Legislation regarding fire retardancy in public buildings

The Building Regulations 2010 are effectively “The Law” by which every building must be designed and inspected against. The regulations are however short, lack detail, make simple statements and are relevant to all buildings no matter what their function is.

There are detailed approved documents that support the Building Regulations. These either cover an aspect of a building such as Fire Safety (Part B), or in the case of Building Bulletin 100 (commonly referred to as BB100) a specific type of building such as Schools.

Compliance with the building regulations is validated through planning control, building inspectors, or fire officers; who refer to the full set of regulations and approved documents relevant to their inspection.

Therefore following the guidance detailed within the approved guidance (such as BB100) and Approved Documents (such as part B) ensures your compliance with the law.

BB100 states that wall linings within school corridors must be certified under EN13501-1 to a class B standard, a certification that encompasses tests for spread of flame and heat & smoke generation. Effectively testing if the product contributes to, and can spread a fire.

For a new build or a new extension to an existing building the Building Regulations and approved documents must be complied with in full. For existing buildings the responsibility of ensuring compliance is with the School itself and verified in the event of a routine inspection or in the unfortunate event of an incident. The key element to this responsibility is your risk assessment; if you have evaluated the risks and made appropriate provisions. If in the event of an incident the School is found to be negligent then prosecution would follow. This is a stark reminder that the Risk of Fire within Schools should be taken very seriously indeed.

Resist-a-flame

The Resist-a-flame range of products manufactured by Metroplan are classified to the latest EN13501-1 standard and have a result of class B or higher. Therefore any Resist-a-Flame products can be installed in a school corridor, entrance, or stairwell with confidence.