BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 - SET

What is included in this kit?

BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Actuation of release mechanisms for doors (Standard)

BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Actuation of release mechanisms for doors (Expert commentary)

What is BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 about?

This is the fourth in a five-part series of British Standards giving recommendations on how fire protection measures should operate. Part 4 (this part) deals with the mechanisms for opening doors that form part of the means of escape in a fire. BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 is the first amendment to the 2015 version of this standard.

Who is BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 for?

• Fire detection and fire alarm designers
• Fire alarm manufacturers and installers
• Enforcing authorities including building control bodies and fire and rescue
• Mechanical and electrical contractors
• Property managers
• Gas, lift and fire safety engineers and consultants
• Fire risk assessors

Why should you use BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021?

This standard covers the electrical control arrangements for activating mechanisms that unlock, release or open doors in the event of fire. It covers any building, including dwellings, unless otherwise stated.

The standard gives recommendations for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of electrical control arrangements for actuation of mechanisms. BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021 applies to all aspects of the interface between these mechanisms and a fire detection and fire alarm system, including interfaces that incorporate acoustic coupling and radio transmission.

The interface arrangements include any that are designed in the event of fire to:

• Release fire-resisting doors that are normally held in the open position
• Unlock doors that are normally locked
• Cause powered sliding doors to open

NOTE 1: This standard does not recommend whether the above mechanisms should, or should not, be used in any given premises, or in any particular circumstances, nor does it apply to electrically controlled systems that form part of a smoke venting system.

NOTE 2: Recommendations for the interface between these systems and a fire detection and fire alarm system are given in BS 7273-6. This part of BS 7273 does not generally apply to the equipment that holds, releases, locks or unlocks the doors, or that facilitates the opening of powered sliding doors.

NOTE 3: Recommendations are given, where appropriate, for the standards to which some of this equipment needs to conform. This part of BS 7273 does not apply to products used within the fire detection and fire alarm systems that initiate the signal to actuate the door locking or release mechanisms, nor to aspects of the fire detection and fire alarm system concerned with its primary function to give warning in the event of fire.

NOTE 4: Recommendations for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems are given in BS 5839-1, which refers normatively to BS 7273 for the interface between a fire detection and fire alarm system and other fire protection systems and equipment.

What’s new about BS 7273-4:2015+A1:2021?

This is an amendment to BS 7273-4:2015 prompted by research that identified the potential for confusion between red break glass call points and door release units on electronically locked doors, leading to unwanted alarms.

The amendment:

• Supplies recommendations to resolve this issue
• Provides clarity on when a door may be secured with a panic bar, also known as a panic latch
• Makes it clear that in some circumstances, such as in care homes catering for residents who are living with dementia, the normal green break glass might, subject to a risk assessment, be omitted or subject to a variation in siting