An effective fire safety policy consists of four phases: fire prevention, fire detection, fire suppression, and incident management
Phase 1: fire prevention
Prevention is better than cure. Therefore, fire safety starts as early as the design or renovation of a building. Architects select fire-safe building materials and fire-resistant walls and doors, check whether all performance certificates are in order, decide on (emergency) exits and much more.
Phase 2: fire detection
Here, the goal is to detect, locate and report the onset of a fire as quickly and reliably as possible. The best technology to do this depends on the type of building and layout of the rooms.
Phase 3: fire suppression
In the event of a fire, an automatic fire suppression system is absolutely necessary. It protects buildings and saves lives. Popular choices include sprinkler systems with water or foam, water mist systems, and gas or powder extinguishing systems. They are often required by fire insurance.
Phase 4: incident management
When a fire breaks out, your business continuity plan is triggered. This plan provides guidance during and after an incident. It defines what efforts are needed to safeguard your business from damage and who the key people involved are.
Fire hazards remain one of the main business risks. From office buildings and schools, to hospitals and manufacturing facilities, every building requires a sophisticated strategy to prevent human and material damage. Fire safety professionals now have more tools than ever to help them do their job, and one of those tools is standards.
Drawing on best practices in terms of fire prevention, fire detection and fire suppression help you protect your building. From the more than 600 international, European and Belgian standards that exist on fire safety, the NBN has filtered the most relevant ones.
