BS 7974:2019 pdf download.Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings – Code of practice.
BS 7974 provides a framework for an engineering approach to fire safety in buildings by giving recommendations and guidance on the application of scientific and engineering principles to the protection of people, property and the environment from fire. It is applicable to the design of new buildings and the appraisal of existing buildings.
The general approach to fire safety engineering (FSE) described in this British Standard can be applied to all types and uses of buildings or to facilities such as tunnels and process plants. However. the risks associated with installations used for the bulk processing of explosives or flammable liquids and gases necessitate special consideration which is beyond the scope of BS 7974 and its supporting documents.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purpose of this British Standard, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1 approvals body
organization responsible for approving the fire safety aspects of a building
NOTE Examples of approvals bodies are the local authority building control, approved inspectors, and the fire authority.
3.2 authority having jurisdiction
organization, office or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of legislation or standards, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure
4 Overview of the design approach
4.1 Competence
COMMENTARY ON 4.1
The complexity of the interactions between people, buildings and fire is such that no single set of calculation procedures can be applied to all types of buildings in all circumstances. Therefore, FSE requires a greater degree of care and responsibility by the designer than does the application of design codes.
The application of FSE should be entrusted to suitably qualified and experienced people at all stages. This includes the fire safety engineer and anyone carrying out quality assurance, peer review and approval, who should be able to demonstrate that they have relevant experience of successfully working on similar schemes, that they are appropriately qualified and have the appropriate professional status for the scope of the work being undertaken.
Adequate and relevant competence should be demonstrated.
a) Competence: As a minimum, competence requires adequate qualifications, knowledge, skill and experience.
b) Adequacy: The level of competence should be commensurate with the reliance being placed on that competence. For example, for a “simple” problem (e.g. a minor deviation from prescriptive guidance), reliance on competency might be lower than for a more complex problem (e.g. a detailed numerical analysis across many sub-systems). For the former, a non-specialist might be adequately competent, but for the latter a specialist fire safety engineer with specific qualifications and training might be required.
c) Relevance: The competence should be specific and relevant to the problem at hand (i.e. a high degree of competence in one field does not mean adequate competence across all fields).
All users of this British Standard (designers, approvers, peer reviewers, etc.) should determine whether they have adequate and relevant competence for the application in question.
NOTE For example, Chartered Engineer status through a relevant profession institution, such as the Institution of Fire Engineers, would provide a good indication of competency in that a process of education, training, and experience Is required in order to achieve this The engineer undertaking the work might not have to meet the description above as long as they ore mentored/supervised and their work is quality assured by someone who does.
The fire safety engineer should be able to, when questioned, provide sufficient information to demonstrate their competence. This is especially important where specialist FSE, e.g. structural FSE, is being undertaken.
4.2 Framework
This British Standard provides a performance-based framework for an engineering approach to fire safety which may be applied to both the design of new buildings and the appraisal of existing buildings, to show that regulatory and/or financial requirements and/or environmental considerations can he satisfied. The use of this framework is not a guarantee that the resulting design would be adequate. Approvals bodies should be consulted before final decisions are taken about the fire safety design. It can also be used as part cia cost-benefit analysis to establish the value of property protection measures or to evaluate the environmental impact of fire.BS 7974 pdf free download.
BS 7974:2019 pdf
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