Norms pertaining to refuge areas in high-rise buildings

[ecis2016.org] According to the building bye-laws, refuge areas should be demarcated in all commercial and residential high-rise buildings

To ensure that all buildings follow a uniform safety code, the government has made it mandatory for all developers to follow building bye-laws. As per these bye-laws, every high-rise building must have a demarcated space, where people can take shelter in case of an emergency. This space is known as a ‘refuge area’.

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Importance of refuge area

The refuge area is an important space in tall buildings, in which potential risks to life might emerge, in case of any mishap. Building norms were tightened after it came to the notice of the authorities that builders were selling this area to residents for personal use, after getting an on-paper approval for constructing such facility. It is the responsibility of the civic bodies, to check whether the provisions for the refuge area have been kept as shown in the approved map, before they issue completion certificates to high-rise buildings.

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Rules for refuge area

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According to the National Building Code, the builder should provide a dedicated refuge area at every seventh floor or after the first 24 metres in a high-rise. After the first refuge area, every seventh floor should have an area of refuge in the building.

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FSI and refuge area

There have been cases where builders have sold the refuge space for lucrative rates. Therefore, to prevent such misuse of the demarcated space, building codes provide clear guidelines about the floor area calculation for refuge areas. According to the law, the refuge area must be limited to a maximum of 4% of the liveable floor area it serves. Also, the calculation of the refuge area is excluded from the Floor Space Index (FSI is the ratio of permissible built up area). However, if the refuge area is more than the 4% limit, the space will be calculated under FSI norms.

Alternate refuge areas

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If the high-rise has a height of more than 70 metres or have more than 24 storeys, there is a provision for alternate refuge area. According to the law, the alternate refuge area can be specified as reinforced concrete cantilever projections at the alternate mid-landing level of staircase. However, the minimum width for such area should be three metres and area should be 10 sq metres for residential buildings and 15 sq metres for commercial high-rises.

Apart from this, the builder should construct a clear passage to the refuge area, with signs mentioned everywhere, painted in luminous paint. No lift or staircase should open in such areas, as it shall be kept reserved for occupants as temporary shelter, in case of an emergency.

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Safety rules regarding refuge area

• The door to the refuge area should never be locked, as the space must be easily accessible in an emergency.
• The refuge area cannot be used for any other permanent or temporary purpose, such as community cooking or as storage or recreation area.
• A ‘fire check’ floor in a building with a height of more than 70 metres is compulsory. It should cover an entire floor at every 70-metre level.

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