Fire Prevention Project

The applicable regulations establish the obligations of a given building’s fire protection systems and equipment must comply with.

The technical project must include the limits of fire extension (internal propagation, external propagation), passive protection measures (fire resistance of the structure, fire resistance of the delimiting elements of the fire sector, reaction of materials to fire, etc.). Active protection measures (fire extinguishers, detectors, push buttons, fire hydrants, hydrants, automatic water sprinklers, temperature control systems and smoke evacuation, emergency lighting, emergency signaling and fire protection systems, etc.), occupant evacuation and accessibility for firefighters.

The technical project of prevention and safety in case of fire is regulated at the state level, by the following regulations:

• The non-industrial establishments (residential, administrative, commercial, schools, hospitals, public locations, services and parking) are governed by the Código Técnico de la Edificación, CTE (“Technical Building Code, TBC”) (RD 314/2006). It is applied in all those activities that are part of a building project according to the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (LOE) (“Building Planning Law”). With its basic documents DB-SI (Fire Safety) and DB-SUA (Safety of Use and Accessibility) indicate the requirements that buildings must meet in fire matters.
• Industrial establishments are governed by their applicable sector regulations (storage of chemical products, LPG storage, liquefied petroleum gases, oil facilities, refrigeration facilities, etc.) and by the Fire Safety Regulations in Industrial Establishments, RSCIEI (RD 2267/2004) in which fire safety conditions are defined to protect people and material items within industrial buildings.

Article 4 of Chapter II of the RSCIEI states the following: “newly built industrial establishments and those that change or modify their activity, are moved, expanded or reformed, in the part affected by the extension or reform, will require the presentation of a project, which may be integrated into the general project required by current legislation to obtain mandatory permits and licenses, or be specific; in any case, it must contain the necessary documentation that justifies compliance with these regulations”. “The project will be drafted and signed by a competent qualified technician and approved by its corresponding professional college”. The rules that buildings must comply with in terms of fire prevention and protection measures are established. It also says how to act when there is a fire, etc.

• The Fire Protection Facilities Regulation, RIPCI (RD 513/2017) determines the conditions and requirements for the design, installation/application, maintenance and inspection of the equipment, systems and components that make up the active fire protection facilities.

There are other regulations currently applicable depending of the autonomous community, like “Ley 3/2010 (Catalunya)” (“Law 3/2010 [Catalonia]”), the “Instrucciones Técnicas Complementarias del Departamento de Interior en Catalunya” (“Complementary Technical Instructions of the Department of Interior in Catalonia”), the “Instrucción 1/2018 (Castilla-La Mancha)” (“Instruction 1/2018 [Castilla-La Mancha]”), etc., and municipal ordinances like “Ordenanza municipal de condiciones de protección contra incendios de Barcelona (2008)” (“Municipal ordinance of fire protection conditions of Barcelona [2008]”), etc.