NCC 2016 Volume One
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Section C Fire Resistance (Performance Requirements)

Section C Fire Resistance (Performance Requirements)

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

CP1

A building must have elements which will, to the degree necessary, maintain structural stability during a fire appropriate to—

(a)

the function or use of the building; and

(b)

the fire load; and

(c)

the potential fire intensity; and

(d)

the fire hazard; and

(e)

the height of the building; and

(f)

its proximity to other property; and

(g)

any active fire safety systems installed in the building; and

(h)

the size of any fire compartment; and

(i)

intervention; and

(j)

other elements they support; and

(k)

the evacuation time.

Structural stability required during fire

sets structural stability requirements for building elements during a fire.

does not make any reference to a fire-resistance level (FRL). FRLs are only included as part of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions.

It may be found by a building proponent using an Alternate Solution that FRLs to building elements are not necessary as other means, such as the use of active systems, satisfy the Performance Requirements.

“To the degree necessary”

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented. The intended meaning of the term “to the degree necessary” in and other Performance Requirements, is explained in .

It means that the BCA recognises that different building elements require differing degrees of structural stability during a fire. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

“Appropriate to”

The structural stability must be “appropriate to” the criteria listed in , which relate to such factors as:

  • the likelihood or risk of a fire occurring in the building;
  • the load, intensity and potential danger of any fire in the building;
  • the difficulty of evacuation and/or rescue;
  • a structural element’s exposure to fire in another building, or risk of spreading a fire to another building;
  • the fire safety systems in the building, which can affect the rate of fire spread (eg if a sprinkler system is installed in a building, it could either extinguish the fire or reduce its growth rate);
  • the size of a fire and the difficulties in effecting an evacuation;
  • the fire-fighting operations of the fire brigade; and
  • the consequences of the failure of the element (another way of expressing this is to consider that if the element fails, could it result in the failure of another element).
  • the time taken from the start of the emergency to the occupants reaching a safe place.

While assessment of a building proposal must have regard to the differing needs of each building element, the proposal must make sure that the elements have an appropriate structural stability during a fire so that:

  • the fire does not endanger the occupants by entering escape routes; and
  • the fire does not endanger firefighters while they are undertaking search and rescue operations.

Examples

Examples

The following are two examples of what may or may not be “appropriate”. They should not be regarded as absolute, or applicable in all circumstances.

Commercial poultry building

The building concerned is a commercial poultry building which is single storey and occupied by only a few workers, who are likely to know the building well. The building is situated a long distance from any other building and has direct routes to the exit doors.

In such a case, the building elements may not need to be fire protected under because the occupants would be able to evacuate quickly and if the building collapses, there is little likelihood of it damaging another building.

Note that for the example above, it is assumed that the building in question has not met the criteria to be considered a farm building or farm shed in the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions.

High-rise office building

The building concerned is a central city high-rise office building. It is located on the street alignment and close to other similar buildings. In such a case, the structural failure of any of the building elements could lead to danger to building occupants and the general public, failure of building elements intended to protect another building, or the collapse of another element which relies on the first element for structural support.

In this example, building elements may require a high level of protection under .

In both cases, the ability of the fire brigade to control a fire also needs to be considered when considering the implications of .

If the proposal being considered involves a solution that is taking advantage of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions, the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions contain detailed requirements for the fire protection of building elements.

If a Performance Solution is being used, it may be appropriate to assess it using the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for guidance purposes. It is stressed, however, that compliance with the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions is not compulsory if alternative means can be found to satisfy the appropriate authority that the Performance Requirements will be achieved. The building proponent should refer to for guidance on acceptable assessment methods for determining compliance with the Performance Requirements.

CP2

(a)

A building must have elements which will, to the degree necessary, avoid the spread of fire—

(i)

to exits; and

Application

Application:

CP2(a)(ii) only applies to a Class 2 or 3 building or Class 4 part of a building.

(iii)

between buildings; and

(iv)

in a building.

(b)

Avoidance of the spread of fire referred to in (a) must be appropriate to—

(i)

the function or use of the building; and

(ii)

the fire load; and

(iii)

the potential fire intensity; and

(iv)

the fire hazard; and

(v)

the number of storeys in the building; and

(vi)

its proximity to other property; and

(vii)

any active fire safety systems installed in the building; and

(viii)

the size of any fire compartment; and

(ix)

intervention; and

(x)

other elements they support; and

(xi)

the evacuation time.

Spread of fire

deals with the spread of fire both within the building and between buildings, and which does not only result from the structural failure of a building element.

does not make any reference to a fire-resistance level (FRL). FRLs are only included as part of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions. However, proponents of a Performance Solution should note, if they so wish. See CF2.

aims to avoid a situation where fire either endangers occupants evacuating by way of exits, or impedes the capacity of emergency services personnel to access the building and fight the fire or rescue occupants.

aims to minimise the risk of people in Class 2 and Class 3 buildings and Class 4 parts, for example, if they were sleeping and consequently having difficulty escaping a fire. For this reason, requires that sole-occupancy units and corridors used for escaping be provided, to the degree necessary, with protection to avoid the spread of fire.

aims to minimise the risk of fire spreading from one building to another that could endanger the occupants of both buildings and impede the actions of the fire brigade. See and for two means of verifying, under certain circumstances, whether or not the requirements of will be achieved. Other assessment methods for determining compliance with the Performance Requirements are in .

aims to minimise the risk of fire spreading through a building that could endanger the occupants, and impede the actions of the fire brigade.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that different building elements require differing degrees of protection to avoid the spread of fire. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case after considering each building scenario.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

Building elements must be appropriate to avoid spread of fire, taking into consideration the matters listed in including:

  • the likelihood or risk of a fire occurring in the building;
  • the size, load or intensity of any fire in the building;
  • the difficulty of evacuation and/or rescue;
  • the building’s exposure to fire in another building, or risk of spreading a fire to another building;
  • the fire safety systems in the building, which can affect the rate of fire spread (eg if a sprinkler system is installed in a building, it will either extinguish the fire or reduce its growth rate);
  • the size of a fire and the difficulties in effecting an evacuation;
  • the fire-fighting operations of the fire brigade and the resources available to it;
  • the consequences of the failure of the element (another way of expressing this is to consider that if the element fails, could it result in the failure of another element); and
  • the time taken from the start of the emergency to the occupants reaching a safe place.

If a Performance Solution is being used, it may be appropriate to assess it using the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for guidance purposes. It is stressed, however, that compliance with the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions is not compulsory if alternative means can be found to satisfy the appropriate authority that the Performance Requirements will be achieved. The building proponent should refer to for guidance on acceptable assessment methods for determining compliance with the Performance Requirements.

Examples

Examples

The following are two very simple examples of what may or may not be “appropriate”. They should not be regarded as absolute, or applicable in all circumstances.

Commercial poultry building

The building concerned is a commercial poultry building which is single storey and is occupied by only a few workers, who are likely to know the building well. The building is situated some distance from any other building and has direct routes to the exit doors.

In such a case, the building elements may not need to be protected against the spread of fire under because the building is:

  • only one fire compartment;
  • people are not sleeping in the building; and
  • there is little likelihood of the spread of fire to another building because of the large distance to any other building.

Note that for the example above, it is assumed that the building in question has not met the criteria to be considered a farm building or farm shed in the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions.

High-rise office building

The building concerned is a central city high-rise office building. It is located on the street alignment and close to other similar buildings.

In such a case, the spread of a fire needs to be avoided because:

  • the occupants will take some time to evacuate the building, so there is a need to protect the escape routes;
  • there is a need for protection from the spread of a fire between each storey, because each storey is intended to be a separate fire compartment; and
  • a fire could easily spread between buildings, because they are close together.

In this example, building elements may require a high level of protection against the spread of fire under .

In both cases, the ability of the fire brigade to control a fire would also need to be considered when considering the implications of satisfying .

If the proposal being considered involves a solution that is taking advantage of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions, the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions contain detailed requirements for the fire protection of building elements.

CP3

A building must be protected from the spread of fire and smoke to allow sufficient time for the orderly evacuation of the building in an emergency.

Application

Application:

CP3 only applies to—

  1. a patient care area of a Class 9a health-care building; and
  2. a Class 9c building.
Spread of fire and smoke in a patient care area

deals with the spread of fire and smoke within a patient care area of a Class 9a building.

If a fire occurs in a health-care building, most patients would be unable to leave their beds, or may require assistance to evacuate the building. It is therefore important that the areas of the health-care building used by patients in beds be protected from fire in another part of the building.

See definition of “health-care building” in A1.1.

Spread of fire and smoke in aged care buildings

also applies in Class 9c buildings. In this case it applies throughout the whole building, not just in the resident use areas. This is because if a fire occurs in an aged care building, some residents would be unable to leave their beds, or may require assistance to evacuate the building.

CP4

To maintain tenable conditions during occupant evacuation, a material and an assembly must, to the degree necessary, resist the spread of fire and limit the generation of smoke and heat, and any toxic gases likely to be produced, appropriate to—

(a)

the evacuation time; and

(b)

the number, mobility and other characteristics of occupants; and

(c)

the function or use of the building; and

(d)

any active fire safety systems installed in the building.

Application

Application:

CP4 applies to linings, materials and assemblies in a Class 2 to 9 building.

Fire hazard properties of materials

deals with the fire hazard properties of materials used in the construction of a building. These include such matters as their smoke, toxic gas and heat generation capacities.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that different materials and assemblies must resist the spread of fire to limit the generation of smoke, heat and toxic gases to differing degrees, depending on the circumstances of their use. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case after consideration of the building scenario.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

The materials used in the building must be appropriate to avoid the spread of fire and the generation of smoke, heat and toxic gases after consideration of the matters listed in . The reason for each of these matters is as follows:

  • If the occupants can evacuate in a short time, then the smoke, heat and toxic gases generated prior to the completion of the evacuation will be less likely to have an impact on the safety of the occupants than if a longer evacuation time is required.
  • The number, mobility and other characteristics of the occupants influence the time taken for the evacuation of the building. If the number of occupants is large, or they are not mobile, such as patients in a hospital or residents of an elderly people’s home, the evacuation time could be long. Such an evacuation time may allow the fire to develop and generate greater amounts of smoke, heat and toxic gases that will endanger the safety of the occupants trying to evacuate.
  • The function or use of the building has an impact on the types of materials and linings that are part of the building’s fire load. This directly influences the rate of spread of any fire in the building.
  • Any active fire safety system installed in the building, such as a sprinkler system, may limit the spread of fire and allow additional time for the evacuation of the occupants.

The Deemed-to-Satisfy Provision applicable to is . limits the early fire hazard characteristics of materials susceptible to the effects of flame or heat, particularly during the early stages of a fire.

If a Performance Solution is being used, it may be appropriate to assess it using the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for guidance purposes. It is stressed, however, that compliance with the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions is not compulsory if alternative means can be found to satisfy the appropriate authority that the Performance Requirements will be achieved. The building proponent should refer to for guidance on acceptable assessment methods for determining compliance with the Performance Requirements.

CP5

A concrete external wall that could collapse as a complete panel (e.g. tilt-up and pre-cast concrete) must be designed so that in the event of fire within the building the likelihood of outward collapse is avoided.

Limitation

Limitation:

CP5 does not apply to a building having more than two storeys above ground level.

“Tilt-up construction”

is intended to overcome a problem observed when a fire has occurred in a building of “tilt-up construction”, and the panels have collapsed outwards, either during the fire or shortly after with little or no warning, endangering public safety, health, amenity and fire fighting operations.

A wide variety of structural systems and materials are possible to achieve this.

is only applicable to walls that could collapse as complete panels and, therefore, is not applicable to concrete and clay masonry walls, and the like, because such walls tend to fail in portions, rather than as complete panels.

The height limitation of 2 storeys is based upon the observation that the problem only seems to occur in low-rise buildings. This is due to taller buildings usually having fire rated floors and other building elements to restrain wall panels during a fire.

CP6

A building must have elements, which will, to the degree necessary, avoid the spread of fire from service equipment having—

(a)

a high fire hazard; or

(b)

a potential for explosion resulting from a high fire hazard.

Hazardous service equipment

Certain types of equipment installed in buildings, such as boilers and the like, have a high fire potential. Other types of equipment, such as transformers and batteries, have a high potential for explosion. aims to minimise the risk of a fire spreading from such equipment to other parts of the building.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that different equipment requires differing levels of protection, depending on the circumstances within which it is used and installed. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

CP7

A building must have elements, which will, to the degree necessary, avoid the spread of fire so that emergency equipment provided in a building will continue to operate for a period of time necessary to ensure that the intended function of the equipment is maintained during a fire.

Emergency equipment must continue to operate

is intended to protect emergency equipment from the spread of fire within a building. It is important that emergency equipment continues to operate to the required level during an emergency. The length of time it should continue to operate will depend on the particular equipment.

Examples

Examples

requires that the emergency equipment continue to operate for as long as it is needed. Some examples of where protection may be required include:

  • the protection of central smoke control plant required to operate in a fire for sufficient time for the occupants to evacuate; and
  • the protection of the power supply to emergency lifts for sufficient time for the use of the lifts.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that different emergency equipment requires differing levels of protection, depending on the circumstances within which it is used and installed. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

CP8

Any building element provided to resist the spread of fire must be protected, to the degree necessary, so that an adequate level of performance is maintained—

(a)

where openings, construction joints and the like occur; and

(b)

where penetrations occur for building services.

Openings and penetrations

requires openings and penetrations in building elements to resist the spread of fire.

should be read in conjunction with . deals with any opening or penetration within a building element, and deals with the building element itself.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that different building elements require differing levels of protection, depending on the circumstances within which they are used and installed. The expression is intended to allow the appropriate authority to determine the degree of compliance necessary in each particular case.

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

CP9

Access must be provided to and around a building, to the degree necessary, for fire brigade vehicles and personnel to facilitate intervention appropriate to—

(a)

the function or use of the building; and

(b)

the fire load; and

(c)

the potential fire intensity; and

(d)

the fire hazard; and

(e)

any active fire safety systems installed in the building; and

(f)

the size of any fire compartment.

Fire brigade access essential

The attending fire brigade must, in many cases, have access to and around a building during a fire, to undertake search and rescue and fire-fighting operations.

Access for the fire brigade should take into consideration such matters as:

  • The size and type of the brigade vehicles likely to be required to fight a fire in the building. Consideration should be given to ensuring that the access is wide enough for a large fire truck, able to support the truck’s weight, and incorporate a suitable hard stand area if the brigade needs to use pump units to fight the fire.
  • The need for the brigade to fight the fire, considering such factors as the size and type of the building, the nature of any fire safety systems in the building, and the contents of the building.

uses the term “to the degree necessary”. This word usage is designed to provide flexibility in the way this provision is implemented.

It means that the BCA recognises that buildings need different types of fire brigade access. These differences depend on the matters listed in .

Any decision made in this context can extend to not requiring an item to be installed or a particular level of performance to be achieved, if that is the appropriate action to be taken.

Any access for the fire brigade must be appropriate to their needs and the type of vehicles and equipment to be used, having regard to the matters listed in :

  • the likelihood or risk of a fire occurring in the building;
  • the size, load or intensity of any fire in the building; and
  • the fire safety systems in the building, which can affect the rate of fire spread (eg if a sprinkler system is installed in a building, it will either extinguish the fire or reduce its growth rate).

Examples

Examples

The following examples indicate circumstances where fire brigade access may not be necessary:

  • A small building, with a low level of occupancy and a low fire load may not require access.
  • A building located in an area that does not have an operational fire service, or where the fire service is unlikely to reach the building during the course of a fire.

If the proposal being considered involves a solution that is taking advantage of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions, the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions contain detailed requirements regarding fire brigade access.

If a Performance Solution is being used, it may be appropriate to assess it using the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for guidance purposes. It is stressed, however, that compliance with the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions is not compulsory if alternative means can be found to satisfy the appropriate authority that the Performance Requirements will be achieved. The building proponent should refer to for guidance on acceptable assessment methods for determining compliance with the Performance Requirements.