Fire escapes are vital for residences and other structures. These structures allow people to evacuate safely in emergency situations. According to the regulations in Turkey, fire escapes are mandatory in schools, hospitals, shopping malls and similar places.
Fire escape is the name given to the exterior and interior structure that allows living beings to be evacuated without being harmed in various emergency situations that may occur in residences. Within the scope of the published regulations, the obligation to have a fire escape becomes important in some residences. For example, according to the Ministry of Education regulations in Turkey, fire escapes are mandatory in schools. In addition, fire escapes must be located in shopping malls, offices, factories, hospitals or apartments where more than 50 individuals operate.
What is the Fire Escape Regulation?
Fire escape regulations in buildings are a set of official rules that ensure precautions are taken against disasters. This regulation, which was announced in Turkey in 2007 and updated in 2019, includes precautions that can be taken in advance against situations that may cause loss of life. In this regard, fire regulations in buildings;
- Dimensions of the stairs,
- step length,
- The quality of the material,
- your plan,
- How it should be positioned,
- It checks whether the building complies with the building order.
Within the scope of fire escape obligation, it is important for institutions to comply with the specified rules in order not to endanger human life safety. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure that fire regulations are followed and that buildings are inspected regularly. Otherwise, undesirable situations may occur in schools, offices, dormitories, workplaces or hospitals that do not comply with fire regulations. In such cases, delaying evacuation may cause both material and moral damages, especially loss of life.
Why is Fire Escape Important?
In high-rise and crowded apartment buildings, the way to ensure the life safety of working or living individuals is through fire escapes. This structure makes it possible to evacuate the house quickly in any event, including a sudden negative situation, earthquake or other natural disasters. The importance of fire exits and stairs can be listed as follows:
- Fire escape types are manufactured from materials that are resistant to natural disasters. This feature prevents a possible natural disaster from increasing in size and spreading to other parts of the building.
- In high-rise buildings, it is the second exit door through which the building can be safely evacuated from the roof to the ground floor in case the main exit is blocked. This structure ensures that you can exit the building safely in adverse situations, whether you are on the top floor or the bottom.
- There is a fire escape door on each floor of schools, workplaces and hospitals. These doors provide easy access to individuals who need help.
- These structures, which provide easy access to fire brigades in situations requiring emergency intervention, are also important for the prestige of institutions.
If you want to live in a sheltered and safe residence, you can consider residences that require fire escape. For example, if you are searching for flats for rent in Üsküdar, Istanbul, you can give priority to houses with emergency exit stairs. You can easily access Makro Life apartment opportunities that meet all security conditions.
Which Buildings Do Fire Escape Requirements Include?
In Turkey, evacuation stairs are mandatory not only in housing estates or living spaces but also in educational institutions. The basis of the necessity of fire escapes in educational institutions is to secure the lives of teachers, students and staff. A negative situation experienced during training can be overcome with minimal damage by using the evacuation ladder.
In hospitals, hotels and shopping malls, it is mandatory to include the relevant structure within the scope of workplace fire escape regulations. It is expected that precautions will be taken against possible negativities in these structures where more than 50 patients, staff and visitors are located. There is this emergency exit staircase on every floor. Thus, in the event of a possible mishap, access to the floors can be easily achieved and evacuation operations can be carried out quickly.
It is a legal obligation to have a fire escape not only in hospitals and schools but also in buildings with 5 floors and above. It is recommended that those who want to protect life safety and live in residences with more than one evacuation door choose buildings that contain the relevant structure. If you want to live in a crowded district like Ümraniye, Istanbul, you can give priority to residences that offer evacuation exits. Through Makro Life, you can easily access all of Istanbul Ümraniye rental house options, which are safe, comfortable and have high living standards.
Who Performs Fire Escape Inspection?
In addition to municipal teams, fire escape inspections are officially carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the fire brigade. Inspections carried out taking into account TSE standards reveal the reliability of structures that require fire escapes. Inspections can be carried out upon individual requests as well as complaints made via the ALO 130 line in line with the 'Fire Safety Regulation' published in the Official Gazette. The following details can be taken into consideration in all fire escape inspections drawn in DWG format, especially Z type:
- Whether RIHT was taken into consideration or not
- step height
- door width
- fire extinguisher
- fire detector
- sprinkler
- ventilation
You can make safer choices by taking all these details into consideration when choosing your dream home.
