Smoke Ventilation Requirements in blocks of flats Ground +3 floors PRE-2006 building regs.

[Guest Ron]

Hello all, i hope you are well? 

 

I'm having some real difficulty in finding guidance or regs on what smoke ventilation requirements are needed for pre-2006 purpose built blocks of flats. was it required or only advised? 

 

Thanks in advance. 

[AnthonyB]

Required in some form since the early 60's. The official guidance (LGA Guide)  has a timeline of requirements, mostly in CP3 until 1991 when Approved Document B was introduced.

In some cases it was a simple as having openable windows on landings or a permanent vent at the top as oppose to powered auto vents but in anything other than the smallest blocks is been a requirement for decades.

Worryingly too many fire risk assessors are ignorant of this and miss it out of their FRAs

[Guest Martin]

On 18/11/2020 at 18:01, AnthonyB said:

Required in some form since the early 60's. The official guidance (LGA Guide)  has a timeline of requirements, mostly in CP3 until 1991 when Approved Document B was introduced.

In some cases it was a simple as having openable windows on landings or a permanent vent at the top as oppose to powered auto vents but in anything other than the smallest blocks is been a requirement for decades.

Worryingly too many fire risk assessors are ignorant of this and miss it out of their FRAs

So are the OV’s and PV’s in place in high rise stairwells/lobby’s still suitable and sufficient? Or must they be upgraded to AOV? Even when it is not proportionate to the risk. 

[AnthonyB]

It depends on the risk- the guidance is reasonably proportionate in retrospective requirements: