Fire protection concept
The fire protection concept describes the structural and legal situation of a building or a structural system as a preliminary stage to the fire protection regulations and develops specifications for the fire protection infrastructure and equipment in Germany.
The creation of a fire protection concept for a building is necessary if
a) the building law requirements are to be deviated from
b) or the building is of a special type and use (e.g. industrial building, sports stadium, multi-purpose hall, hospital, etc.).
Such a fire protection concept is drawn up by a specialist planner. The term specialist planner is not protected. These can be special fire protection engineers, firefighters of the higher ranks, or any (construction) engineer who calls himself that. The quality of the fire protection concept depends to a large extent on the qualification of the planner. In NRW a fire protection concept according to §58 Abs. 3 BauO NRW must be drawn up by a state-approved expert. In Bavaria, a fire protection concept (in accordance with Art. 62, Paragraph 2, Clause 3 BayBO) for buildings in building class 4 or lower special structures must be drawn up by an expert or engineer with proven and registered training.
As part of integral project planning for building planning , whether new construction or renovation , appropriate fire protection concepts are developed in accordance with building regulations , guidelines , building supervision and the fire service .
A fire protection concept should always consist of planning documents and an explanatory report with a text part and, if necessary, a tabular definition of requirements. The following main headings have proven useful for the structure of the text part:
- Preliminary remark, introduction
- Real estate and building analysis
- Classification under building law, protection goals, risk assessment
- Fire protection measures
They include all measures that prevent the possibility of a fire starting or limit its effects to the lowest possible level. The following protection goals are to be achieved:
- Protection for users and visitors of a building and for the rescue and extinguishing forces in the event of a fire
- Protection of cultural assets , from ecological damage ( environmental protection ) and from damage to the neighborhood
- Property and business interruption protection for the building fabric and the contents, in order to maintain the market position and market competence, but also for the economy .
The first two protection goals are determined by public interests, the third is in the overriding economic interest. In simple terms, a fire protection concept is the sum of coordinated measures that have to be implemented in order to reduce the expected fire damage to a responsible level.
A fire protection concept is a decision-making aid and defines which measures are to be taken with which priority . It must be able to be accepted by authorities , builders , operators and insurers and should have a balanced cost-benefit ratio . It always consists of various fire protection devices and organizational measures, the selection of which depends on the possible fire scenarios, the defined protection goal and the accepted damage from the perspective of the above-mentioned protection goals.
A fire protection concept is only successful if it has shown in the event of a fire or in realistic fire tests or simulations that it has shown a significant effect in the fire chain to link the fire or to achieve the desired protection goals. Theoretical, physical considerations are not sufficient for this. Simulations as probabilistic evidence could play an important role here.
If the installation of a fire alarm system in accordance with DIN 14675 is required as a compensation measure for structural defects to establish the protection goal , a fire alarm concept in accordance with DIN 14675 phase 5 must be drawn up.
Principles
A fire protection concept developed by the client / operator of a building should contain individual measures from preventive structural and technical fire protection, organizational (operational) fire protection and defensive fire protection.
Taking into account the use, the fire risk and the expected extent of damage, the individual components and their connection with regard to the protection goals are described in the fire protection concept.
As part of the fire protection concept, the degree of achievement of the defined protection goals must be assessed. The fire protection concept must be tailored to the individual case, whereby engineering methods of preventive fire protection can be helpful. Protection goals in the sense of the fire protection concept can be derived from the public legal requirements as well as the ideas of the building owners, operators and insurers.
Compliance with the requirements for fire protection must be demonstrated in accordance with the more detailed provisions of the building regulations of the federal states (fire protection certificates). These fire protection certificates are checked in accordance with the different building codes of the federal states or, unchecked, are used as part of the building plans for the construction of structures. The visualization of the fire protection certificates is an important aid for the installer in the case of building projects that are demanding from a fire protection point of view, to select the necessary space-enclosing components and opening locks according to the fire protection concept, and for the operator to maintain their function.
For workplaces, the Workplace Ordinance with the Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR) must also be observed. For example, this places higher demands on the design of escape and rescue routes than the building regulations of the federal states.
literature
- Klaus Müller: Create the right fire protection concept. ecomed Verlag, Landsberg am Lech 2019, ISBN 978-3-609-69415-3 .
Web links
- Fire protection concepts today Individual, protection goal-oriented, economical (accessed on March 5, 2020)
- Exemplary and exemplary representation of fire protection concept components for the new building of the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences (accessed on March 5, 2020)
- Fire protection concept 2018 leaflet (accessed on March 5, 2020)
- Holistic fire protection concept (accessed on March 5, 2020)
- Fire protection concepts § 9 BauPrüfV0 and the VV to § 9 BauPrüfV0 (accessed on March 5, 2020)