Residents' Evacuation Capability in Buildings

Residents'
Evacuation Capability in
Buildings
- where Care and Housing are Combined
Paper published in Proceedings of CIB International Symposium and Workshops. CIB W14 Seminar and
Workshop, Engineering Fire Safety in the Process of Building Design, the University of Ulster, Northern
Ireland, 13 - 16 September 1993.
by
Gun Hallberg
Web edition by Domotic Lab. (KTH), Stockholm
First published 1993. Reprinted in PDF-format 2001 and published at the web http://infra.kth.se/dom
Copyright © Domotic Lab. and the author 1993
You may download a copy for personal use. When quoted or referred, always mention the source.
For information address Domotic Lab. Kungl. Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Infrastructure and Planning,
Built Environment Analysis, Östermalmsgatan 26, S-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.
Telephone:+46 8 790 85 97, Fax:+46 8 790 85 02. E-mail: mekibes@arch.kth.se.

2
RESIDENTS' EVACUATION CAPACITY IN BUILDINGS WHERE CARE
AND HOUSING ARE COMBINED
INTRODUCTION
Dr. G. Hallberg 1
The Swedish Building Code has been replaced by a Planning and Building Act and
performance-based standards.[1-2] Until 1989 the Swedish Building Code presented
prescriptive standards in the traditional way. As in other countries there is in Sweden an
increasing trend towards performance-based standards away from the prescriptive ones.
The latter placed very specific and strict limits on the values, given properties of
building objects can take. The performance standards are statements about how a
building should function with respect to various criteria.
The changes in nature of rules also concern the fire safety provisions of care and
residential housing for elderly people; such as blocks of service flats, homes for the
elderly, group-residential units. In those buildings care and housing are combined in
various ways. In old people«s homes and nursing homes the stress of the activity is laid
on the care, so they have previously been designated nursing institutions as safety rules
are concerned. In other buildings where housing is the main activity, care is provided
on the conditions set by the housing context. Then the establishment is designated
dwellings as regards the provisions applied.
The determining factor of which safety provisions shall be applied should rather be the
evacuation capability of the residents than the designation of the building. The safety
level of the building should be calibrated to the occupants« actual difficulties and need
of assistance in a fire emergency.
In the latest proposal of building standards from the National Board of Housing,
Building and Planning a new building category 'Alternative Housing' is introduced.
This category includes combinations of housing and care. That is what we here call
'Care Housing'. The introduction of this category and the regulations to be applied
there, are implementations of research results.
1 Associate Professor, Dept. Building Function Analysis, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden.
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3
VARIOUS FORMS OF CARE HOUSING
In Sweden all people who want to 'stay on' in ordinary flats or one-family-houses even
when in need of increasing assistance, are encouraged to do so, obtaining home help
services and nursing care from mobile home-help assistants. Similar facilities are
offered to residents in blocks of service flats, communal facilities are provided in
addition to care service related to residents« needs. In old people's homes and groupresidential
units residents have access to home help and nursing care from on-site staff.
Nursing homes and long-term care units cater for the most debilitated patients, who
require nursing, medical and terminal care.
Blocks of service flats
Since the early seventies many blocks of service flats have been built in Sweden,
especially in large municipalities and in the suburbs of metropolitan areas. The size of
flats varies; one, two or three rooms with an eat-in kitchen, a shower-toilet and, in
almost all cases, a balcony. The flats are usually adapted to the basic needs of
physically disabled persons and can be further adapted to accord with the special needs
of each tenant.
The blocks of service flats contain or are attached to a day centre, which commonly
consists of several premises for the pursuit of hobbies, recreation, study circles,
facilities for pedicures, hairdressing, supportive bathing and a library and a restaurant,
which are also open to residents of the area.
The average age of the residents in blocks of service flats is high, about 85 years.
Thanks to the access of service, care and often considerable adaption to disabled
persons, people may stay on even when they can not help themselves any longer. When
moving in they are at a rather good condition but at time goes on their health will
deteriorate. Many peoples« need of assistance may be compaired with that of hospital
patients.
Senior housing
Senior housing is a rather new alternative for elderly people not yet in need of any care.
To get a flat in a senior facility you must have reached the age of 55. One type of
senior housing is financed by the public sector and let by the local authority. Another
type is constructed and run under private management. No senior housing has been run
long enough to let us know how heavy the nursing activity there could be. Later on the
senior facility without doubt will belong to the care housing category. In senior housing
run by private management the need for nursing and the possibility to stay on when
need for care arises is depending on home-help from the local authority like in ordinary
dwellings. In any case the flats has to be adaptable to disabled people and to the work
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4
of the caring and nursing staff.
The trend towards people staying on in ordinary flats, when their need of care is
increasing, gives a greater portion of the building the character of care housing. The fact
that a large number of residents of an ordinary residential block are entitled to home
help service is a criteria for a combination of housing and care. This can mean that the
evacuation capacity of tenants is reduced.
Group-residential units
In recent years, people needing more mental than physical support are offered a
collective form of housing in group-residential buildings. Such dwellings consist of
large flats with a number
(usually six or eight) of residents living in private rooms with a lavatory of their own, or
alternatively a group of traditional fully furnished flats assembled around a stairwell or
around rooms for social gatherings.
More than 50% of the group-residential units are occupied by people with senile
dementia today. The housing form is considered an alternative to nursing care in an
institution for people needing supervisory care. The dwelling form is rather new. The
activity has been running for slightly more than six years. Local authorities and county
councils are planning a rapid expansion and development.
Old people«s homes
Home for the elderly has been called blocks of service flats with full board and lodging.
They do not provide fully furnished kitchens like service flats.
In addition to the development towards more group housing there is a tendence to
return to old people«s homes as housing form for elderly people. According to the
experience of the home-help service staff, there is still a need for this housing form,
especially among people over 80 years of age.
Many old people«s homes has been reconstructed into blocks of service flats during the
last few years. However, this trend has ceased. The remanining homes for the elderly
will still provide full board and lodging in combination with flats without fully
furnished kitchens to persons to whom either ordinary flats with home-service and care,
nor nursing homes are of any use. Some wards in nursing homes will soon turn into old
people«s homes.
A SURVEY OF EVACUATION CAPACITY
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

The evacuation capacity of the residents in service flats has been investigated
previously [3] and a proposal for adequate safety measures in those buildings has been
presented [4]. However, there was still a question to be illustrated; were the proposed
fire provisions for service flats applicable in other forms of care housing? Therefore, the
evacuation capability of residents in group-residential units and old peoples' homes
have been investigated as well, by means of a rating system developed for residents in
service flats.
Method
Using a rating system for evacuation capacity it will be practicable to find out whether a
building would be classified as a dwelling, nursing premises or a combination of both
as regards the required safety level. It is a matter of deciding the limits for residents«
evacuation capability for different classes of buildings.
The object of rating the evacuation capability of residents is to become aware of the
kind and amount of assistance required from staff during an evacuation. A resident«s
escape may be complicated by psychological and physical disabilities. There are certain
relevant risk factors in an evacuation situation. The rating system constructed for
residents in care dwellings illustrates five risk factors all affecting time required for
evacuation. Those risk factors are chosen for the following reasons.
Mobility is significant for both horizontal and vertical movements. The ability to use
stairs is an important distinguishing characteristic in the context of evacuation. The use
of devices that facilitate movement, like wheelchairs and walkers, requires escape
routes that meet certain specifications.
The pace of movements, i.e. horizontal movements with or without assistance, is
relevant for calculating acceptable travel distances to escape routes. By means of
information on the mobility and pace of movement, appropriate distances of both
horizontal and vertical routes can be calculated. These figures may have to be modified
by information on the factors which may affect them, like psychological problems and
lack of response to the alarm signal.
Lack of response to alarm has significance for the design of alarm systems and the need
for certain residents to be wakened personally. Risk of resistance relates to the time
needed to effect evacuation, which is affected by delays caused by refusal to leave the
flat or even by aggressive behaviour. Orientation difficulties affect the need for staff
supervision to help residents to find the escape route and to remain at a designated
location. These three psychological difficulties would all delay an evacuation.
In order to collect information illustrating the existence and extent of these risk factors
5
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6
in various kinds of care housing a worksheet, reproduced below, was used.
This person
is able to use stairs
Check the most appropriate
yes yes assisted no
uses devices to aid movement
crutches drives needs assistance
walkers wheelchair with wheelchair
moves at a pace which is very slow slow rather quick quick
is hard to wake yes no uncertain
is able to get out of bed alone yes no
has orientation difficulties yes no uncertain
may resist evacuation or get
aggressive in an emergency
yes no mild risk
Table 1. A worksheet for rating residents.
The above worksheet is inspired by the Fire Safety Evaluation System (FSES) devised
by NBS (now NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology), USA [5]. That
system has been tried in a home for elderly people in Sweden. It was found not directly
applicable in a Swedish context. However, the FSES system does provide good
guidance for devising such a system.
The risk factors selected were found relevant, well-founded and covering the safety
problems connected with evacuations, when a manual for safety measures was
prepared. The results of the inquiry could be translated into planning terms and by that
motivate requirements and proposed solutions. For instance, it is possible to show how
the need of assistance alters when a certain safety measure is introduced.
The range of variation in the answeres of each question indicates some discrepancy of
raters« judgement basis. To minimize this risk of invalidity, an elucidation of the worksheet
was prepared. In an appendix of the the work-sheet the reason for each question,
interpretation instructions of questions and of the reply alternatives, were presented as
well as how the results would be used.
The evacuation capacity has been rated for representative samples of residents in groupresidential
units and old people«s homes besides in service flats. Rating the residents in
a ward, around a stair well or in a department which is representative for the
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

establishment as a whole, was the most applicable method in blocks of service flats and
old people«s homes. In group-residential units every resident in the randomized units
were rated. The estimation was based on daily observation of the residents and made by
the staff members who know each resident best. The residents themselves were not
interviewed because of psychological problems. The method conforms with the rating
systems established for estimating peoples« ability to cope with different tasks of
everyday life (ADL-Index) and with the SFES for rating evacuation difficulties
mentioned above.
Results
The results of the rating, residents« evacuation capability, is presented in three ways;
- the percentage distribution of risk factors in service flats, homes for old people and
group-residential units,
- the percentage distribution of the need for assistance from staff during an evacuation
and the reason for necessary assistance,
- the average staff needed per resident in an emergency situation in each type of care
housing studied.
Risk factors
Mobility. The percentage of residents able to use stairs is as large in blocks of service
flats as in group-residential units, slightly less in old peoples« homes. In the latter
almost half the number of residents need two staff members to carry them downstairs.
%
50
Able to use stairs
40
Able to use stairs with
help from a staff member
30
20
10
Not able to use stairs
7
Service Old age Group
flats homes dwellings
Figure 1. Ability walking stairs. Percentage distribution in various types of care housing
Wheel chairs and walking aids, difficult to use in stairs, are most common in old
people«s homes. In service flats you most often manage the wheel chair yourself, in the
people«s home you need help to manage it. In group- residential units there are only a
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8
few residents driving the wheel chairs themselves.
%
50
40
30
No walking aids
Walkers or trestles
Managing the wheel chair oneself
Need help to manage wheel chair
20
10
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
Figure 2. Using walking aids and wheel chairs. Percentage distribution in various types
of care housing.
The percentage of residents able to move horizontally by themselves in one way or
another is 93 % in blocks of service flats, 81 % in old age homes and 83 % in groupresidential
units. This is worth consideration in design of housing for the elderly.
Pace of movements. Elderly peoples« way of moving about as an personel characteristic
has many features in common [6]. There is material for comparison between residents
in care housing and persons, of more than 65 years, living in ordinary dwellings. The
distribution of four pace classes are very alike in the three housing forms studied.
Treated as one group they often move a lot slower than others of the same age.
34% 34% 24%
9%
17% 30%31% 17%
6%
Figure 3. Percentage distribution on pace classes among care housing residents
compared with an observed distribution among persons more than 65 years old.
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

9
The variable 'pace of movement' can be translated from 'very slow' etc to metres per
second. Using data from three investigations [7], [8], [9] of walking speeds of elderly
people and my own studies of peoples« movement behaviour[6], I have found that 'very
slow ' corresponds to 0.7 m/second, 'slow' to 1.2 m/second, 'rather quick' to 1.5
m/second and 'quick' to 2 m/second.
As many residents as possible should be able to move by themselves to a safe place in
anemergency. Thus the slowest group must decide the time needed for an evacuation.
Even the slowest persons are able to move horizontally by themselves to a certain
degree, between 62 and 74 % of them. Very few of them, about 4 %, are able to use
stairs. So, we have to count on a maximum speed of 0.7 m/second when making
evacuation plans and building design.
Lack of respons to alarm. About 40 % of the care housing residents need to be wakened
personally, depending on impaired hearing or on medication.
Orientation difficulties. Among residents in group-residential units there are, as
expected, only a small percentage not having problems to find their way within the
building. This often means that they do not understand and remember evacuation
instructions. At least half the number of residents have these difficulties in old people«
homes, only a third in blocks of service flats.
90 No orientation difficulties
80
70
Having difficulties sametimes
Having usually orientation difficulties
60
50
40
30
20
10
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
Figure 4. Orientation difficulties. Percentage distribution in various types of care
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

10
housing.
Risk of resistance. There are many residents especially in group-residental units who
are expected to refuse to leave their flat or room when evacuation is necessary. This fact
demands a greater effort from the staff.
% No risk of resistance
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Some small risk of resistance
Risk of resistance
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
Figure 5. Risk of resistance. Percentage distribution in various types of care housing.
Need for help. As data are processed every rated person«s data are transformed to a
need of assistance. The need of assistance can be graded from 'needing no assistance',
'needing a helping hand' (e.g. to wake up or find the way out), 'needing assistance from
one staff member for the whole evacuation' (e.g. to get out of bed, manage the
wheelchair etc.) to 'needing assistance from two staff' (when the resident is unable to
manage the stairs). If a person is rated to need assistance for more than one reason, the
reason requiring help from most numbers of staff is decisive.
Compaired with other forms of care housing a greater percentage of the residents are
expected to manage on their own when evacuating blocks of service flats. The reason
for needing help from one staff member is very often the stair problem in multistoreyed
blocks of service flats and old people«s homes. In group-residential units,
resistance is most often the reason for needing assistance.
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

11
%
50
40
30
Needing no assistance
Needing a helping hand
Needing assistance from 1 staf
Needing assistance from 2 staf
20
10
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
Figure 6. Need for help from members of the staff in various types of care housing.
Percentage distribution.
The average staff need per resident in an emergency situation is 1.2 in blocks of service
flats, 1.3 in old people«s homes and 1.2 in group-residential units.
DISCUSSION
Safety design in care housing
Fire protection provisions for care housing are proposed in a manual concerning safety
measures [3]. The recommendations are based on results of analyses of evacuation
capability. The manual is arranged according to the purpose of fire protection measures
related to the planning and building process. Requirements are expressed at the program
stage and specified at the planning stage of the building process. At the design stage
technical preparations are made. They are implemented at the construction stage.
Management and use belong to the operation stage.
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12
Aims of fire
protection
measures
Means of fire
protection
Requirements expressed and fulfilled in
the planning and building process
Operation
requirements
At least one personnel 24 hours a day
Fire control
Early
detection
Prevention of
spread of fire
and smoke
Warning system
Communication system
Alarm system
Compartmentation
Fire fighting appliance
Staff training
Control of
function
Upkeep
Staff training
Evacuation
exercises
Assistance
technique
Protection
of people
Evacuation
strategy
Horizontal evacuation
Adapted means of egress
Upkeep
Provision
for rescue
Availability from inside the house
Availability from outside
Table 2. Safety measures in buildings where care and housing are combined
Safety measures aim to control fire by early detection of a fire and prevention of fire
spread. They also aim to protect people by safe means of escape and provision for
rescue. Both fire control and protection of people could be accomplished by technical
as well as human measures. 'Early detection' could be achieved by detectors or by
individuals using their sensory organs. In Sweden, not even in care housing, there exists
no continuously present personnel responsible for management functions. That is the
reason for the requirement for at least one personnel 24 hours a day.
Since staff are few, especially at night, a warning system is needed along with a twoway-communication
system in order to find out if there is a real fire emergency and to
tell the resident what to do and send in staff to rescue the person in danger. An alarm
system is also needed to send for the fire brigade, but only when there actually is a fire.
A system that combines all three functions would be the most suitable. It would
perform in the following way. Smoke detectors would be set out in every flat and
carephones for two-way communication between the residents and the reception desk of
the establishment would be installed. The detectors would produce a signal in the flat
simultaneously with an alarm at the reception. The address of the flat in danger would
appear in the display of the paging devices of the staff. The alarm would not be
transmitted directly to the fire station. It would remain within the building until the
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

nature of the fire threat has been checked out. Then it would be passed over to the fire
station. The two-way communication system would be opened automatically to the flat
where the detector is activated.
Such a combination system would be suitable in all kinds of residential buildings
occupied by people who cannot cope with the safety problems on their own. Many
varieties of each of these kinds of systems are available on the market. A development
work is going on in Sweden concerning such combination systems intended for care
housing.
To prevent fire from spreading there should be compartmentation and fire fighting
appliances. Compartmentation means that the floor is divided into some sections which
are separated by walls and doors able to resist fire for a certain period of time. In all
types of care housing we have to expect doors being opened by the residents for looking
and in confusion. Self closing doors of the flats and of the rooms in some types of
group dwellings, means decreased risk of fire spreading.
For the protection of people, especially people with motor disabilities, the means of
horizontal evacuation is important. In care housing consisting of fully furnished flats,
each flat constitutes a fire compartment. Means of horizontal evacuation implies more
than one fire compartment on each floor in addition to the flats. In the event of an
emergency, residents should move to the next fire compartment in the lobby outside
their flat. They are supposed to wait there for instructions to continue the evacuation or
to return to their flats. Providing additional compartments on each floor is not a suitable
approach in all types of buildings. As an alternative, evacuation in two stages via a
protection lobby or refuge might be a solution. A temporary fire resistant refuge for use
by disabled people has been applied in recent technical literature in the UK [10] and the
USA [11], for example.
Adapted means of egress in the table above, means, for instance, staircases designed to
simplify assistance to a person coming downstairs. It also means fluorescent paint to
assist orientation towards exits. Provision for rescue concerns availability from inside
the building as well as from outside. That requires access to keys or automatic
unlocking for staff when smoke detectors are activated.
During the operation stage of the building process staff practice in evacuation
realization and assistance techniques is important. Evacuation exercises using efficient
training aids are necessary. Regular control of combinations of technical and human
functions is needed.
By the results of our inquiry and the rating system of evacuation capability we can
13
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

calculate how the introduction of various technical solutions affects the need for
assistance. When horizontal evacuation is available the need for assistance will be
significantly less in blocks of service flats, but will decrease only to some extent in old
people«s homes and group-residential units. In one-storeyed homes for old people
almost half the number of residents would need no assistance or only 'a helping hand' in
case of an evacuation. In group-dwellings, however, almost nobody of the residents
would be able to manage on his or her own in an emergency situation depending on
orientation difficulties and risk of resistance.
The picture will change in the following way, from Figure 6 to Figure 7.
14
%
50
40
30
Needing no assistance
Needing a helping hand
Needing assistance from 1 staff
Needing assistance from 2 staff
20
10
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
%
60
Figure 6. Need for assistance in multi-storeyed buildings.
50
40
30
20
10
Service
flats
Old age
homes
Group
dwellings
Figure 7. Calculated need for assistance in one-storeyed buildings.
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The average need for assistance per resident will decrease to 0.4 in blocks of service
flats, 0.7 in old people«s homes and 0.6 in group-residential units. These figures should
be compaired with the corresponding figures in multi-storeyed buildings, which are 1.2,
1.3 and 1.2.
15
Safety level in care housing according to the latest proposal of Swedish buildings
standards, in practice in 1994.
By defining the residents« evacuation capability and the need for assistance in an emergency
situation we are able to establish the equivalence of the proposals for the
Swedish Building Standards of 1994 (BBR -94).
The proposed new building standards consists of regulations and general advice. The
regulations are basic requirements of general interest. The general advice in connection
with a regulation should make the regulation clearer and give one or two alternative
ways to make the requirement fulfilled. There are two types of advice; 'should' and
'may'. The 'should' advice means a recommendation from the authority. Other solutions
than those mentioned in the advice may be accepted. The 'may' advice is intended as
example of one way among others to fulfil the demand of the regulation.
How do the new safety provisions meet the demands for safety measures in various
forms of care housing? As an aid for this analysis Table 2 showing the aim of safety
measures is used.
Fire control
According to BBR -94 means of automatic fire alarm is required in buildings disposed
of alternative housing, that is care housing. The advice reads; The automatic alarm
should consist of smoke detectors giving indication to on-site staff. When staff is not
available the alarm should be transmitted to the fire station. The demand for 24 hours
staff attendence could not be claimed by the National Board of Housing, Building and
Planning.
As prevention of smoke and fire spread compartmentation is proposed. Like in previous
versions of building standards a flat, a ward and an escape route are exemples of such
fire compartments. Two separate exits are demanded from common premises. A door
separating different parts of an escape route or an escape route from rooms where
occupants are expected to know little about the locality, should be self closing. Fire
appliances such as delivering conduits should be found in buildings where alternative
escape routes occur, e.g. firefighting lifts, horizontal evacuation in ward premises.
Protection of people
The BBR-94 means considerable improvement of the prerequisites for safe escape or
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16
safe-in-place in care housing compared with former buildings standards.
A very important change from the former fire provisions is the introduction of a new
building category, that is 'alternative housing' defined as special housing forms for the
elderly and housing provided with special service for disabled people. There is one
qualification; the number of residents, except staff, should be eight at most in the same
flat and the flat must be in one level.
There is no demand expressed for horizontal escape routes in care housing. However,
some demands may result in such a solution. The general requirement for safety egress
in the built environment means either evacuation to the open air or to a temporary safe
place within the building. This requirement applies care housing as well. A temporary
safe place could be an area which is both separated by fire-resisting construction and
provided with a safe route to a storey exit. Such an area is often called a refuge in
international technical literature.
There shall be protected lobbies in the storeys served by firefighting lifts. That is one
form of refuge. Another form not mentioned in BBR-94 is an extended landing in a fire
resistant stairway, intended as waiting place for residents until they are assisted down
the stairs. That concerns chiefly wheel chair users.The access of a refuge makes an
evacuation in two stages possible, meaning horizontal movements only. This
arrangement will improve safety in care housing a great deal compared to the safety
level given by previous fire provisions.
One stairway must not be the only escape route in care housing according to BBR-94.
A window does not account for an alternative escape route. On the other hand a
firefighting lift can be used as an alternative escape route. The conception of
firefighting lift is hereby introduced in Sweden. The travel distance from any place in
the building to an escape route must not be longer than it can be vacated before critical
conditions appear. However the distance in metre is not as important as alternative
escape routes.
There is requirement of guiding marks in buildings where poeple are expected to know
little about the place. The results of the inquiry indicate that this is often the case in
some care housing. Fluorescent paint is allowed to replace emergency lighting.
Availability for rescuing from inside and outside is not mentioned in BBR-94.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study indicate that the basic demands concerning fire control and
Residents Evacuation Capability in Buildings…., Gun Hallberg, Domotic Lab. KTH, Stockholm 1993

protection of people should apply to all types of care housing. There could be some
difference in the motivation of the demands, may be also in the specification of
requirements and in the proposals of technical solutions concerning blocks of service
flats, old people«s homes or group-residential units. However, there is no reason for a
division into various safety levels meaning differential regulations or recommendations
for different types of care housing.
The significant decrease in need of assistance attained by abscence of stairs, especially
in blocks of service flats, makes the observation of this matter of building design
important.
The proposed building standards, BBR-94, will meet the requirements for safety
measures quite well. To a great degree the safety measures required in the manual
«Planning for Fire Safety in Care Housing« [4] has been included in BBR-94. The
performance-based standards give possibility of variation in solutions and prompt
adjustment to changed conditions. The new standards improve the prerequsites of
obtaining a safety level equivalent to the evacuation capacity of the residents in care
housing.
17
REFERENCES
1. Swedish Planning and Building Act,BFS 1987:10, Nat. Board of Housing, Building
and Planning, Karlskrona, Sweden, 1988.
2. Building Regulations -94. Consideration edition. Nat. Board of Housing, Building
and Planning, Karlskrona, Sweden, 1993.
3. Hallberg, G., "Evacuation Safety in Dwellings for the Elderly", in Safety in the Built
Environment,ed. J.D. Sime, pp. 103-115, E.& F.N. Spon., London, 1988.
4. Hallberg. G., Planning for Fire Safety in Care Housing,(in Swedish), Report
R4:1990, Dep. of Building Function Analysis, School of Architecture, Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 1990.
5. Nelson, H.E., Levin, B.M., Shibe, A.J., Paulsen, R.L., Alvord, D.M. and Thorne,
S.D., A Fire Safety Evaluation System for Board and Care Homes, Nat. Bur.
Standards, Washington DC., USA, 1983.
6. Hallberg, G., Human Dimensions and Interior Space. Dep. of Building Function
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