What is BS 7974 - Building fire safety principles about?
This is the “go-to” document for fire safety engineering (FSE) in the UK. It provides a framework for an engineering approach to the fire safety of buildings, giving recommendations and guidance on applying scientific and engineering principles to the protection of people, property and the environment from fire. It applies to the design of new buildings and the appraisal of existing buildings.
Who is BS 7974 - Building fire safety principles for?
Primary users will be fire safety engineering practitioners. Other users include:
Members of the fire and rescue service
Structural engineers
Architects
Government departments such as the Ministry of Defence
Universities (for teaching and research)
Regulators
Related industries such as insurers and systems engineers
Why should you use BS 7974 - Building fire safety principles ?
The general approach to fire safety engineering (FSE) described in the standard can be applied to all types and uses of buildings or to facilities such as tunnels and process plants.
When correctly implemented, its recommendations will help preserve life in an emergency situation and ensure the protection of buildings themselves.
The standard can be applied to new or to existing buildings to show that regulatory requirements can be met.
The intention is that BS 7974 is applied in three main stages:
Qualitative design review (QDR): the scope and objectives of the fire safety design are defined, performance criteria established and one or more potential design solutions proposed
Qu...
BS 7974:2019 history
2019BS 7974:2019 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings. Code of practice
2001BS 7974:2001 Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings - Code of practice