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Part B of the Building
Regulations recognises the special circumstances of fire escape
in hospitals, referring to HTM 81 - Firecode: fire precautions
in new hospitals. The principles in the current 'Firecode' and
Fire Practice Notes (FPNs) can be summarised as follows.
Progressive horizontal evacuation involves planning for
adjacent fire compartments with adequate fire separation
construction, including doorsets, so that bed-bound patients can
be taken quickly to a place of safety without having to move
directly to a final exit from the building.This requires
compartmentation to particular NHS sizes and fire ratings.
Stand-open doors are therefore commonplace in health building
corridors and issues of impact damage to leading edges,
interlinks to fire alarm systems, delayedaction closing
(allowing trolleys to pass) and mode of stand-open
(electromagnetic or freeswing) need to be considered. HTM 58
recognises fire resisting doorsets, generally with half-hour
(FR30) or one hour (FR60) fire ratings. A 45mm diameter disc
identifying the fire rating must be set flush on the door face
as shown. Leaderflush Shapland can fit these in the factory.
LS Group doorsets can offer up to FR120 fire resistance with
smoke seals and intumescents automatically included to meet
specific performance requirements, all independently certified.
Fire retardant packaging is also available on request.
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