In the realm of fire engineering, ensuring optimal fire safety in storage buildings is paramount. Storage facilities often house combustible materials and assets, making fire safety for Class 7b buildings a critical aspect of design. At SOTERA we provide tailored performance-based fire engineering solutions that go beyond traditional prescriptive approaches.
One key advantage of performance solutions is their flexibility. They allow for innovative design strategies that optimise both safety and cost-effectiveness. Rather than adhering strictly to standardised fire resistance requirements proposed in the NCC, performance solutions enable a nuanced approach based on real-world fire behavior and building usage.
BCA Spec C1.1 Table 3 requires a 240-minute fire rating to structural elements in a Class 7b building with a rise in stories of 4 or more. Since a Class 7b building where Type A construction requires floors to be fire rated, each storey is required to be fire separated with bounding construction achieving FRL of 240/240/240. We at SOTERA recently readily obtained approval for 4-storied self-storage projects where the fire rating of the floors was fully rationalised down from 4 hours to no rating with the building being fully protected by fast response sprinklers to AS2118.1. Performance solutions of a similar nature require sound structural engineering knowledge that SOTERA possesses with a team led by Dr. Paul Clancy.