Fire prevention and fighting standards for apartments

Singapore

A fire station in Singapore.

The complete code and standards on fire prevention and fighting in Singapore were issued in 2013 with full details for construction items such as: construction sites, schools, high-rise apartments. Especially, for apartments over 40 floors, the inspection agencies require the builders to be very strict about fire prevention and fighting equipment.

Specifically, the area where the apartment building is built must be near a fire station. In the building, there must be at least 4 fire exits, an automatic fire alarm system on each floor, on-site fire sprinklers and fire extinguishers for each apartment. In addition, the above systems must be maintained and inspected every 6 months. The tight rescue system is the reason why the lion island has never had a fire causing significant damage.

Thailand

Scene of a shopping mall fire in Thailand in 2010.

Thailand is a destination for many international tourists, so fire safety conditions for hotels, apartments, and high-rise buildings are very strict.

In addition to having a full fire alarm system, on-site fire hydrants and fire exits, apartment residents are also not allowed to store items on the balcony or use flammable materials for interior decoration.

Malaysia

Fire scene at 35th floor apartment in Penang Island area.

Malaysia’s Fire Prevention and Fighting Law was updated by the government in October 2017 after a fire at a condominium in Penang caused a lot of property damage. Accordingly, condominiums will have to inspect fire prevention and fighting equipment every 6 months.

In large cities with many high-rise buildings such as Kuala Lumpur, apartment or hotel management boards often have to attend training sessions on skills to handle small fires or proper escape routes.

* Fire prevention and fighting standards for apartments in Vietnam

- Must have automatic fire alarm system:Buildings with 5 floors or more must be equipped with automatic fire alarm systems.This system, after being put into operation, must be inspected at least twice a year and maintained at least once every two years.

- 50 – 150m² have 1 fire extinguisher:All areas in the building that are at risk of fire, including those equipped with a fire suppression system, must be equipped with portable fire extinguishers or wheeled fire extinguishers. The extinguishers must be placed in the designed position, not concentrated in one place...VAt low hazard levels, the standard for fire extinguishers is 150m.²/average danger level 75m²/pot; high danger level 50m²/jar.

-Fire exit door without lock:Doors of emergency exits from corridors, common spaces, waiting rooms, lobbies, and stairwells must not have locks so that they can be opened freely from the inside. For buildings with a height greater than 15m, these doors must be solid or with tempered glass.

- There are 1 - 2 water taps at each point in the house:Apartment buildings must arrange 1 - 2 fire hydrants for each point inside the building, the amount of water for each hydrant is 2.5 liters/second;must be located next to the entrance, on the elevator landing, in the lobby, corridor and other visible and easy-to-use places. The center of the fire hydrant must be placed at a height of 1.25m from the floor; Each fire hydrant in the building must have a shut-off valve, a water nozzle and a flexible hose reel of sufficient length according to calculation.

- There are at least 02 emergency exits:In high-rise buildings, there must be at least 02 escape exits to ensure people can escape safely in case of fire, while creating favorable conditions for fire fighting forces to operate;High-rise buildings with each floor area greater than 300m2²The common corridor or passageway must have at least two exits to two emergency stairs.