Fire strategies
How a building is meant to perform in a fire, and what that depends on. For new projects and buildings already in use.
New builds and refurbishment
For design teams, developers and contractors making a Building Regulations application.
The strategy records the intended fire safety design and the reasoning behind it, so Building Control can approve it and the building can be run safely once it is handed over. It works through each fire safety requirement of the Building Regulations in turn.
- B1
- Means of warning and escapeEscape routes, travel distances, detection and alarm.
- B2
- Internal fire spread: liningsHow wall and ceiling surfaces contribute to fire growth.
- B3
- Internal fire spread: structureStructural fire resistance, compartmentation and concealed spaces.
- B4
- External fire spreadExternal walls, roof coverings and space separation.
- B5
- Access and facilities for the fire serviceVehicle access, firefighting shafts, fire mains and smoke venting.
- Reg 38
- Fire safety informationWhat the Responsible Person is handed at completion, so the building can be run as designed.
Retrospective fire strategies
For existing buildings with no strategy, or one that no longer reflects the building.
Many buildings have changed layout or use over the years, and the original paperwork no longer matches what is there. A retrospective strategy records the fire safety arrangements as they are today and justifies them against current guidance.
It gives the owner, the fire risk assessor, the insurer and the enforcing authority one agreed account of the building. Because we also carry out fire risk assessments, the two documents never contradict each other.
Common questions
Ask us directly and you will get a straight answer.
020 8194 2494info@adeptify.co.ukWhen does an existing building need a retrospective strategy?
Common triggers are a change of use, alterations to escape routes or compartmentation, an insurer or lender asking how the building achieves fire safety, a Fire and Rescue Service raising concerns, or Building Control asking for one on a regularisation application.
Which guidance do you design to?
Approved Document B for most projects, and BS 9999 where a risk based approach suits the building better. The strategy states which route it follows and why.
Do you deal with Building Control?
Yes. We prepare the strategy for submission and answer their questions as part of the commission.
Can you work from existing drawings?
Yes. We work from the drawings you have and a site visit, and mark up plans to show the fire strategy where that helps.
Tell us about the project.
Send the address, the drawings you have and where the project is in approval. We will come back to you with a fixed quote.