Self-Protection Measures
What are self-protection measures?
Legally mandatory, self-protection measures are required for all buildings or enclosures and are based on various manuals. The complexity of self-protection measures depends on the building’s characteristics.
These measures consist of safety organization and management procedures and have two main purposes:
- To maintain the safety conditions specified in the design and to guarantee a minimum emergency response structure.
- To ensure that fire safety equipment and systems are always apt for operation and, in case of an emergency, that occupants safely exit the building.
Even after designing a good fire safety project and executing it in the building construction stage, it is necessary to ensure careful maintenance.
Therefore, maintenance will be part of implementing the said Self-protection Measures.
Self-protection measures came into force through the Legal Regime on Fire Safety in Buildings (Regime Jurídico da Segurança Contra Incêndio em Edifícios – RJSCIE), approved by Portaria (ordinance) no. 1532/2008 of 29 December, thus ensuring that safety is maintained throughout the building’s lifetime.
There are three types of self-protection measures:
1. Prevention measures: prevention procedures or fire safety prevention and training plans and fire drills. Training sessions are for all employees and personnel of business entities operating in the building. This also includes specific training for persons who handle situations of higher fire risk or who belong to the teams that organize safety. Fire drills are means of testing the in-house emergency plan and of training the building’s occupants.
2. Intervention Measures in case of Fire: emergency procedures or in-house emergency plans.
3. Safety Records: set of audit or inspection reports and list of all maintenance measures and direct or indirect occurrences related with Fire Safety in Buildings (Segurança Contra Incêndio em Edifícios – SCIE).
Konceptness identifies and implements legally stipulated self-protection measures and may also carry out Fire Safety training sessions and hold exercises and drills to test and practice the planned means and procedures.