MALAYSIAN MS 1183:2015

STANDARD

Fire safety in the design, management and

use of buildings - Code of practice
(First revision)

ICS: 13.220.01
Descriptors: design, management, fire safety, buildings

© Copyright 2015
DEPARTMENT OF STANDARDS MALAYSIA
DEVELOPMENT OF MALAYSIAN STANDARDS

The Department of Standards Malaysia (STANDARDS MALAYSIA) is the national

standards and accreditation body of Malaysia.

The main function of STANDARDS MALAYSIA is to foster and promote standards,

standardisation and accreditation as a means of advancing the national economy, promoting
industrial efficiency and development, benefiting the health and safety of the public,
protecting the consumers, facilitating domestic and international trade and furthering
international cooperation in relation to standards and standardisation.

Malaysian Standards (MS) are developed through consensus by committees which comprise
balanced representation of producers, users, consumers and others with relevant interests,
as may be appropriate to the subject at hand. To the greatest extent possible, Malaysian
Standards are aligned to or are adoption of international standards. Approval of a standard
as a Malaysian Standard is governed by the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 [Act 549].
Malaysian Standards are reviewed periodically. The use of Malaysian Standards is voluntary
except in so far as they are made mandatory by regulatory authorities by means of
regulations, local by-laws or any other similar ways.

For the purposes of Malaysian Standards, the following definitions apply:

Revision: A process where existing Malaysian Standard is reviewed and updated which
resulted in the publication of a new edition of the Malaysian Standard.

Confirmed MS: A Malaysian Standard that has been reviewed by the responsible
committee and confirmed that its contents are current.

Amendment: A process where a provision(s) of existing Malaysian Standard is altered. The

changes are indicated in an amendment page which is incorporated into the existing
Malaysian Standard. Amendments can be of technical and/or editorial nature.

Technical corrigendum: A corrected reprint of the current edition which is issued to correct
either a technical error or ambiguity in a Malaysian Standard inadvertently introduced either
in drafting or in printing and which could lead to incorrect or unsafe application of the
publication.

NOTE: Technical corrigenda are not to correct errors which can be assumed to have no consequences in the application
of the MS, for example minor printing errors.

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and sell Malaysian Standards.

For further information on Malaysian Standards, please contact:

Department of Standards Malaysia OR SIRIM Berhad

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E-mail: central@jsm.gov.my E-mail: msonline@sirim.my
 MS 1183:2015

Contents

Page

Committee representation .................................................................................................... iv

Foreword .............................................................................................................................. vi

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... vii

SECTION 1: GENERAL ........................................................................................................ 1

1 Scope ....................................................................................................................... 1
2 Normative references................................................................................................ 1
3 Terms and definitions................................................................................................ 8
4 General recommendations and background ............................................................ 22

SECTION 2: PURPOSE GROUP ........................................................................................ 26

5 General assessing risk ............................................................................................ 26

6 Occupancy risk of each purpose group ................................................................... 28

SECTION 3: ENSURING EFFECTIVE FIRE PROTECTION ................................................ 31

7 Ensuring effective fire protection ............................................................................. 31

SECTION 4: MANAGING FIRE SAFETY ............................................................................. 34

8 Establishing management levels ............................................................................. 34

9 Fire safety manual .................................................................................................. 41
10 Designing so that a building can be managed ......................................................... 41

SECTION 5: DESIGNING MEANS OF ESCAPE ................................................................. 51

11 Principles of means of escape ................................................................................ 51

12 Evacuation strategy ................................................................................................ 53
13 Internal subdivision and spatial/visual orientation .................................................... 56
14 Designing means of escape .................................................................................... 57
15 Identification of risk ................................................................................................ 63
16 Minimum package of fire protection ......................................................................... 63
17 Horizontal means of escape .................................................................................... 70
18 Vertical means of escape ........................................................................................ 85
19 Additional fire protection measures ......................................................................... 93

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MS 1183:2015

Contents (continued)

Page

SECTION 6: ACCESS AND FASILITIES FOR FIREFIGHTING ........................................... 95

20 General recommendations for firefighting facilities................................................... 95

21 Facilities for firefighting ........................................................................................... 96
22 Vehicles access .................................................................................................... 114
23 Water supplies for fire and rescue department use ................................................ 115
24 Communications systems for fire and rescue department use ............................... 116
25 Fire control centre ................................................................................................. 116
26 Firefighters’ emergency switches for discharge lighting installation ........................ 118
27 Drawings for fire and rescue department use ........................................................ 118
28 Heat and smoke control ........................................................................................ 120
29 Electrical services ................................................................................................. 124

SECTION 7: DESIGNING THE BUILDING STRUCTURE (LOAD-BEARING AND NON-

LOAD-BEARING ELEMENTS) .......................................................................................... 126

30 Designing the building structure-General............................................................... 126

31 Fire resistance ...................................................................................................... 127
32 Compartmentation ................................................................................................ 135
33 Openings .............................................................................................................. 143
34 Concealed spaces ................................................................................................ 168
35 Materials and finishes ........................................................................................... 176
36 External fire spread between neighbouring buildings ............................................. 187
37 Accommodation ancillary to the main use of the building ....................................... 201
38 Engineering services............................................................................................. 206

SECTION 8: SPECIAL RISK PROTECTION...................................................................... 214

39 Special risk protection ........................................................................................... 214

SECTION 9: MANAGING OCCUPIED BUILDINGS ........................................................... 215

40 Commissioning and hand-over.............................................................................. 215

41 Managing occupied buildings ................................................................................ 217
42 Fire prevention...................................................................................................... 223
43 Ensuring that systems respond properly in an emergency ..................................... 227
44 Planning the response to a fire.............................................................................. 230
45 Emergency actions ............................................................................................... 237
46 Evacuation of disabled people .............................................................................. 243
47 Management of fire safety prior to full occupation of a building .............................. 248
48 Building works, alterations, decommissioning and demolition ................................ 249

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 MS 1183:2015

Contents (concluded)

Page

Annexes

A Additional considerations for property and business continuity protection .............. 253
B Recommendations for atria ................................................................................... 259
C Design solutions and exemplars for atria ............................................................... 272
D Recommendations for theatres, cinemas and similar venues................................. 322
E Recommendations for shopping complexes .......................................................... 334
F Process plant and outdoor structures .................................................................... 359
G Recommendations for refuges and evacuation lifts................................................ 362
H Fire safety manual ................................................................................................ 374
I Fire control centre and evacuation management ................................................... 382
J Fire safety equipment, facilities and systems......................................................... 385
K Signs and signage ................................................................................................ 390
L Typical arrangements to keep firefighting lift wells free from water......................... 391
M Operational information (emergency packs) for the fire and rescue department ..... 394
N Commissioning and hand-over of smoke control systems...................................... 395
O Fire safety training ................................................................................................ 397
P Control of conditions in public areas ...................................................................... 400
Q Recommendations for owners of multi-occupancy residential buildings ................. 403
R Advice to occupiers of dwellings in residential buildings ........................................ 406
S Examples of fire instruction notices ....................................................................... 410
T Audience/crowd control ......................................................................................... 415
U Hot work ............................................................................................................... 417
V Routine inspection and maintenance of fire safety installations.............................. 419
W Routine inspection and maintenance of ventilation and air conditioning ductwork .. 426
X Phased evacuation ............................................................................................... 428
Y Examples of evacuation strategies ........................................................................ 431
Z Example messages for use in phased evacuation ................................................. 433

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 436

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MS 1183:2015

Committee representation

The Industry Standards Committee on Fire Safety and Prevention (ISC M) under whose authority this Malaysian
Standard was developed, comprises representatives from the following organisations:

Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia

Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia
Department of Chemistry, Malaysia
Department of Standards Malaysia
Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia
Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia
Malaysian Association of Standards Users
Malaysian Fire Protection Association
Master Builders Association Malaysia
Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism
Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia
Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia
Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (Distribution Division)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) Malaysia Branch
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Universiti Putra Malaysia

The Technical Committee on Passive Fire Protection System which supervised the development of this Malaysian
Standard consists of representatives from the following organisations:

Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers
Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia
Malaysian Fire Protection Association
Malaysian Lift and Escalator Association
Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia
Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Product Certification and Inspection Department)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Testing Services Department)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) Malaysia Branch
Universiti Putra Malaysia

Co-opted members:

Universiti Malaya

The Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire Safety (Sections 3, 4 and 6) which developed this Malaysian
Standard consists of representatives from the following organisations:

Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia

Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia
Malaysian Fire Protection Association
Malaysian Lift and Escalator Association
Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Product Certification and Inspection Department)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Testing Services Department)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) Malaysia Branch

iv © STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved

 MS 1183:2015

Committee representation (continued)

The Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire Safety (Sections 2, 7 and 9) which developed this Malaysian
Standard consists of representatives from the following organisations:

Forest Research Institute Malaysia

Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia
Malaysian Fire Protection Association
Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Product Certification and Inspection Department)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Testing Services Department)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) Malaysia Branch

The Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire Safety (Sections 1, 5 and 8) which developed this Malaysian
Standard consists of representatives from the following organisations:

Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia

Malaysian Fire Protection Association
Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia
SIRIM Berhad (Secretariat)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Product Certification and Inspection Department)
SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (Testing Services Department)
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia
The Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) Malaysia Branch

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MS 1183:2015

Foreword

This Malaysian Standard was developed by the Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire
Safety (Sections 3, 4 and 6), Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire Safety (Sections 2,
7 and 9) and Working Group on Code of Practice for Fire Safety (Sections 1, 5 and 8) under
the authority of the Industry Standards Committee on Fire Safety.

This Malaysian Standard cancels and replaces:

MS 1183: Part 2:1993, Code of practice for fire precautions in the design and construction of
buildings - Part 2: Shops

MS 1183: Part 5:1990, Code of practice for fire precautions in the design and construction of
buildings - Fire-fighting stairways and lifts

MS 1183: Part 8:1990, Specification for fire precautions in the design and construction of
buildings - Part 8: Code of practice for means of escape for disable people

Compliance with a Malaysian Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal
obligations.

vi © STANDARDS MALAYSIA 2015 - All rights reserved