Fire & Life Safety Strategy

Fire safety is not a set of separate systems added at the end of design; it is one engineering decision about how the building protects its occupants. The fire and life safety strategy is the reference that ties the architect's decisions to the mechanical and electrical works and to the authority's requirements, from the first project stage through to operation.

What the strategy defines:

• Occupancy classification and occupant load, and the code basis and standards adopted for the project.
• The egress strategy: exits and travel distances, stairs, refuge areas, and phased evacuation where used.
• Compartmentation and fire resistance: barriers, openings, penetration sealing and facades.
• Detection, alarm, suppression and smoke control systems, and the sequence in which they operate together.
• Fire service access: roads, approach, water supplies and control rooms.
• Operation and maintenance requirements and emergency plans after handover.

Why early? Because most expensive changes come from an architectural decision taken before safety was discussed: a long travel distance, an open void, or a stair in the wrong place. Having the strategy early turns those into deliberate decisions instead of surprises at approval stage.

The strategy is documented in a fire safety strategy report, and supported where needed by performance-based design for the items that are hard to apply literally.