FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

FOR PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES

By

Goh Siam Imm (Ms)

Building and Construciton Authority

Member of Fire Code Review Committee

6 March 2013

Fire Code Seminar 2013

Implementation

Fire Safety Requirements for Persons with Disabilities

Released by SCDF in Jan 2011

Implemented on 1 Nov 2011

Amendment (8 Jan 2013)

Appendix 20 item 7 - Means to Alert the Hearing Impaired

Take effect on 15 July 2013

To be read with Requirements on Using lifts for evacuation of building occupants during emergency

Implementation

Fire Safety Requirements for Persons with Disabilities

Not Applicable for

Purpose group I and II (residential development)

Non-residential standalone buildings intended as ancillary use within the residential development, eg. carpark buildings and clubhouses

Health Care Occupancy (eg. Hospitals, Nursing Home etc.)

Scope of the Guidelines

Fire Safety Requirements for Persons with Disabilities covers

Essential fire Safety provisions to facilitates the evacuation of PWDs during the fire emergencies

Escape RouteHolding point for Person with Disabililites (PWD)Evacuation lift Communication

Planning strategies to manage the evacuation of PWDS

Persons with Disabilities

Persons with Disabilities (PWD) are persons whose mobility and use of a building

are affected as a consequence of one or

more of the following physical or sensory

disabilities or impairments:(a) Ambulant disabled

(b) Wheel-bound

(c) Hearing impairment or deafness

(d) Visual impairment or blindness

Evacuation

Concept

Building Owner

Emergency

Place of Safety

Evacuation lift

PWD Holding Point

Persons With Disabilities

PWD Holding Point

A temporarily safe space for PWDs to await

assistance for their evacuation

To be provided on all storeys including

basement level (except for first storey or storey

at grade level)

At least 2 PWD Holding Points for every storey

except for building with a single exit staircase

At least two designated PWD Holding Points for every storey of building except for building designed

with single exit staircase

PWD Holding

PointPWD Holding

Point

PWD Holding Point

PWD Holding Point

Single PWD Holding Point for building designed with single exit staircase allowed under:

Cl.2.6.1 Office, shop, factory & warehouse not exceeding 15m in habitable height and not exceeding 4 storeys

PWD Holding Point

Safe waiting areas for short period of time

Enclosed with fire-resisting construction

and served directly by a

safe route to a storey

exit, evacuation lift or

final exit

PWD Holding Point

Located within fire fighting lobby,

smoke stop lobby

or external corridor

PWD Holding Point

Free of obstruction

Located away from Point of occupant

egress

PWD Holding Point designated in an external corridor

shall be positioned at least 2000mm away from the

edge of exit staircase

PWD Holding Point

Min 2000mm

PWD Holding Point within fire fighting lobby and smoke stop lobby

shall be positioned at least 500mm away from the edge of exit staircase and from the

occupant escape path

PWD Holding Point

Min

500mm

The PWD Holding Point shall not obstruct or disrupt the escape flow within the staircase

PWD Holding Point

PWD Holding Point

inside exit staircase

Only permitted for buildings not more

than 4 storeys above

ground or without lift

provision

PWD Holding Point

Wheelchair space of at least 900mm X 1400mm to allow

manoeuvring of wheelchair

PWD Holding Point

PWD Holding Point,

Dotted rectangle marking and symbol of access for

PWD on the floor

Mandatory sign PWD Holding Point-Keep

Clear prominently displayed

The corridor serving as escape route shall have a minimum width of

1200mm

Rationale In line with the minimum clear width or

1.2 m specified in the Code on

accessibility in the Built Environment

The width would facilitate wheelchair bound person to manouevre and to gain

access to the nearest PWD Holding

Point

Escape Route

Corridor width at least 1200mm

The corridor serving as escape route shall have a minimum width of 1200mm

Escape Route

Minimum 1.2m

Escape Route

The requirement for travel distance similar

to that stipulated in the Fire Code (see Table 2.2A in the Fire Code).

Evacuation Lift

Evacuation Lift

A lift provided for the evacuation of PWD during emergencies assisted by authorized personnel.

Located within a protected lobby such as smoke stop lobby, external exit passageway or external corridor.

Installed in accordance with SS 550 Code of Practice for Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Electric Passenger and Goods Lifts

Evacuation Lift

Evacuation Lift designated to facilitate

evacuation for PWDs

Fire lift shall not be designated as

evacuation lift unless there is more than 1

fire lift provided in the building

Fire lift intended to provide a vertical means of access for fire fighting and rescue operation

At least one of the lifts shall be designated as Evacuation Lift

Readily visible sign marked Evacuation Lift for PWDs affixed onto the wall adjacent to the lift door at every landing of the evacuation lift

Evacuation Lift

Clear platform size of minimum 1200mm

width X 1400 mm

150

max

1200 m in

14

00

min

Min 1200 mm

Min

14

00

mm

Evacuation Lift

Evacuation Lift

Switching device

installed next to each evacuation lift landing

door on the designated

floor.

housed in a breakable glass-fronted cover box marked evacuation switch.

Evacuation Lift

Evacuation Lift

Evacuation Lift

Provided with standby power supply

For continuous operation during power failure and/or fire emergencies (routing of cables for

evacuation lift similar to fire lift)

Lift shall Be brought to the designated floor

Park there with its doors closed, after discharging

all the passengers

Other provision in lieu of lift

Internal and external exit ramps

comply with current Fire Code

cl.2.3.3 (Exit staircase) & cl.2.3.8 (exit

ramp gradient)

Ramp designs conform to

requirements spelled out in Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment

Ramps can serve as alternative means of

escape

Management of Evacuation

Evacuation procedures have to be pre-planned by the building owner/facilities manager

Management of Evacuation

The building owner

must plan, identify and make arrangements

for assistance during emergency

keep the following information :

Number of PWDS

Location of the PWDs

Nature of their disabilities

PWD Holding point in which they are allocated.

Management of Evacuation

Staff designated to help PWD are to be fully trained to execute the evacuation procedures

Horizontal and vertical evacuation procedures to be tested at least once a year.

Building with Evacuation Lift

Alarm activation

PWDs move or directed to the PWD Holding

Point in the evacuation lift lobby

Trained staff pick

up PWDs from

designated PWD

Holding point and

direct them to the

final exit

Building without Evacuation Lift

Alarm Activation

PWD move or directed to the PWD Holding

Point inside exit staircase

Trained staff continue

their search

procedure

Completed search

procedure and assist

the PWD down the

stair to the final exit. PWD Holding Point

To be provided between the PWD holding pointand Fire Command Centre (FCC) or any 24-

hourly manned station In the form of a distress button or voice

communication

Located between 800mm and 1200mm aboveground level

Appropriately labeled Prominently displayed clear instruction sign on its

operation; and

Shall generate a clear visual indication to indicatethat the distress signal has been relayed, when the

device for communication is activated.

Suitable means of communication

Visual Alarm System

To alert persons with hearing impairment

Location of visual alarm

In isolation spaces Toilet cubicles, car park and lift lobbies.

Designated bedroom in buildings with stay-in facilities such as hotel, service apartments, hostels, dormitories

At least 10% of the guestrooms or accommodation units shall be provided with visual alarm

Visual Alarm System

Visual alarm devices can take the

form of flashing beacon or strobe

light for use in conjunction with

conventional fire alarm system

Visual indicator to be provided where alarm

bells are located.

Visual Alarm System

Visual Alarm signal

Intensity of light signal should be

sufficient to draw the attention of

people in the vicinity

Flash at a rate within the range

of 30 to 130 flashes per minute

Visual Alarm Devices Sufficient in number and

distribution to be visible from all

accessible locations

Visual indicator shall be mounted

at appropriate height such that it

is visible from all corners of the

floor

Visual alarm indicating device

shall be labelled with the word

Fire and is legible from the normal standing position

Flashing or strobe lights of visual

alarm system shall be

synchronized with the flash rate

of such multiple fixture

Appreciation

The following Associations have been invited to comment on the PWD Fire Safety Guidelines:

Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA)

The Society For The Physically Disabled (SPD)

Singapore Association Of The Visually Handicapped (SAVH)

Singapore Association For The Deaf (SADeaf)

Disabled Peoples Association of Singapore

Thank you