An area of refuge or safe room is a place in a

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

designed to hold occupants during a

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

or other

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

when evacuation may not be safe or possible. Occupants can wait there until rescued or relieved by

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s. In some instances, an area of refuge or refuge area may refer to a designated space in a multi-unit residential building that can provide relief from unsafe or uncomfortable conditions in individual units.

Beneficiaries

People who use refuge areas may include: *Those who cannot reach a safe escape route *Those assisting people who are prevented from escaping *

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

patients *Sick people *People with disabilities *Elderly people *Very young children and infants *Medical personnel who may be operating on a patient at the time of the emergency *Operators in a critical facility whose function must not be interrupted, such as nuclear power stations, key military fortifications, and high security prisons

Technical requirements

An area of refuge is typically supplied with a steady supply of fresh or filtered outside

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. A two way communication system is provided on each floor above or below the main floor. A call box is required in each area of refuge, which can call into a central location called a base station. If the station is not attended 24 hours a day, the call must automatically call to an outside location and have two-way voice person to person communication capabilities.

Typical areas of refuge

* Stairwells (also to allow egress unimpeded by

smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...

) *

Control room A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center. Overview A control room's purpose is produc ...

s in

nuclear power station A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

chemical plant A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transfor ...

s, and high security prisons * Operating theaters Such locations are usually required to be bounded by fire-resistant walls and floors.

Other uses of refuge areas

In the context of climate change, where older buildings may not be designed for changing climate conditions, refuge spaces are sometimes discussed in terms of providing communal areas in multi-unit buildings for when temperature and air quality is not safe or comfortable in individual units.

References

Bibliography

External links

International Code Council - 2015 International Building Code
{{Fire protection, state=collapsed Passive fire protection