Country
Country
A building must be divided into fire compartments to keep a potential fire manageable. Typically, the maximum surface area of a fire compartment is 1,000 m², or 2,500 m² for an industrial building. It is common for a larger fire compartment to be desired for functional reasons. In many cases, larger areas are possible, but this must be demonstrated based on equivalency.
One way to do this is by using the assessment methods described in NEN 6060. These methods determine the expected fire load (total amount of combustible material) and fire load density (combustible material per unit area) within the fire compartment. Depending on the results, it can be assessed whether the desired size of the fire compartment is permissible and whether additional requirements must be imposed on the fire resistance of separating structures.
An alternative assessment method for allowing larger fire compartments is described in NEN 6079. This method determines the risk of fire spreading beyond the fire compartment and compares it to a standardized risk profile. When applying NEN 6079, several fire safety provisions are important, including the use of a sprinkler system, fire detection system, the construction of fire-resistant separations, and distances to surrounding areas.
