This Draft for Development gives recommendations and guidance on the construction and use of buildings
to maximize fire safety including the provision of fire precautions and means of escape. It is applicable to
new buildings and also to existing buildings, especially when alterations to the structure of an existing
building or to its use are being considered, and covers the entire life cycle of a building.
NOTE 1 When this Draft for Development is published as a British Standard it will also incorporate the recommendations and
guidance on access and facilities for fire-fighting and fire safety management, currently given in BS 5588-5 and BS 5588-12
respectively.
The recommendations and guidance given in this Draft for Development are to safeguard the lives of
building occupants and fire-fighters. However, some of the recommendations and guidance are also of
relevance to the protection of property, the environment and business/service viability. This Draft for
Development does not cover fire safety engineering.
NOTE 2 Guidance and recommendations on fire safety engineering are given in BS 7974.