Floor plans and building plans

 

Regulation 6 of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings in England to share up-to-date plans of the building with the fire and rescue service. The plans will be used by operational firefighters during an incident and need to be clear, simple and easy to use.   

 

Submission Details

The responsible person should send electronic copies of the plans to:

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There is a 30mb limit associated to this email account. Please use the email address to contact us if your files exceed this limit and separate arrangements will be made.

Please ensure the email subject title follows this format:

UPRN-Postcode-BuildingName

  • e.g. 01XXX-BSX1XX-ExampleBuilding
  • Please omit the UPRN if unknown.

Please ensure the full address of the premises is stated in the email.

An automatic reply will be sent to confirm that your email has been received.

 

File Format

The desired file format is as follows:

  • The source AutoCAD files or equivalent, plus PDFs in addition to the source files.
    • If Revit models are available, please indicate this in your email and separate arrangements will be made due to the file size.
  • Collate all the layouts to a single file.
  • The filename structure is to be as follows:

UPRN-Postcode-BuildingName

  • e.g. 01XXX-BSX1XX-ExampleBuilding.pdf
  • Please omit the UPRN if unknown.
  • Paper size: A4. Text and symbols to be legible at this page size.

 

Storage of Hard Copies

The responsible person is also required to provide a copy of the plans inside the premises’ secure information box. The plans should be upscaled to fit on A3 paper and printed in colour to assist in easy identification of the plan symbols. 

To ensure a copy of the plans can remain with the incident commander at all times as well as be used by firefighters inside the building, at least two copies of each plan should be provided inside the secure information box. Recognising how the plans will be used and the conditions they may be exposed to, plans should be laminated to ensure they remain usable throughout the course of an incident. 

 

Floor Plans

Please refer to the AF&RS guidance document and example for detailed requirements.

Floor plans must show the location of specific equipment as defined by the Regulations. The plans must clearly identify and distinguish between the following: 

  • Passenger lifts 
  • Lift for use by firefighters 
  • Evacuation lifts 
  • Inlets / outlets for dry-rising mains 
  • Inlets / outlets for wet-rising mains 
  • Smoke control systems 
  • Suppression systems

A plan will need to be prepared for each floor; where floors are identical it is permissible to prepare a single plan providing the floors to which the plans refer to are clearly indicated and flat numbers are provided via a table. Please refer to the guidance and example.

 

Building Overview Plan

A separate single page plan must be provided which shows the building and its immediate surroundings. The building overview plan will enable firefighters to orientate themselves upon arrival and must provide information on access and key firefighting both inside and outside the building.

The full list of information to be provided on the building plan is defined in the Regulations and includes all of the following:

  • the environs of the building;
  • details of the use of the building, for example for commercial or residential purposes;
  • access for fire and rescue appliances;
  • the dimensions of the building;
  • information on the number of storeys of the building and the number of basement levels (if any);
  • information regarding the presence of maisonettes or scissor section flats;
  • inlets for dry-rising mains;
  • inlets for wet-rising mains;
  • the location of shut-off controls for any sprinklers;
  • access points for the building;
  • the location of the secure information box;
  • the location of the controls for any smoke control system;
  • the location of any firefighting shaft;
  • the location of main stairways in the building;
  • the location of the controls for any evacuation alert system.

 

Guidance Documents

For further information and guidance on how to submit plans to us in the correct format, please download and read the following guide.

The principles of the guidance within Appendix A Section 1.6 of the Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings remain. The modifications in our guide are requested to enhance the readability and functionality of the plans on the fireground. Where modifications have not been specified then Responsible Persons should follow the original guidance.