Fire Safety Rules and Regulations for a Large Building

INTRODUCTION:
This report has been written for the large building with the excessive compartment area
regarding the fire safety rules and regulation that was developed by the Building Code of
Australia (BCC). In order to satisfy the Fire Safety regulatory reform order of 2005 (van Hees,
Holmstedt, Bengtson, Hägglund, Dittmer, Blomqvist, Lönnermark, 2009) for the basic buildings,
type A risk assessment has been carried out. For the sustainable building it is necessary to utilize
maximum amount of natural resources in order to avoid fire. The occupants should have
sufficient knowledge regarding fire so that they could handle the situation effectively. According
the rules of BCA, the building have to be constructed based on certain conditions. The main
objective of this report is to save the occupants of the buildings from the fire and cyclone
activities.
Development details:
The details regarding the construction of the apartments are as follows
S.NO Details Specification
1 Site area 1609 m2
2 Tower building area 3895 m2
3 Basement area 2010 m2
4 Storey 6
5 Apartments 39
6 Car spaces 54 (26- Level B1 and 26-
Level B2)
Active Fire Control
Emergency lightings and exit sign:

 According to Part E4.4 of BCA- the emergency lighting should be designed and operated
 According to Part E4.8 of BCA- the exit sign should be made that comply with AS2293,
which should be visible at all times from anywhere around the building
Smoke Detection:
The functionality of smoke detection and alarm circuits has been mentioned in part one of E2.2a. These
requirements include the following:
 AS 1603.4 Smoke detection and alarm activation
 AS 2220.2 Smoke alarms and audible alarms
 AS 1670 Automatic fire detection and alarm system
Based on the Class 2 building, the system should comply with AS3786 that is necessarily powered from
the main source of the building. It is sufficiently installed in the kitchens where there is a possibility of
smoke to evolve. According to AS1670.1, if there is an absence of sprinkler system then it is necessary to
install the smoke alarm system. Smoke alarm system is sufficiently fixed on all foyers on all levels of
SOU.
 Moreover, it is necessary to have a warning system that raises alarm if smoke occurs, which
should comply with clause 3.22 of AS 1670.1
Fire Hydrants:
Fire Hydrants are used-
 Necessary for the floor area above 500 square meter
 Availability of fire brigade to attend fire cases
The hydrant system should comply with the following:
 Installed according to AS 2419.1
 Should be provided internally to serve the storey
 Especially for class 2 or 3 buildings
Fire Hose reels:
The main purpose of Hose reel system is to
 Serve the dwellings that are provided with the internal hydrant system
 Installed in accordance with AS 2441
 Serve the storey at the located place except a sole-occupancy unit
 Can be installed internally or externally
Access:
Stair Construction:
The main purpose of the stairways is to save people from injury while escaping due to fire.

In compliance with DP2: In order to have a safe movement within the buildings, the following
provision should be done:
 Proper gradients should be provided in the walking surface
 The door should be promoted in such a way for an easy egress and no one should be
trapped within the compartment.
 Slippery resistant staircases and ramps should be offered
 Sufficient handrails should be provided for the people who use stairways
Handrails:
As reffered in D2.18, Handrails should have the following:
 It should be place at least on a side of a ramp
 If each side of the ramp exceeds 2m then it is necessary to be installed on both the sides
 Intermediate handrails should not exceed 2m
 Class 9a, health care building- fixed at the full length of the wall with 50mm clear of the
wall
 Class 9b, primary school building- hand rail fixed at a height of 865mm
 Class 9c, aged care building- fixed along both sides of the corridor or halfway with
50mm clear of the wall
Health and Amenity:
Damp and weather proofing:
The main objective of this is to protect the occupants from any illness and injury and also protect the
building from any damage due to the external moisture, surface absorbent moisture and other causes
due to natural resources
According to FP1.5- Moisture from the ground
 Should not cause any dampness on the building elements
 Should not provide unhygienic situation that could provide loss of amenity to the occupants
Water for the floor or the ground should not necessarily reach the upper surface. Hence sufficient vapour
barrier should be set according to AS 2870 (Damp Proofing)
Sanitary and other Facilities:
According to FF2.3 of BCA, sufficient space and facilities should be offered for the cooking and washing.
Facility provided by FF2.3 includes the following
 Facility for rinsing the food, washing the utensil and disposal of waste water
 Facility for preparing the food
 Space for food preparation

According to FP2.6- there should be a control gathering of harmful levels of micro-organisms in
the place that stores the Hot water, warm water and cooling water systems. Class 2 and class 3
buildings must be installed according to the rules of AS/NZS 3666.1, in order to control these
harmful micro-organisms.
Ventilation and Lights:
According to F4.1, natural lights should be installed in all the class 2 and class 4 habitual
buildings.
Subject to Clause 3.6 of Specification C1.1, the natural lights should be provided with the
windows for the ventilation purposes that
 Have a collective light that transmits the area exclusively measured of framing
members, glazing bars or other obstacles that should not be less than 10 percent of the
room
 Should be open to the sky or veranda or any open environment
Sound Transmission and Insulation:
According to FP5.2, Walls should separate the sole-occupancy units and proper insulation should
be provided with the stairway, public place or corridor, airborne transmission and other sound
impact places in order to protect the recipients from any illness or amenity.
FP5.3 says that the sufficient sound insulation for the floors or walls must not be withdrawn
from penetrating the pipes or any other factors.
Climatic zone
Hamilton Island is said to be the heart of the Great Barrier Reef that is located at the Queensland
coast of Australia and the marking scheme of the place is shown in the figure below. It is the
largest inhabited island that measures about 4.5 km from north to south and 3 km from west to
east of the 74 Whitsunday Islands. Situated on the same latitude as Honolulu in the northern
hemisphere and Mauritius in the south, Hamilton Island enjoys a year-round tropical climate
with an average temperature of 27°C.
The buildings of the Hamilton Island comes under zone 5 category since the zone 4, 5 and 6 are
summarized to be warm during summer and cool during winters that needs a balance insulation
and glazing requirements (Proulx, 2008). Hence the building requirements according to section J
varies and the fabrics are chosen according to the climatic condition. These materials should be
approved with the Building Code of Australia (BCA). The brick veneer could be chosen for the
construction since the building constructed (Zimmerman & Restrepo, 2009) with this brick