Classification of Facilities According to Fire Hazard Degree

Today, during the construction or operation of any capital residential or industrial buildings much emphasis is made on fire safety - this includes impregnation of materials with special fire suppressing solutions, the use of non-combustible building materials, creating conditions for preventing the fire spread, and installation of fire alarm and automatic fire suppression systems.

In order to determine the degree of potential fire threat and facilitate opportunities of fire suppression in industrial and residential buildings accurately, modern methods of classification of the premises according to their fire hazard degree have been developed. Each premises receive a fire hazard rating, which is sure to be recorded and entered into the passport of the facility.

Some objects (objects of capital construction, medical and child care institutions) when delivered, should obligatory receive the Fire Safety Declaration which implies preliminary calculation of fire risks. All other capital objects are separated into classes (categories) of fire hazard and shall comply with certain requirements for fire protection.

Classification according to fire hazard degree implies five categories of objects and includes the features and nature of the substances that may be stored therein.

• Category A includes the objects (e.g, warehouses for fuel and lubrication materials and gasoline), on the territory of which flammable and explosive fluids (gases) can be stored, for vapors ignition of which +28°C are sufficient, and the pressure of more than 5 kPa is created by the explosion.
• Category B includes objects (fuel oil storages, boiler rooms, etc.) on the territory of which flammable fibrous materials that can be ignited with a vapor flash at a pressure of 5 kPa, can be stored.
• Category C includes objects (carpentry workshops and storages of wood, coal and fuels without gasoline, etc.), on which processing or storage of solid combustible materials and liquids do not forming any explosive mixture in contact with air are performed.
• Category D includes objects on which fuel materials are burned or a treatment of the premises with fire-proofing materials is performed.
• Category E includes objects (greenhouses, food processing plants, pump stations, etc.), where substances in cold state are stored. They do not need fire safety declaration and fire hazard analysis for them is not performed.