic sprinkler and other fixed extinguishing systems,
- portable fire extinguishers,
- mobile fire extinguishers,
- fire-stopping of inaccessible concealed spaces,
- protection in service shafts,
- services in structural or separating elements,
- smoke control,
- air-conditioning systems and artificial ventilation systems,
- lift shafts,
- lifts,
- firemen’s lift,
- stretcher lift,
- stage and backstage areas,
- eating arrangements in auditoriums or halls and on grandstands,
- parking garages,
- operating theatres and intensive, high or critical care units,
- installation of liquid fuel dispensing pumps and tanks,
- installation of other tanks,
- warehousing of dangerous goods,
- dangerous goods signage,
- access for fire-fighting and rescue purposes,
- resumed fire resistance of building materials and components,
- building materials,
- guest houses and bed and breakfast accommodation (this is completely new),
- health care facilities (this is also completely new).
Safety Distances
Although there are other provisions, including the classification of the type of external wall, the table below may be used to establish safety distances where walls do not contain windows or other openings. For ordinary “dwelling houses” where the area of elevation facing any boundary is not more than 7,5 m2, such safety distance may be reduced to 0,5 m.
Fire Resistance
There are several tables (five in all) that indicate requirements for compliance with “Presumed fire resistance of building materials and components”.
This table shows what is required for “structural walls”.
This table shows what is required for “non-structural walls and partitions”.
Rational Designs
The design requirements include the need for a competent person to ensure that the level of fire safety is adequate. This is particularly important in large and public buildings.
This drawing shows the basic fire safety engineering process.
>
Refuse Disposal
Hi Guys
What is the fire escape regulation for burglar bars at windows in a residential building?
Hi I would just like to find out where to look for regulations concerning the tampering of fire equipment and The prosecution of offenders
Rudi,
Contact ASIB Automatic sprinkler installation bureau or any fire servicing company registered with ASIB.
Hi Cristo, The standard building lines for dwelling houses are 3,5m from street boundaries and 3,0m from common boundaries and going up to 6,0m depending on the size of the property. By-laws do not refer to roof type and building lines. Thatch roofs need to be treated with fire retardant.
Hi Guys,
What is the standard building line for a thatched roof, if there is any?
Rudi
In accordance with ASIB regulations is Sprinkler system required to be tested/service:
a) Sprinkler Control Valve – every 3 years
b) Pump House – yearly
Please contact me on email info.fsadvisory@gmail.com for assistance regarding any services on sprinkler or conventional fire eequipment
Rudi there is no reference to pump houses in the building regulations. It stands to reason that all fire protection equipment should be tested regularly to ensure it is in working order. I have no idea who would do this though.
Firstly Rudolf, the regulations require a fire hose (hose reel) for every 500 sq m of every floor.
“4.37 Portable fire extinguishers
4.37.1 A building that contains an occupancy given in table 11 shall, for the relevant occupancy and floor area, be provided with portable fire extinguishers in unobstructed positions approved by the local authority.”
Table 11 — Provision of portable fire extinguishers
Class of occupancy = H3 (which is domestic residence – occupancy consisting of two or more dwelling units on a single site)
Number of portable fire extinguishers requireda per m2 = 1/400
Minimum charge: water = 9 l, foam = 9 l, carbon dioxide = 5 kg, dry chemical powder = 4.5 kg
Also, “mobile fire extinguisher may replace half the required portable fire extinguishers”
No Dean it doesn’t sound as if you do. Most “firewalls” are between the garage and house because of the danger of petrol or diesel – both of which are flammable.
In Part T (Fire Protection) of SANS 10400, under 4.9 Partition walls and partitions, it states that all partition walls “a) shall have a nominal fire resistance of not less than 30 min and be non-combustible, or
b) where combustible materials are present, shall not contribute a fire load of more than 5 kg/m2 of floor area in a division”
“4.9.2 In any building classified as H3 or H4 [NB – H3 = domestic residence; H4 = dwelling house a) below, would be what we call a “firewall”, but this word – firewall – doesn’t appear in the regulations. There are tables in the regulations that specify the need for ALL walls to be fire resistant to certain specifications. An occupancy certificate would not have been granted for the house if it had not been built according to these regulations.]
a) any separating element (wall and floor) between any garage that is not large enough to be classified as J4 and any habitable room shall have a fire resistance of not less than 30 min and the wall shall extend to the underside of the roof;
b) any door between such garage and any such room shall have a fire resistance of not less than 30 min and such doorway shall require a threshold of not less than 10 mm; and.
c) no combustible roof components shall penetrate the separating element dividing the space between the garage and the habitable room.”
I want to make sure about 1 thging please. I am in ablock of flats, 7 floors. On each floor is a fire hose.Is it required by law that there are extinguisers for electrical fire as well on each floor ? If well , which clause states that. I am in a bit of a dispute here , and I want to quote it to the relevant parties.
Hi Guys
I would just like to know what the law is regarding a pump house for our sprinkler system. Does it need to be tested on a regular basis, and who needs to test it?
Good afternoon. I have a tenant who says I need a firewall withing my house which goes to the ceiling. Could you enlighten me as to what eaxctly I should have as we bought the place as it stands. it is a three bed, two bath place with kitchen and lounge.
Thanks
Dean
Thank you for your prompt answer.
Dave, according to Barend Esterhuizen who is a fire protection expert: “The National Building Regulations (1981) require (in addition to fire hydrants, hose reels and fire extinguishers etc) fire detection in any building with a floor area of more than 5 000 m² (Category M and a category L system).
“The Automatic sprinkler systems can also be used to operate the fire alarm system (Incorporated into the alarm system)
“A rational design may be submitted to the local authority for approval.”
Barend Esterhuizen was good enough to answer your query. He says:
“It is illegal to use or tamper with fire any protection equipment except as may be necessary during emergencies, maintenance, drills or prescribed testing. A person that fails to comply is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or even imprisonment as prescribed in the Fire Brigade Services Act.”
So the short answer is yes it is illegal!
Hi
Is it illegal to use firehoses as a means for water supply for other than a fire? e.g. Building construction/ repairs or cleaning?
Hi Penny
I have a Warehouse that is 9000m2 single storey, with Hydrants, fire hose reels, sprinklers and hand held fire extinguishers, all approved by ASIB, do I still need to install category M and a category L fire detection system as per SANS 10400-T:2011 Edition 3 ?
The building was built + 20 years ago and the usage hasn’t changed since then.
Nicky you need to check the Occupational Health and Safety Act, not the National Building Regulations. The NBR governs how the store should be built and what fire protection measures should be taken. If there are flammable products being stored then the storeroom will be categorized either high risk, moderate risk, or low risk storage (viz. J1, J2 or J3), and Part T of SANS 10400, Fire protection has very specific requirements in terms of safety distances, location and size allowed within any building. There are also specific requirements that relate to the provision of portable fire extinguishers (which are a must in these occupancies) – and when sprinkler systems are required.
Dewald this is not covered in the NBR, but there are some comments that you will find if you read through them that mention similar matters.
Does the law require you to have trained fire fighting teams (in a factory environment)?
Hi
I would like to know what the maximum stacking height for flammable products, like paint would be in a retail hardware store without a sprinkler system.
Thanks
I have no way of knowing Gideon. I suggest you contact the water department of your local authority.
Insurers say that the water pressure is inadequate in Mtubatuba
What size tanks and pumps are required per square metre for a commercial building?