The provisions of this Clause are made in connection with the protection of openings permitted in elements of structure or other forms of fire resisting construction required to act as a barrier to fire and smoke.

Fire doors for protection of openings shall comply with all the following:

a. Fire doors shall have the appropriate fire resistance as required by relevant parts of the Code. A two-leaf door can be fitted in an opening if each door leaf by itself is capable of closing the opening and the two-leaf door together achieve the required level of fire resistance.

b. All fire doors shall be fitted with an automatic self-closing device which is capable of closing the door from any angle and against any latch fitted to the door except as permitted in Cl.3.8.9c. and Cl.3.9.2f..

c. Fire doors held open by electromagnetic or electromechanical devices shall be activated to close by the localised smoke detector(s) on either (one) side of the fire doors.

d. Any fire door fitted in an opening which is provided as a means of escape:

(1) shall be capable of being opened manually;

(2) shall not be held open by any means other than by an electromagnetic or electromechanical device which can be activated by the presence of smoke and/ or the fire alarm system, provided that this shall not apply in the case of fire doors opening into pressurised exit staircases; and

(3) shall open in the direction of exit travel in accordance with Cl.2.2.17d..

Explanations & Illustrations

3.9 PROTECTION OF OPENINGS

e. Fire resisting doors where required to be provided shall be constructed and installed to comply with specifications stipulated under SS 332 for Fire Doors and SS 489 for Fire Shutters.

f. The inactive leaf of double-leaf doors for plant/ equipment/ machine rooms and for lobby/ corridor leading to these rooms, where the inactive leaf is only for use as equipment access, need not be fitted with a self-closing device, but shall be bolted in place and fitted with a sign “Keep door bolted”.

a. Pipes passing through a separating wall, compartment wall or compartment floor shall be kept as small as possible and fire-stopped around the pipe. The nominal diameter of the pipe shall not be more than the respective dimension given in Table 3.9A. These pipe penetrations are permitted only for conveying non-hazardous & non-combustible substances such as air, water, etc., and approved fire-stopping material shall be applied around the pipe penetration. Clear spacing between pipes shall be minimum 50mm or ½ diameter of the largest pipe, whichever is larger.

b. The following pipes of nominal diameter larger than 150mm, subject to the conditions listed under subclause c. below, are permitted to penetrate through a separating wall, compartment wall or compartment floor.

(1) Emergency standby diesel generator steel exhaust pipes connected directly to the external;

(2) Pipes of non-combustible material (such as cast iron or steel) with pipe wall thickness of at least 5mm, and melting point of at least 1200ºC; and

(3) Thermal insulated pipes with pipe wall thickness of at least 5mm and combustible insulation in compliance with Cl.7.1.3a.. The metal sheath for insulation material shall be at least 0.6mm thick galvanised steel with the melting point, including pipe support, of at least 1200ºC.

c. The following conditions shall be complied with for penetration of pipes stipulated under subclause b.:

(1) For non-sprinkler-protected area, pipe supports within 3m from the pipe penetration shall be strengthened such that the tensile stress generated on the supports shall not exceed 10N/mm2 and will not be softened or fracture when exposed to temperature of 750ºC. For sprinkler-protected area, the pipe supports and pipe penetrations shall be protected by the sprinkler system;

(2) Combustible materials or services (e.g. pipe or ductwork) are not permitted to be placed within 1m before and after the penetration (except for those thermal insulated pipes constructed under the sub-clause b.(3)). For the purpose of this sub-clause, fire-rated materials are deemed as non-combustible; and

(3) The penetration shall not pass through fire-rated wall/ floor of exit staircase, firefighting staircase, fire lift lobby, smoke-free lobby, electrical switch room, transformer room, generator room, battery room and fan room serving fire protection system, fire pump room, FCC, fuel tank room, and areas handling hazardous materials. Except for exit staircase, the penetration of pipes through the abovementioned rooms/ spaces is permitted if the pipes are fully enclosed by fire-rated enclosure with the same fire-rating as these fire-rated walls/ floors.

d. In addition to sub-clause a. fuel and vent pipes for emergency standby diesel generators and fuel tanks located outside the room they served shall be enclosed in construction having fire resistance of at least 2 hrs. They shall not be located in intake/ fresh air vent shaft.

Ventilation duct which passes directly through a compartment wall or compartment floor shall comply with the following:

a. Where the ventilation duct does not form a protected shaft or is not contained within a protecting structure,

(1) the duct shall be fitted with a fire damper where it passes through the compartment wall or compartment floor; and

(2) the opening for the duct shall be kept as small as practicable and any gap around the fire damper shall be fire-stopped.

b. Where the ventilation duct forms a protected shaft or is contained within a protecting structure, the duct shall be:

(1) fitted with fire dampers at the inlets to the shaft and outlets from it; and

(2) constructed and lined with materials in accordance with the requirements in Chapter 7.

c. The installation of ventilation ducts and fire dampers shall comply with the requirements in Chapter 7.

Duct encasing one or more flue pipes which passes through a compartment wall or compartment floor shall be of non-combustible construction having fire resistance of not less than half the minimum period of fire resistance required for the compartment wall or compartment floor through which it passes.

Air ducts and other services that are likely to permit the passage of flame or smoke in the event of a fire shall not be permitted to pass through any of the following rooms:

a. FCCs.

b. Fire pump rooms.

c. Emergency generator rooms.

d. Smoke control fan rooms.

except where such services are required for the operation of these equipment in these areas.

a. Where a CD blast door or CD air-tight door is installed in a fire-rated compartment wall and is to be use only during CD operational mode, it shall be kept in the closed position at all times and is deemed to be part of the fire-rated compartment. Signage shall be provided on both sides of the CD door that reads: “KEEP DOOR CLOSED DURING PEACE TIME”.

b. Where a CD blast door or CD air-tight door is installed in a fire-rated compartment wall and is required to be kept in the fully opened position in accordance with Chapter 2, a fire-rated door shall be provided in the doorway in accordance with the Code of Practice for Fire Precautions in Buildings to maintain the integrity of the fire-rated compartment.

Where CD blast valves are installed in a fire-rated compartment wall, fire shutters or demountable fire-rated panels shall be provided across the CD blast valves to maintain the integrity of the fire-rated compartment walls during peace time.