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Upgrading of fire safety requirement for tall buildings in Bulgaria and proposal of implementing fire safety management under facility management

Martin Lyubomirov Ivanov (Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Sofia, Bulgaria)
Wan Ki Chow (Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong)
Tsz Kit Yue (Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong)
Hing Lung Tsang (Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong)
Wei Peng (School of Energy and Safety, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, Hong Kong)

Facilities

ISSN: 0263-2772

Article publication date: 3 February 2022

Issue publication date: 21 February 2022

386

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to check and fill the gap between the existing fire safety regulations for newly built tall buildings in Bulgaria and those in areas with rapid economic growth in the Asia-Oceania regions like the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Mainland China, by making comparative analysis and identifying good practices. The main focus is on the development of fire safety designs, facilities and management, which shall be recognized as essential parts of facility management in tall buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

Bulgarian regulations are analyzed and then compared with those in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Mainland China. In addition, the scientific aspect of fire load density in the fire codes is discussed. The possibility of implementing a fire engineering approach to supplement prescriptive codes is outlined. The essential roles of fire safety management and fire safety culture are presented.

Findings

Key points and recommendations that are worthy for discussion about incorporation in the Bulgarian tall buildings fire safety requirements are upgraded requirements for fire load density, detection and sprinkler systems in tall residential buildings, refuge floors, ventilation/air conditioning control systems, full-scale burning tests and fire engineering approach. The importance of fire safety management is emphasized as a main, key component in facility management.

Originality/value

The research is the first study focusing on implementation of additional and specific fire safety regulations for tall buildings in Bulgaria.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China for the project “A study of the hazardous consequences of fire whirls generated in a room” (Project No. PolyU 15204918).

Declaration of interests: None.

Citation

Ivanov, M.L., Chow, W.K., Yue, T.K., Tsang, H.L. and Peng, W. (2022), "Upgrading of fire safety requirement for tall buildings in Bulgaria and proposal of implementing fire safety management under facility management", Facilities, Vol. 40 No. 5/6, pp. 380-393. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-10-2021-0107

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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