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Building Regulation & Fire Safety
If you are building a new house, one area that you have to seriously pay attention to is the safety requirements in case of a fire. Part B of the Building Regulations sets out general requirements for fire safety in buildings. In order to make sure that you have some sort of protection, the Building Regulation has a few set out rules that you have to comply to for your new house.
Means of escape
The internal layout should always provide the occupants an escape route. In a situation where the house is over two floors, the stairs should discharge within 4.5 meters of the external door and under no circumstances should they be discharged into the kitchen. There should be windows or doors suitable for escape or rescue in all habitable rooms on the upper floor. The window should have an unobstructed opening of no less than 850 mm high and 500 mm wide and should be between 800 mm to 1100 mm above the floor. In case of doors, they should open onto a balcony with a protective barrier. If the house is on more than two floors, additional protection are necessary and they include provisions of self closing fire doors and at least half an hour fire resisting partitions between all the rooms. There should also be provisions for a half an hour fire resistance for the floors.
Fire Systems
Appropriate fire system or alarm should be installed in all houses and they should comply with provisions od BS 5839: part 6 - 1995. There should be proper detectors throughout the house in case of a fire and they should be located on the ceiling at least 300 mm from the wall and any light fittings.
** Please note: In new houses battery powered (Grade F) systems are not acceptable and only mains powered detectors should be used.
You should get further advice on this matter from a qualified safety consultant before you start your build.
Fire Safety
Building Regulation
Local Planning Department
Building Regulation and Radon Gas in houses in Ireland
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