British Standard Index: Fire Safety
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the leading authority on standardization across the United Kingdom. The standards it sets are called the British Standard Index. Its archives are a treasure trove of over 500,000 standards encompassing diverse domains such as quality management, environmental management, occupational health and safety management, and information security management, to name a few.
Fire safety, being a critical concern, is regulated by a multitude of BS standards. These standards cater to various fire safety aspects, including fire extinguishers, alarms, risk assessment, and evacuation procedures.
One of the most vital standards impacting fire safety and general health and safety practices is the BS OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management standard. This standard delineates measures employers and responsible parties can undertake to reduce hazardous workplace conditions, thereby ensuring a safer working environment.
While the BS OHSAS 18001 standard serves as an overarching standard, several other standards within the British Standard Index explicitly address fire safety.
The British Standard Index Codes for Fire Safety:
BS 5266 Series: Emergency lighting
BS 5306 Series: Fire extinguishing installations
BS 5446 Series: Fire detection & alarm systems
BS 5839 Series: Fire detection & alarm systems for buildings
BS 7273 Series: Operation of fire protection measures
BS EN 54 Series: Fire detection & alarm systems
BS EN 12259 Series: Fixed firefighting systems
BS EN 15004 Series: Fixed firefighting systems
BS EN 1568 Series: Fire extinguishing media. Foam concentrates
BS EN 12094 Series: Fixed firefighting systems
BS EN 1866-2:2014 – Mobile fire extinguishers. Requirements for the construction, pressure resistance
BS EN 16327:2014 – Fire-fighting. Positive pressure proportioning systems
BS EN 14044:2014 – High-rise aerial appliances for fire & rescue service use
BS EN 14043:2014 – High-rise aerial appliances for fire & rescue service use
BS EN 1866-3:2013 – Mobile fire extinguisher requirements
BS EN 62034:2012 – Automatic test systems for battery-powered emergency escape lighting
BS EN 671-1:2012 – Fixed firefighting systems. Hose systems. Hose reels with semi-rigid hose
BS EN 671-2:2012 – Fixed firefighting systems. Hose systems. Hose systems with lay-flat hose
PAS 79:2012 – Fire risk assessment. Guidance and a recommended methodology
BS EN ISO 5923:2012 – Equipment for fire protection and firefighting. Fire extinguishing media.
PD 7974-8:2012 – Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings.
BS 9991:2011 – Fire safety in residential building design, management and use. Code of practice
PD 7974-3:2011 – Application of fire safety engineering principles to the design of buildings
BS ISO 23601:2009 – Safety identification. Escape and evacuation plans
BS EN ISO 13943:2010 – Fire safety. Vocabulary
DD 8489-1:2011 – Fixed fire protection systems. Industrial and commercial water mist systems
DD 8458-1:2010 – Fixed fire protection systems. Residential and domestic water mist systems. Code of practice for design and installation
BS ISO 23932:2009 – Fire safety engineering: general principles
BS 1635:1990 – Recommendations for graphic symbols and abbreviations for fire protection drawings
BS 476-10:2009 – Fire tests on building materials and structures. Guide to the principles, selection, role and application of fire testing and their outputs
BS 6266:2011 – Code of practice for fire protection for electronic equipment installations
BS 7671:2008+A1:2011 – Requirements for electrical installations. IEE wiring regulations
BS 7863:2009 – Recommendations for colour coding to indicate the extinguishing media contained in portable fire extinguishers
BS 8492:2009 – Telecommunications equipment and telecommunications cabling. Code of Practice for fire performance and Protection
BS 8519:2010 – Selection and installation of fire-resistant power and control cable systems for life safety and fire-fighting applications
BS 9999:2008 – Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings
BS EN 12845:2004+A2:2009 – Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance
BS EN 13565-2:2009 – Fixed firefighting systems. Foam systems. Design, construction and maintenance
BS EN 15269-20:2009 – Extended application of test results for fire resistance and/ or smoke control for door, shutter and openable window assemblies, including their elements of building hardware
BS EN 3-7: 2004+A1 2007 – Portable fire extinguishers. Characteristics, performance requirements and test methods
BS EN 3-8:2006 – Portable fire extinguishers. Additional requirements to EN 3-7 for the construction, resistance to pressure and mechanical tests for extinguishers with a maximum allowable pressure equal to or lower than 30 bar
BS EN 3-9:2006 – Portable fire extinguishers. Additional requirements to EN 3-7 for pressure resistance of CO2 extinguishers
BS EN 3-10:2009 – Portable fire extinguishers. Provision for evaluating the conformity of a portable fire extinguisher to EN 3-7
BS EN 671-3:2009 – Fixed firefighting systems. Hose systems. Maintenance of hose reels with semi-rigid hose and hose systems with lay-flat hose
BS EN ISO9001:2008 – Quality management systems. Requirements