What is this standard about?
It gives guidance on how to detect and extinguish fires in the vicinity of electronic equipment installations, taking account of the potential for extensive damage and serious business interruption.
Who is this standard for?
- Architects
- Fire safety engineers
- Fire risk assessors
- Building control
- Those involved in electronic equipment installations
- Installers of fire and smoke alarms, sprinklers and smoke and heat control systems
- Inspectorate for certification and installation schemes
Why should you use this standard?
Fires in electronic equipment installations can lead to extensive physical damage and serious interruptions to operations and services.
If a fire does occur, its effects can be minimized by appropriate structural fire protection measures and early detection and extinguishing of the fire, either of which might occur automatically or manually.
This standard gives guidance on these measures, taking into consideration the characteristics of the environments in which electronic equipment installations are located.
The extensive use of fire protection systems in electronic installations arises not from a high probability of fire, nor from a significant hazard to life, but from the consequences of fire loss.
NOTE: It is often necessary to consider the potential for business interruption separately from the potential for material damage. It’s essential that the level of protection is reviewed periodically to ensure that it remains appropriate to the exposure to loss.
What’s changed since the last update?
This edition of BS 6266 supersedes the 2002 version which is withdrawn. This is a full revision and introduces the following principal changes:
- Reduction from five risk categories to four, of which three are covered in this edition of the standard
- Reinstatement of detection performance tests
- Update of detection technologies, including the classification of aspirating systems
Update of structural fire protection provisions, taking account of the publication of BS 9999:2008
