In England and Wales, the Building Act 1984 and its Building
Regulations 2000 apply to new buildings and to building work such
as the erection, extension or material alteration of an existing
building. They also apply where there is a material change of
use.
The regulations impose fire safety requirements covering:
- access for fire appliances and assistance to the fire
service;
- compartmentation to inhibit fire spread;
- fire-resistance of elements of structure;
- means of escape in case of fire;
- reduction of spread of flame over surfaces of walls and
ceilings;
- space separation between buildings to reduce the risk of fire
spread from one building to another; and
- structural stability.
Where it is proposed to erect a new building, to carry out
building work or to make a material change of use, application
should be made to your local building control authority or other
building approval body. The Fire Service must also be informed of
changes to premises that have fire certificates.
Contact should initially be made with the
building
control officers at your local district or borough
council.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service must be consulted by Building
Control or approved inspectors about building work in designated
buildings. This can be done by either letter, CD or emailing
proposals to
fire.commandandsupport@fire.suffolkcc.gov.uk