Other sources of information

DD9999, is a Draft for Development published by the British Standards Institution. The intention behind the development of the document is to provide a more transparent and flexible approach to fire safe design through the use of a structured approach to risk based design. It is intended that the Code will eventually succeed a number of existing British Standards, including the BS5588 series which form the basis of most existing fire precautions.

 

DD9999 contains structural fire resistance requirements based on a risk approach and the parametric time-temperature curve. These can be higher, lower or the same as those found in Approved Document B. In general, considerable credit is given for the presence of sprinkler protection so the requirements for high rise building, where sprinklers are usually mandatory, are often lower than those in Approved Document B.

It is intended that DD9999 will become a full British Standard in 2007.

Buildings located within the inner London area are subject to the requirements of the London Building Act 1939. Within this act, precautions against fire in buildings are covered by Section 20. This ensures that “proper arrangements will be made and maintained for lessening so far as is reasonably practicable danger from fire in buildings.”

In 1990 the London District Surveyors Association published Fire Safety Guide, No. 1: Fire Safety in Section 20 Buildings, Figure 9 shown below. This document contains detailed information on fire resistance requirements for high risk buildings within the inner London area. The main differences with regard to structural fire resistance are that basement car park requirements are more onerous than those in Approved Document B. Also, mandatory sprinklers are introduced in high rise, non-residential buildings above 25 metres.