Stage 1 Fire Strategy - Preparation and Briefing

Introduction

A Stage 1 fire strategy is the fire safety component of the project briefing process.

RIBA Stage 1 is Preparation and Briefing. It is not normally a detailed design stage. The purpose is to define the client's fire safety requirements, identify major constraints and confirm that the brief can be accommodated on the site before concept design begins.

The Stage 1 output may be called:

Fire safety brief
Fire strategy brief
Preliminary fire strategy
Stage 1 fire strategy note
Fire safety feasibility study

The form matters less than whether it provides a reliable basis for Stage 2.

Purpose

The Stage 1 fire strategy should answer the following questions:

What is the building intended to be used for?
Who will occupy it?
What fire safety outcomes are required?
Which jurisdiction and approval route apply?
Are there site or existing-building constraints that may prevent the brief being achieved?
What specialist fire safety input will be required?
What information must be developed at later stages?
Who is responsible for each part of the fire safety design?

It should define the problem before the design team begins producing solutions.

Stage 1 Is Not a Detailed Design

A Stage 1 strategy would not normally include:

Final travel-distance calculations
Final exit-width calculations
Final compartmentation drawings
Final fire-resistance schedules
Detailed smoke-control calculations
Detailed sprinkler hydraulic design
Final fire alarm layouts
A device-level cause-and-effect matrix
Final firestopping details
Manufacturer-specific product selections

Including these items too early may create false certainty around a building design that has not yet been developed.

However, sufficient feasibility work should be carried out to confirm that the brief is realistic. For example, it may be necessary to test whether the site can accommodate the likely number of stairs, firefighting access or fire-service facilities.

Core Information

Building and Site

The Stage 1 strategy should record:

Project address and jurisdiction
New build, extension, refurbishment or change of use
Existing and proposed building uses
Approximate height, storey count and floor areas
Site boundaries and proximity to other buildings
Topography and access constraints
Existing fire-service access and water supplies
Existing fire strategies, plans and fire risk assessments
Known restrictions arising from planning, heritage or neighbouring land

Occupancy

The project should define or estimate:

Occupancy type
Likely occupant numbers
Whether occupants are awake, asleep or receiving care
Whether occupants are familiar with the building
Expected mobility, sensory or cognitive impairments
Whether occupants can self-evacuate
Staffing levels and hours of occupation
Security arrangements that may affect escape
Any processes creating unusual fire hazards

These assumptions should be stated explicitly because they will influence every later stage.

Regulatory and Standards Route

The Stage 1 strategy should identify:

Applicable national Building Regulations guidance
Whether the building is residential, non-domestic or mixed-use
Whether BS 9991, BS 9999 or another sector-specific standard is likely to be used
Whether a fire-engineered solution may be required
Whether the development may be a higher-risk building
Whether a planning fire statement is required
Whether insurer or warranty requirements exceed the statutory baseline
Whether consultation with the fire and rescue service, building control body or other stakeholders is likely to be required

The final compliance route may not yet be fixed, but the available routes and major implications should be understood.

Overarching Fire Safety Requirements

The Stage 1 strategy should establish the client's high-level requirements for:

Evacuation or stay-put approach
Inclusive evacuation
Number and broad location of cores
Firefighting access and facilities
Fire alarm and warning
Automatic fire detection
Sprinklers or other suppression
Smoke control
Structural fire resistance
Compartmentation
External wall performance
Fire safety management
Business continuity and property protection
Resilience beyond the minimum life-safety requirements

At this stage, these should be expressed as required outcomes or constraints rather than detailed technical solutions.

Existing Buildings and Surveys

For work to an existing building, the Stage 1 strategy should establish an information and survey plan.

Potential requirements include:

Review of the existing fire strategy
Review of Regulation 38 or handover information
Review of fire risk assessments
Compartmentation survey
Fire door survey
External wall appraisal
Smoke-control survey
Fire alarm and cause-and-effect survey
Sprinkler or suppression survey
Structural fire-protection survey
Intrusive opening-up
Verification of service penetrations and cavity barriers

Where existing information cannot be verified, it should be marked as an assumption rather than presented as fact.

Stakeholders and Competence

The Stage 1 process should identify relevant stakeholders, which may include:

Client
Building owner
Building users or residents
Facilities and building managers
Architect or lead designer
Principal designer
Fire engineer or fire strategy author
Structural engineer
MEP designer
Access and inclusive-design consultant
Façade consultant
Building control body or Building Safety Regulator
Fire and rescue service
Insurer and warranty provider
Specialist contractors

The client should determine whether specialist fire safety expertise is required and appoint it early enough to influence the concept design.

Responsibility Matrix

A Stage 1 responsibility matrix should identify who will be responsible for:

Fire strategy authorship
Means-of-escape design
Occupancy and evacuation assumptions
Structural fire engineering
Compartmentation design
Fire door strategy
Façade and external-wall fire performance
Fire alarm design
Cause-and-effect development
Smoke-control design
Sprinkler and suppression design
Emergency lighting
Evacuation lifts
Firefighting lifts and shafts
Emergency voice communication
Passive fire protection details
Building Regulations coordination
Construction inspections
Commissioning and witness testing
Regulation 38 and as-built information

The matrix should also define which items are completed by the design team and which require specialist subcontractor design at Stage 4.

What Should Develop Alongside the Stage 1 Strategy?

The following should normally develop in parallel:

Document or activity	Stage 1 purpose
Project Brief	Records fire safety requirements as part of the client's overall requirements.
Site appraisal	Identifies access, boundary, water supply and neighbouring-building constraints.
Feasibility studies	Tests whether the brief can be accommodated without fixing the final design.
Planning strategy	Identifies planning fire-statement and consultation requirements.
Inclusive design brief	Defines the needs of disabled and vulnerable occupants.
Existing information review	Establishes what is known, unknown and unreliable.
Survey strategy	Defines the surveys and opening-up required before later design decisions.
Project risk register	Records major fire safety risks and unresolved assumptions.
Design responsibility matrix	Assigns responsibility for design, coordination and specialist input.
Information requirements	Defines the fire safety information expected at Stages 2, 3 and 4.
Cost plan allowances	Allows for major fire safety measures and specialist design work.

Fire Alarm and Cause-and-Effect Requirements

At Stage 1, the alarm design should remain at requirement level.

The strategy should identify:

Whether a fire alarm is required for life safety, property protection or both
Whether the likely evacuation approach requires a simple or staged alarm
Whether voice alarm may be required
Whether visual or tactile warning may be required
Whether alarm transmission is likely to be required
Whether the system will operate smoke control, doors, lifts or other systems
Whether a complex cause-and-effect arrangement is expected
Who will be responsible for the fire alarm and interface design

A Stage 1 cause-and-effect schedule would normally be limited to major operational scenarios. It should not attempt to become a final matrix before the evacuation strategy and building layout exist.

Stage 1 Deliverables

A proportionate Stage 1 fire safety package may include:

Stage 1 fire strategy or fire safety brief
Fire safety requirements schedule
Initial occupancy and management assumptions
Regulatory and standards route note
Preliminary evacuation philosophy
Initial site access and firefighting feasibility review
Existing information and survey schedule
Fire safety project risk register
Fire safety design responsibility matrix
Stage 2 information requirements
Planning fire-statement screening note
Record of stakeholder consultation

A small and simple project may use a short document. A large, complex or existing building may require substantial feasibility and survey work.

Stage 1 Completion Criteria

Stage 1 should not be considered complete until:

The intended use and occupancy have been defined
The principal fire safety objectives are in the Project Brief
Major site and existing-building constraints are understood
The likely regulatory route has been identified
Planning fire-statement requirements have been checked
The need for specialist fire safety input has been determined
Fire safety design responsibilities have been allocated
Required surveys and existing information gaps have been identified
Key fire safety risks have been recorded
The client has approved the fire safety brief for Stage 2

Common Failures

Treating Stage 1 as an optional administrative stage
Beginning concept design before occupancy and fire safety requirements are understood
Assuming a preferred number of stairs or cores will be acceptable without feasibility testing
Failing to appoint a fire engineer until after the concept has been fixed
Ignoring disabled or vulnerable occupants
Relying on unverified existing drawings
Failing to identify planning fire-statement requirements
Omitting insurer, warranty or property-protection requirements
Leaving specialist design responsibilities undefined
Producing detailed system layouts that imply decisions the project has not yet made

Relationship to Stage 2

Stage 2 uses the Stage 1 requirements to produce the first coordinated fire safety concept.

The Stage 1 strategy should therefore give the Stage 2 team:

A clear brief
Reliable baseline assumptions
Known site constraints
A defined compliance route or set of routes to test
A list of required specialist inputs
A responsibility matrix
An agreed set of stage deliverables

Continue to Stage 2 – Concept Design.

Important: A Stage 1 document should define and test the fire safety brief. It should not present unverified assumptions or premature technical design as settled fact.