Introduction

It is essential to understand the difference between Act, Regulations and Guidance.

 

Acts are pieces of statutory legislation that have been passed by Parliament, which means that they are laws. Breaching of an act creates liability enforceable in court.

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Regulations are supplementary to acts. They link to existing acts, and they are designed to aid a person to apply the principles of the primary act. Essentially, they are formal guidelines, and breaching them is not necessarily enforceable in courts.

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Guidance (AKA Codes of Practice) sit below acts and regulations. A breach of guidance or codes of practice is not necessarily an offence and would need to be directly linked back to the primary act offence.

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The Fire Safety Order 2005 is the act that details the requirements necessary to comply with fire safety in England and Wales.

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The Fire Safety Order 2005 (as amended) states:

Emergency routes and exits:

14.—(1) Where necessary in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons, the responsible person must ensure that routes to emergency exits from premises and the exits themselves are kept clear at all times.

(2) The following requirements must be complied with in respect of premises where necessary (whether due to the features of the premises, the activity carried on there, any hazard present or any other relevant circumstances) in order to safeguard the safety of relevant persons—

(a) emergency routes and exits must lead as directly as possible to a place of safety;

(b) in the event of danger, it must be possible for persons to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible;

(c) the number, distribution and dimensions of emergency routes and exits must be adequate having regard to the use, equipment and dimensions of the premises and the maximum number of persons who may be present there at any one time;

(d) emergency doors must open in the direction of escape;

(e) sliding or revolving doors must not be used for exits specifically intended as emergency exits;

(f) emergency doors must not be so locked or fastened that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency;

(g) signs must indicate emergency routes and exits; and

(h) emergency routes and exits requiring illumination must be provided with emergency lighting of adequate intensity in the case of failure of their normal lighting.

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Section C is legislation that, if broken, would lead to prosecution in the event of overcrowding. Generally, we look to state-issued guidance in regard to the information which would constitute adequate exits; it is generally understood that following the guidance will lead to adherence to the legislation. This guidance can be found in:

• Approved Document B (fire safety) Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings, 2019 edition incorporating 2020 and 2022 amendments.

• Home Office: Fire safety risk assessment: small places of assembly

• Home Office: Fire safety risk assessment: large places of assembly

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Methodology

Capacity is calculated using two factors; width of fire exits and occupancy level, (the amount of area and the activity the space is being used for). When these have been calculated, the smallest number of these two becomes the overall safe capacity level.

For Occupancy Levels, Approved Document B has been used.

 

For Exits Capacities, the large places of assembly guidance has been used. The use of this guidance produces a slightly lower figure than using approved document B which would give an extra 20 person per 1050mm door. The Large Places of Assembly guidance has been used to produce a conservative figure.

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There are several caveats to the above statement which are detailed below.

Means of Escape

Worst Case Scenario

When calculating the overall available escape route capacity for premises with more than one way out, it is normally assumed that the widest is unavailable because it has been compromised by fire. Thus, all calculations remove the largest exit.

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45 Degree Rule

If two exits are within 45 degrees of each other, a fire could take out both exits and therefore they should be counted as one and discounted.

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Width

Width is measured according to the following.

a. For a door (or doorway), the clear width when the door is open (Diagram D1).

b. For an escape route, choose either of the following:

1. When the route is defined by walls: the width at 1500mm above the finished floor level.

2.  ii. Elsewhere: the minimum width of passage available between any fixed obstruction

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A width of at least 750mm can accommodate up to:

• 80 people in higher-risk premises;

• 100 people in normal risk premises; and

• 120 people in lower-risk premises.

A width of at least 1,050 mm can accommodate up to:

• 160 people in higher-risk premises;

• 200 people in normal risk premises; or

• 240 people in lower-risk premises.

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An additional 75mm should be allowed for each additional 15 persons (or part of 15).

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Occupancy

Occupancy varies depending on the use of the space as detailed in table D1.

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Picture

 

Occupancy levels from approved document B

 

 

Travel Distances

Travel distance is the maximum permitted distance that occupants are permitted to travel from their location in a building to the nearest exit. Although more than one exit might be required, the travel distance to exits other than the closest exit is not regulated.

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Excessive travel distances can be hazardous because they increase the time required by occupants to reach the safety of an exit, whether the exit is a door directly to the outside or into an enclosed exit stair from an upper floor of a building. The maximum allowed travel distances are based on factors that include demographics, potential obstructions in the path of travel, number of people in any room or space, and the distance to the nearest door opening, the amount and nature of expected combustibles and the speed that fire might spread in that space.

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Allowable travel distances are listed below:

 

We at the 202 Group have created a document to help guide you when working out capacity. To down this document, please fill in this form. 

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