Fire safety standards in healthcare projects: hopelessly outdated

Since as far back as 1979, the general fire safety of buildings in Belgium has been regulated at the federal level, via a Royal Decree that prescribes a range of 'basic' standards. For healthcare, the Flemish government works on the basis of specific standards that are often much stricter than the general standards. To comply with the prescribed fire safety standards, designers must constantly navigate between these different sets of rules.

The Royal Decree on fire safety for hospitals: not keeping up with the times.

Since 1979, the general basic standards have been revised on a regular basis — and in 2022, they will be updated again. Healthcare regulations are reviewed at a slightly different frequency. Whereas the standards for care for the elderly were updated in 2011, the standards for "fire and panic protection" at hospitals remain stuck in 1979. This completely ignores four decades of developments in the field of fire safety, as well as countless new therapeutic insights in healthcare.

The examples are legion. In residential care homes, for instance, corridors must remain completely unobstructed, all while both designers and management teams would love nothing more than to liven up these corridors with sitting areas and meeting places. Designers and management teams often like to integrate an atrium into a hospital as an entry point: abundant daylight creates a pleasant sense of space and softens the clinical setting. Not allowed, according to the standards. Elsewhere, surgeons yearn for uncluttered and accessible operating theatres. Not possible: the standards require compartmentalisation if a space exceeds a certain surface area. As a consequence, they are faced with countless airlock doors and separators.

Breaking the Royal Decree straitjacket with contemporary solutions

As a leading healthcare designer, VK is always looking for the highest quality solutions for its clients and users. Wherever we have to, we push the boundaries — so of course, we can design safe hospitals with atriums. We reconcile safety requirements with patient experience and comfort to contemporary standards.

The fire safety engineers at VK offer fire-safe solutions that, with the approval of the fire department, deviate from a Royal Decree issued 43 years ago where necessary. Evacuation simulations and smoke and heat extraction studies prove whether a design can be evacuated in time and safely in the event of a fire. Sprinkler studies show how a fire in an atrium can be slowed down or prevented from spreading.

Where these and other performance-based solutions deviate from the regulations, our fire safety engineers help facilitate the approval process.

Fire safety as a strategy

VK architects+engineers has been committed to a multidisciplinary approach for many years. As a result, we strongly believe in the benefits of integrated design. In terms of timing, budgeting and architectural quality, a total fire safety strategy is the best option for optimal reconciliation of safety and experience.

VK's fire safety experts are happy to enter into dialogue with clients and design partners to devise integrated fire safety strategies. We know that this is a very pressing issue in the healthcare sector, so we look forward to hearing your comments and questions on this topic, using the form on our contact page.