- 9.1 General - The Planning design and construction of any building shall be such as to ensure safety from fire. For this purpose, unless otherwise specified in these Regulations, the provisions of Part-IV, Fire Protection Chapter and National Building Code shall apply.
For multi-storeyed, high rise and special buildings, additional provisions relating to fire protection contained in Annexure C of NBC shall also apply. The approach to the building and open spaces on all sides up to 6mtrs width and their layout shall conform to the requirements of the Chief Officer. They shall be capable of taking the weight of a fire engine weighing up to 18 tonnes. These open spaces shall be free of any obstruction and shall be motorable.
- 9.2 Exits.- Every building meant for human occupancy shall be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe escape of its occupants in case of fire or other emergency for which the exits shall conform to the following:
- i. Types. - Exits should be horizontal or vertical. A horizontal exit may be a door-way, a corridor, a passage-way to an internal stairway or to an adjoining building, a ramp, a verandah, or a terrace which has access to the street or to the roof of a building. A vertical exit may be a staircase or a ramp, but not a lift.
- ii. General requirement - Exits from all the parts of the building, except those not accessible for general public use, shall-
- a. provide continuous egress to the exterior of the building or to an exterior open space leading to the street;
- b. be so arranged that, except in a residential building, they can be reached without having to cross another occupied unit;
- c. be free of obstruction;
- d. be adequately illuminated;
- e. be clearly visible, with the routes reaching them clearly marked and signs posted to guide any person to the floor concerned;
- f. be fitted, if necessary, with fire fighting equipment suitably located but not as to obstruct the passage, clearly marked and with its location clearly indicated on both sides of the exit way;
- g. be fitted with a fire alarm device, if it is either a multi-storeyed, high use or a special building so as to ensure its prompt evacuation;
- h. remain unaffected by any alteration of any part of the building so far as their number, width, capacity and protection thereof is concerned;
- i. be so located that the travel distance on the floor does not exceed the following limits:
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Residential, educational, institutional and hazardous occupancies: 22.5mtrs.
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Assembly, business, mercantile, industrial and storage building: 30mtrs.
Note: The travel distance to an exit from the dead end of a corridor shall not exceed half the distance specified above.
When more than one exit is required on a floor, the exits shall be as remote from each other as possible:
Provided that for all multi-Storeyed high rise and special buildings, a minimum of two enclosed type staircases shall be provided, at least one of them opens directly to the exterior to an interior open space or to any open place of safety.
- (iii) Number and width of exits - The width of an exit, stairway / corridor and exit door to be provided at each floor in occupancies of various types shall be as shown in columns 3 & 5 of Table 23. Their number shall be calculated by applying to every 100 sq. m. of the plinth or covered area of the occupancy, the relevant multiplier in columns 4 & 6 of Table 23, Fractions being rounded off upward to the nearest whole number.
9.3 Safety Measures against Earthquake
Buildings with ground plus four floors and above or buildings with a height of 15 mtrs. and above shall be designed and constructed adopting the norms prescribed in the National Building Code and in the "Criteria for earthquake resistant design of structures" bearing No. IS 1893-2002 published by the Bureau of Indian Standards, making the buildings resistant to earthquake. The supervision certificate and the completion certificate of every such building shall contain a certificate recorded by the Registered Engineer / Architect that the norms of the National Building Code and I.S. 1893-2002 have been followed in the design and construction of buildings for making the buildings resistant to earthquake.
TABLE - 24:WIDTH AND NUMBER OF EXITS FOR VARIOUS OCCUPANCIES
| Sl. No. | Type of Occupancy | Stairway / Corridor - Minimum width in meters | Stairway / Corridor - Multiplier | Door minimum width in meters | Exit Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) |
| 1. | Residential Dwellings Row housing (2 storeys) Hotels | 1.2 0.75 1.5 | 0.145 0.213 0.107 | 0.053 | |
| 2. | Educational-up to 24 mtrs high. Over 24 mtrs. high | 1.5 2.0 | 0.333 0.250 | 0.667 | |
| 3. | Institutional i.e. Hospitals Up to 10 beds. Over 10 beds | 1.5 2.0 | 0.089 0.067 | 0.044 | |
| 4. | Assembly - fixed seats or loose seats and dance floor. No seating facilities and dining rooms | 2.0 2.0 | 0.694 0.278 | 1.0 | 0.926 0.370 |
| 5. | Mercantile- street floor and basement Upper sales floors | 1.5 1.5 | 0.222 0.111 | 0.222 0.111 | |
| 6. | Business and Industrial | 1.5 | 0.067 | 0.067 | |
| 7. | Storage | 1.5 | 0.022 | 0.22 | |
| 8. | Hazardous | 1.5 | 0.133 | 0.125 |
Note: No deductions shall be made in the gross area of the corridors, closets or other sub-divisions; all space serving the particular assembly occupancy shall be reckoned