A good school is a safe place, where our children can experience warmth, community support, the satisfaction of overcoming difficulties or of discovering the activities that will prove to be useful throughout their lives.
An intelligent design of the building is a prerequisite for both students and the teaching staff to have an enjoyable environment, fostering excellent academic results. We also believe that schools can and should play a greater role as the meeting places for knowledge, learning, and entertainment in the community and in society. In close cooperation with the school principals, the managers, the city halls, and the other authorities involved, we create sustainable solutions of exceptional value.
One of our goals is to have a safe environment for the children and youth discovering the secrets of life in schools, and an important step in providing a safer place in schools is the authorization by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) for the respective building.
The reasons for not granting clearance to the schools are numerous, starting from physical shortcomings of schools, such as insufficient evacuation routes, the lack of fire exit staircases, the lack of exterior staircases, inappropriate use of the electrical system, insufficient fire extinguishers or those that are past their expiration date.
The measures that all constructions for education should meet include:
- at least two distinct and independent evacuation routes
- the evacuation staircases should be enclosed
- the doors placed along the evacuation routes should have a minimum width of 0.9 meters
- the staircase and corridor ramps should have a minimum width of 1.2 meters
- service vehicle’s access for response should be provided on at least two walls
Other requirements are as follows:
- interior and exterior fire hydrants (if they have a simultaneous maximum capacity of more than 200 persons or if their built-up area is more than 600 square meters)
- sprinklers (constructions with an area of more than 1,250 square meters and a heating load density more than or equal to 840 Mj/square meter)
- fire detection, signaling and alarm systems (if they shelter more than 200 persons)
- backup lighting to ensure continued activity
- emergency lighting for evacuation (if the number of persons exceeds 50)
- security lights to mark interior fire hydrants
The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) classifies schools into two categories:
- Schools that need a fire permit and
- schools that do not need such permit, as they were built before 1998, when ‘the concept of fire safety authorization did not even exist’.
‘Most schools were built before 1990, when the phrase fire safety authorization did not even exist. As such, they complied with the old law, going back as far as the 70s.’ However, this does not mean that they are not bound to the fire security rules applicable nowadays. Moreover, the IGSU representatives have stated that they issue the most fines in the schools that do not need a fire permit.
Terano Construct helps make this entire process easy for you. You will follow a process in which we will be actively involved; take the first step by leaving your contact data using the Contact section, and our team of professionals will be supporting you throughout the entire process.
