Do you have fire safety measures?
Jul 09, 2010
ACCORDING to modern building standards, every building must have fire safety and escape measures. Some of the measures include fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
BY OYET OKWERA
ACCORDING to modern building standards, every building must have fire safety and escape measures. Some of the measures include fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
Fire fighting strategies must be put into consideration, especailly when planning construction of high population buildings such as malls, shopping centres and schools.
Ronald Jemba, a member of the Uganda society of architects, says before embarking on any building, it is important to cater for burglary. He says this should cater for general protection in case of; fire, theft among other eventual catastrophic happenings.
In addition, he says consideration should be put on the type of materials purchased. Jemba says strong building materials such as blocks should be used to ensure the walls are not easily ripped through by fire.
Conventional building practices such as correct cement-to-sans ratios should be observed. The recommended ratio is usually three wheelbarrows of sand for a sack of cement.
For a storied building, Jemba says there should be stairs at every ten metres appropriately placed in the middle of the building.
While building, he says fire escapes can be created through emergency exits. Jemba says emergency exits should be placed at the extreme corners of buildings.
“Unfortunately, many houses do not have emergency exits yet the building code emphasises their significance,†says Jemba. To easily access stairs, there should be closed but not locked emergency doors.
This allows swift exit in case of fire outbreak. Jemba adds that emergency exits must be strategically located to the outward opening doors with a crash bars on them and exit signs.
An emergency, according to Jemba, is different from a fire escape though exits can also serve as emergencies for fire. He says a fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit mounted outside a building.
Jemba says local building codes dictate the number of fire exits for a building depending on size. “For any building bigger than a private house, modern codes invariably specify at least two sets of stairs,†he says. Jemba says such stairs must be completely separate from each other.
He says some architects meet this requirement by housing two stairs in a double helix configuration where two stairs occupy the same floor space intertwined.
“Having two stairs so close to each other meets the building requirement and all new commercial buildings should include well- marked emergency exits,†Jemba says.
ACCORDING to modern building standards, every building must have fire safety and escape measures. Some of the measures include fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
Fire fighting strategies must be put into consideration, especailly when planning construction of high population buildings such as malls, shopping centres and schools.
Ronald Jemba, a member of the Uganda society of architects, says before embarking on any building, it is important to cater for burglary. He says this should cater for general protection in case of; fire, theft among other eventual catastrophic happenings.
In addition, he says consideration should be put on the type of materials purchased. Jemba says strong building materials such as blocks should be used to ensure the walls are not easily ripped through by fire.
Conventional building practices such as correct cement-to-sans ratios should be observed. The recommended ratio is usually three wheelbarrows of sand for a sack of cement.
For a storied building, Jemba says there should be stairs at every ten metres appropriately placed in the middle of the building.
While building, he says fire escapes can be created through emergency exits. Jemba says emergency exits should be placed at the extreme corners of buildings.
“Unfortunately, many houses do not have emergency exits yet the building code emphasises their significance,†says Jemba. To easily access stairs, there should be closed but not locked emergency doors.
This allows swift exit in case of fire outbreak. Jemba adds that emergency exits must be strategically located to the outward opening doors with a crash bars on them and exit signs.
An emergency, according to Jemba, is different from a fire escape though exits can also serve as emergencies for fire. He says a fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit mounted outside a building.
Jemba says local building codes dictate the number of fire exits for a building depending on size. “For any building bigger than a private house, modern codes invariably specify at least two sets of stairs,†he says. Jemba says such stairs must be completely separate from each other.
He says some architects meet this requirement by housing two stairs in a double helix configuration where two stairs occupy the same floor space intertwined.
“Having two stairs so close to each other meets the building requirement and all new commercial buildings should include well- marked emergency exits,†Jemba says.