2023/0028/IRL
EC/EFTA
IE Ireland
  • B00 - CONSTRUCTION
2023-04-24
2023-01-24

The notification is not related to any one specific construction product / service.

This draft proposal sets out the performance requirements, related to fire safety, for buildings other than dwellings.

Draft amendment to the Building Regulations to strengthen and enhance fire safety in buildings other than dwellings.

The Building Regulations 1997 to 2022 set out minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings and works to ensure the health and safety of people in and around such buildings. They are subject to ongoing review in the interests of safety and the well-being of persons in the built environment, and to ensure that due regard is taken of changes in construction techniques, technological progress and innovation.

Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations and the associated Technical Guidance Document B (TGD B) deals with Fire Safety. Part B sets the legal performance requirements of buildings and the associated TGD provides guidance on how to achieve that performance in practice for common building types. Where works are carried out in accordance with the guidance in TGD B, this will, prima facie, indicate compliance with Part B. Technical Guidance Document B was first published in 1991, and was updated in 1997, 2006, and in 2020.
Changes in the design and construction of buildings, with taller and larger, more complex layouts; the use of new and innovative building systems and materials; changes in the provision of heating, ventilation, and access for the health and safety of occupants; and improvements in energy performance, have necessitated a review of Technical Guidance Document B. The review has also taken into account common and emerging building trends; developments and events from a global perspective; matters relating to external fire spread; external fire resistance; internal fire resistance; cladding systems, sprinklers; and the review into the Grenfell fire.
This review examined the requirements of the Building Regulations with respect to Fire Safety, as well as the technical provisions supporting the national requirements – Technical Guidance Document B, 2006 (Reprint 2020).
In carrying out the review, specific regard was given to
1. the holistic requirements of the Building Regulations in Ireland;

2. the framework of administration set out under the Building Control Regulations; fire safety; planning, and Health and Safety Laws native to Ireland; and

3. Irish policy documents outlining national strategy and objectives, such as Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland; and Fire Safety in Ireland – The Report of the Fire Safety Task Force 2018.
The draft proposal generally applies to buildings other than dwellings.
The draft proposal includes:
• Amending Part B of the Building Regulations to require means of alert in case of fire, an inhibition to the spread of fire over the face of the building, and the provision of information to building owners in respect of fire safety systems installed in the building.
• Amending Article 5(4) of the Principal Regulations to include a definition for 'storage buildings', 'high risk storage buildings', 'high risk industrial buildings', and to amend the definition for 'industrial buildings' and 'places of assembly',
• Amending Article 13 of the Principal Regulations to require certain Building Regulations to apply where a storage building, high risk storage building, or high risk industrial building becomes so used.
• Revocation of Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2006 (S. I. No. 115 of 2006);
• Identifying an operative date of the Regulations subject to the transitional periods cited. • Update of Section 0 of Technical Guidance Document B (Use of the Document, to provide guidance on the provision of information to building owners, to provide a more specific scope to the document, and to update other provisions
• Update to Section 1 of Technical Guidance Document B (Means of Warning and Escape in Case of Fire) to provide additional provisions for horizontal, and vertical means of escape in buildings, to provide means of escape provisions for buildings containing flats, to provide means of escape provisions for shopping centres, to provide means of escape provisions for small premises, to update the general provisions with regard to fire safety, including fire detection and alarm systems, and the provision of refuges.
• Update to Section 2 of Technical Guidance Document B (Internal Fire Spread - Linings) to provide for the classification of linings to the European test methodology, for new buildings, extensions, and new materials in existing buildings
• Update to Section 3 of Technical Guidance Document B (Internal Fire Spread - Structure) to enhance compartmentation at compartment floor / wall and external wall junctions, to provide compartmentation provisions for atria, and shopping centres, and to enhance fire stopping provisions. • Update to Section 4 of Technical Guidance Document B (External Fire Spread) to enhance external wall provisions, to restrict the spread of fire over the face of the building, to provide for the classification of roof coverings to the European test methodology, for new buildings, extensions, and new materials in existing buildings• Update to Section 5 of Technical Guidance Document B (Access and Facilities for the Fire Service) to enhancefire service access

• Creation of Section 6 of Technical Guidance Document B (Smoke Control Systems) to provide guidance on the performance requirements of smoke control systems in buildings
• Creation of Section 7 of Technical Guidance Document B (Existing Buildings) to consolidate and enhance provisions relating to fire safety in existing buildings
• Update to the Appendices of Technical Guidance Document B (Appendix A - Appendix I) to support the provisions in Sections 1 - 7, to provide for the classification of fire resistance tests to the European test methodology, for new buildings, extensions, and new fire resisting elements in existing buildings
• The opportunity has also been taken to make other minor editorial corrections to Technical Guidance Document B, where appropriate.