IS 3594:1991 is the Indian Standard (BIS) for fire safety of industrial buildings: general storage and warehousing including cold storage. This code specifies the fire safety requirements for general storage, warehousing, and cold storage buildings. It focuses on fire separation, construction details, safe egress paths, and mitigation of specific risks associated with cold storage insulation and high-volume combustible goods.
Code of practice for fire safety of industrial buildings: General storage and warehousing including cold storage
BIM-relevant code. See the BIM Hub for ISO 19650, IFC, and LOD/LOIN frameworks used alongside it.
IS 3594 is the code of practice for fire safety of industrial buildings — general — the dedicated Indian standard for fire safety in factories, warehouses, processing plants, and other industrial premises. While NBC 2016 Part 4 covers fire safety broadly, IS 3594 provides industrial-specific provisions for fire prevention, detection, suppression, evacuation, and emergency response.
Use IS 3594 when designing or auditing: - Manufacturing factories - Warehouses (general + cold storage + hazardous goods) - Processing plants (food, chemical, pharma, textile) - Power plants + substations - Petrochemical refineries (with additional OISD codes) - Industrial parks + estates - Steel mills + heavy industries
IS 3594 covers fire safety from a building + operations perspective: - Fire load classification (low / moderate / high based on combustible content per m²) - Compartmentation (fire walls, fire doors, fire dampers) - Egress + evacuation (escape routes, exits, signage) - Detection + alarm systems (smoke / heat detectors, manual call points) - Fixed suppression (sprinklers, gas systems, foam) - Manual fire-fighting (hydrants, hose reels, extinguishers) - Emergency power supply - Operational procedures (training, drills, hot-work permits)
IS 3594 + NBC 2016 Part 4 + State Fire Service Acts together govern industrial fire safety. Compliance with IS 3594 + Factories Act + State Factory Rules is mandatory for any industrial operation.
Fire load classification:
| Class | Fire load (MJ/m²) | Use case | |---|---|---| | Low | < 1100 | Light assembly, electronics, food processing | | Moderate | 1100-2200 | General manufacturing, warehouse (general) | | High | > 2200 | Plastic warehouse, paper, textile, chemical |
Egress requirements: - Travel distance to exit: - Low fire load: ≤ 30 m (without sprinkler); 45 m (with sprinkler) - Moderate: ≤ 22 m; 30 m - High: ≤ 15 m; 22 m - Exit width: 1 m for first 50 occupants; +75 cm per additional 50 - Exit door swing: outward (in direction of escape) - Maximum dead-end corridor: 6 m
Detection systems: - Smoke detectors (per IS 2189) every 25-100 m² depending on fire load - Heat detectors in high-temperature areas (kitchens, ovens, exhausts) - Manual call points at every floor exit + along escape route - Fire alarm panel with 4-hour battery backup
Suppression systems: - Sprinkler systems (IS 15105:2002) — for high fire load + occupancy - Hydrant + hose reel (IS 3844:1989, IS 884:1985) — for warehouses, factories - Gas suppression (CO₂, FM200, Inergen) — for electrical / electronic / data centres - Foam systems — for flammable liquid storage - Portable extinguishers (IS 2190:2010) — at every fire risk + work area - Fire buckets (IS 2546:1974) — for sand suppression of small spills
Compartmentation: - Fire walls / partitions: 2-4 hour fire rating between high-fire-load areas - Fire doors with intumescent seals + closer - Fire dampers in HVAC ducts at fire boundaries - Vertical compartmentation: floors + cores per NBC 2016
Fire pump room: - Diesel + electric driven pumps - Auto-changeover from grid to DG (within 10 sec) - Jockey pump for system pressure maintenance - Dedicated fire-rated cable to pumps (IS 1646, IS 17048:2018)
Water supply for fire-fighting (per IS 9668:1990): - Tank capacity: per fire flow demand × duration (typically 30-60 minutes) - Pressure: 4-6 bar at most-distant hydrant - Static + dynamic flow tests
1. Fire load underestimated. Plastic / paper / textile inventory grows over time; original fire load classification outdated. Periodic re-assessment. 2. No compartmentation between high-fire-load + low-fire-load zones. Fire spreads quickly. Mandatory fire walls / doors per NBC 2016 Part 4. 3. Egress route blocked by stored material. Common factory issue; people trapped during fire. Strict enforcement of clear egress. 4. No sprinkler system in high-fire-load warehouse. Fire spreads beyond manual control; total loss. Sprinkler per IS 15105 + State Fire Rules. 5. Inadequate water supply pressure. Fire pumps cannot deliver design flow; hydrants useless. Test annually. 6. No emergency power for fire pumps. Grid fails during fire (often coincident); pumps stop. DG with auto-changeover essential. 7. No drills / training. Workers unprepared in fire emergency. Quarterly drills mandatory. 8. Hot-work permit not enforced. Welding / cutting near combustibles starts fire. Mandatory permit + fire-watch. 9. No ventilation control during fire. HVAC continues; spreads smoke. Auto-shutdown of HVAC on fire alarm. 10. Fire alarm system not integrated with sprinkler / suppression. Independent systems may fail to coordinate. Integrated fire system per NBC 2016. 11. No sprinkler protection in concealed spaces (false ceiling, raised floor). Fire spreads undetected; major loss. Sprinklers in all concealed combustible spaces. 12. No periodic system testing. Sprinkler heads clog; pump impeller corrodes; alarm batteries dead. Quarterly + annual tests mandatory.
Industrial fire safety system cascade:
1. Fire risk assessment: - Identify combustible inventory + fire load classification - Identify ignition sources (electrical, hot work, mechanical) - Identify vulnerable assets (production, electrical, data) 2. Design fire-safety systems: - Detection (smoke, heat, multi-criteria) - Suppression (sprinkler, gas, foam, hydrant) - Alarm + notification (audible, visual, voice evac) - Compartmentation (walls, doors, dampers) - Egress (routes, signage, lighting) - Emergency power 3. Install systems per NBC 2016 Part 4 + IS 3594. 4. Statutory clearance: - State Fire Service NOC - DGFASLI / state factory inspector approval - Insurance compliance 5. Operations + maintenance: - Annual fire system audit - Quarterly fire drill - Monthly visual inspection - Equipment testing per schedule 6. Training: - Worker fire safety training (annual) - Fire warden + emergency response team training - Hot-work permit training 7. Incident response: - Pre-arranged ambulance + fire department contact - Mutual aid agreement with neighbouring industries - Emergency response plan + drill 8. Periodic review — annual + post-incident; update systems as inventory / processes change.
IS 3594 is the technical baseline for industrial fire safety in India. Effective implementation depends on management commitment, regular training, system maintenance, and continuous risk assessment.
| Parameter | IS Value | International | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Travel Distance (Sprinklered) | 30 m | 122 m (400 ft) for low/ordinary hazard storage. | NFPA 101 |
| Compartment Area Limit | Varies by fire load; e.g., 7,500 sq.m for low fire load density (<110 Mcal/sq.m). | Unlimited area is permitted for sprinklered storage buildings (Type S-1) with sufficient open space around the perimeter. | International Building Code (similar to NFPA 5000) |
| Sprinkler Design Basis | General reference to 'accepted standards' and Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC) rules (e.g., Ordinary Hazard Group III). | Specific density/area curves based on detailed commodity class, storage height, and configuration (e.g., 0.3 gpm/sq.ft over 2,000 sq.ft). | NFPA 13 |
| External Fire Hydrant Spacing | Not more than 45 m apart. | Typically 75 m to 90 m (250-300 ft) apart, depending on required fire flow and local jurisdiction. | NFPA 1 |
| Commodity Example: Paper Products | Classified as 'Class III' goods. | Classified as a 'Class III' commodity. | NFPA 13 |
| Ramp Slope (Means of Egress) | Not steeper than 1 in 10. | Not steeper than 1 in 12 (8.33%). | NFPA 101 |