§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to make compulsory the installation of sprinklers in factories, shops and warehouses; and if he will make a statement. [8510]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe relevant Statutory Building Regulation Requirement B3(3) states:
To inhibit the spread of fire within the building, it shall be sub-divided with fire resisting construction to an extent appropriate to the size and intended use of the building.
The Department gives guidance on how to comply with the requirement and in multi-storey retail and industrial buildings the guidance suggests that the floor area can be doubled if a sprinkler system is installed. In the case of multi-storey storage buildings the guidance suggests that the cubic capacity of the building can be doubled if a sprinkler system is installed. The Department is considering giving revised guidance on the use of sprinklers in relation to compartment size in single storey buildings.