Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC (2006/87/EC) (repealed)

Article 15.11 Fire protection

1. The suitability for fire protection of materials and components shall be established by an accredited test institution on the basis of appropriate test methods.

(a) The test institution shall satisfy:

(aa)

the Code for Fire Test Procedures; or

(bb)

European standard EN ISO/IEC 17025: 2000 concerning the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.

(b) The recognised test methods for determining the non-flammability of materials are:

(aa)

Annex 1, Part 1, of the Code for Fire Test Procedures; and

(bb)

the equivalent regulations of one of the Member States.

(c) The recognised test methods for determining that a material is flame-retardant are:

(aa)

the respective requirements laid down in Annex 1, Parts 5 (Surface flammability test), 6 (Test for the deck coverings), 7 (Test for hanging textiles and plastics), 8 (Test for upholstered furniture) and 9 (Test for components of bedding) of the Code for Fire Test Procedures; and

(bb)

the equivalent regulations of one of the Member States.

(d) The recognised test methods for determining fire resistance are:

(aa)

IMO Resolution A.754 (18); and

(bb)

the equivalent regulations of one of the Member States.

2. Partitions between rooms shall be designed in accordance with the following tables:

Table for partitions between rooms, in which no pressurised sprinkler systems according to Article 10.03a are installed

a Partitions between control centres and internal muster areas shall correspond to Type A0, but external muster areas only to Type B15.
b Partitions between lounges and internal muster areas shall correspond to Type A 30, but external muster areas only to Type B15.
c Partitions between cabins, partitions between cabins and corridors and vertical partitions separating lounges according to paragraph 10 shall comply with Type B15, for rooms fitted with pressurised sprinkler systems B0.
d Partitions between engine rooms according to Articles 15.07 and 15.10(6), shall comply with Type A60; in other cases they shall comply with Type A0.
e B15 is sufficient for partitions between galleys, on the one hand, and cold-storage rooms and food store rooms, on the other.
Rooms	Control centres	Stairwells	Muster areas	Lounges	Engine rooms	Galleys	Store rooms
Control centres	-	A0	A0/B15a	A30	A60	A60	A60
Stairwells		-	A0	A30	A60	A60	A60
Muster areas			-	A30/B15b	A60	A60	A60
Lounges				-/B15c	A60	A60	A60
Engine rooms					A60/A0d	A60	A60
Galleys						A0	A60/B15e
Store rooms							-

Table for partitions between rooms, in which pressurised sprinkler systems according to Article 10.03a are installed

a Partitions between control centres and internal muster areas shall correspond to Type A0, but external muster areas only to Type B15.
b Partitions between lounges and internal muster areas shall correspond to Type A 30, but external muster areas only to Type B15.
c Partitions between cabins, partitions between cabins and corridors and vertical partitions separating lounges according to paragraph 10 shall comply with Type B15, for rooms fitted with pressurised sprinkler systems B0.
d Partitions between engine rooms according to Articles 15.07 and 15.10(6), shall comply with Type A60; in other cases they shall comply with Type A0.
Rooms	Control centres	Stairwells	Muster areas	Lounges	Engine rooms	Galleys	Store rooms
Control centres	-	A0	A0/B15a	A0	A60	A60	A30
Stairwells		-	A0	A0	A60	A30	A0
Muster areas			-	A30/B15b	A60	A60	A60
Lounges				-/B0c	A60	A30	A0
Engine rooms					A60/A0d	A60	A60
Galleys						-	B15
Store rooms							-

(a)

Type A partitions are bulkheads, walls and decks which satisfy the following requirements:

(aa)

They are made of steel or of another equivalent material;

(bb)

They are appropriately stiffened;

(cc)

They are insulated with an approved non-combustible material such that the average temperature on the side facing away from the fire rises to not more than 140 °C above the initial temperature and at no point, including the gaps at the joints, does a temperature increase of more than 180 °C above the initial temperature occur within the following specified periods:

Type A60

60 minutes

Type A30

30 minutes

Type A0

0 minutes;

(dd)

they are constructed in such a way as to prevent the transmission of smoke and flames until the end of the one-hour normal fire test;

(b)

type B partitions are bulkheads, walls, decks, ceilings or facings that meet the following requirements:

(aa)

they are made of an approved non-combustible material. Furthermore, all materials used in the manufacture and assembly of partitions shall be non-combustible, except for the facing, which shall be at least flame retardant;

(bb)

they demonstrate an insulation value such that the average temperature on the side facing away from the fire rises to not more than 140 °C above the initial temperature and at no point, including the gaps at the joints, does a temperature increase of more than 225 °C above the initial temperature occur within the following specified periods:

Type B15

15 minutes

Type B0

0 minutes.

(cc)

they are constructed in such a way as to prevent the transmission of flames until the end of the first half hour of the normal fire test;

(c)

the inspection body may, in accordance with the Code for Fire Test Procedures, prescribe a test on a sample partition in order to ensure compliance with the above provisions on resistivity and temperature increase.

3. Paints, lacquers and other surface treatment products as well as deck coverings used in rooms except engine rooms and store rooms shall be flame-retardant. Carpets, fabrics, curtains and other hanging textile materials as well as upholstered furniture and components of bedding shall be flame-retardant if the rooms in which they are located are not equipped with a pressurised sprinkler system according to Article 10.03a.

4. Lounge ceilings and wall claddings, including their substructures, shall, where these lounges do not have a pressurised sprinkler system according to Article 10.03a, be manufactured from non-combustible materials with the exception of their surfaces, which shall be at least flame-retardant.

5. Furniture and fittings in lounges which serve as muster areas shall, where the rooms do not have a pressurised sprinkler system according to Article 10.03a, be manufactured from non-combustible materials.

6. Paints, lacquers and other materials used on exposed internal areas shall not produce excessive amounts of smoke or toxic substances. This shall be proven in accordance with the Code for Fire Test Procedures.

7. Insulation materials in lounges shall be non-combustible. This does not apply to insulations used on coolant-carrying pipes. The surfaces of the insulation materials used on these pipes shall be at least flame-retardant.

8. Doors in partitions according to paragraph 2 shall satisfy the following requirements:

(a) they shall satisfy the same requirements set out in paragraph 2 as the partitions themselves;

(b) they shall be self-closing in the case of doors in partition walls according toparagraph 10 or in the case of enclosures around engine rooms, galleys and stairwells;

(c) self-closing doors which remain open in normal operation shall be such that they can be closed from a location permanently manned by shipboard personnel or crew members; Once a door has been remotely closed, it shall be possible to reopen and close it safely on the spot;

(d) watertight doors according to Article 15.02 need not be insulated.

9. Walls according to paragraph 2 shall be continuous from deck to deck or end at continuous ceilings, which satisfy the same requirements as referred to in paragraph 2.

10. The following passenger areas shall be divided by vertical partitions as referred to in paragraph 2:

(a) passenger areas with a total surface area of more than 800 m²;

(b) passenger areas in which there are cabins, at intervals of not more than 40 m.

The vertical partitions shall be smoke-tight under normal operating conditions and shall be continuous from deck to deck.

11. Hollows above ceilings, beneath floors and behind wall claddings shall be separated at intervals of not more than 14 m by non-combustible draught stops which, even in the event of fire, provide an effective fireproof seal.

12. Stairs shall be made of steel or another equivalent non-combustible material.

13. Internal stairs and lifts shall be encapsulated at all levels by walls according to paragraph 2. The following exceptions are permissible:

(a) a staircase connecting only two decks does not need to be encapsulated, if on one of the decks the staircase is enclosed according to paragraph 2;

(b) in a lounge, stairs need not be encapsulated if they are located entirely within the interior of this room, and

(aa)

if this room extends over only two decks, or

(bb)

if there is a pressurised sprinkler system according to Article 10.03a installed in this room on all decks, this room has a smoke extraction system according to paragraph 16 and the room has access on all decks to a stairwell.

14. Ventilation systems and air supply systems shall satisfy the following requirements:

(a) they shall be designed in such a way as to ensure that they themselves do not cause the spread of fire and smoke;

(b) openings for air intake and extraction and air supply systems shall be such that they can be closed off;

(c) ventilation ducts shall be made from steel or an equivalent non-combustible material and be securely connected to each other and to the superstructure of the vessel;

(d) when ventilation ducts with a cross-section of more than 0,02 m² are passed through partitions according to paragraph 2 of Type A or partitions according to paragraph 10, they shall be fitted with automatic fire dampers which can be operated from a location permanently manned by shipboard personnel or crew members;

(e) ventilation systems for galleys and engine rooms shall be separated from ventilation systems which supply other areas;

(f) air extraction ducts shall be provided with lockable openings for inspection and cleaning. These openings shall be located close to the fire dampers;

(g) built-in ventilators shall be such that they can be switched off from a central location outside the engine room.

15. Galleys shall be fitted with ventilation systems and stoves with extractors. The air extraction ducts of the extractors shall satisfy the requirements according to paragraph 14 and, additionally, be fitted with manually operated fire dampers at the inlet openings.

16. Control centres, stairwells and internal evacuation areas shall be fitted with natural or mechanical smoke extraction systems. Smoke extraction systems shall satisfy the following requirements:

(a) they shall offer sufficient capacity and reliability;

(b) they shall comply with the operating conditions for passenger vessels;

(c) if smoke extraction systems also serve as general ventilators for the rooms, this shall not hinder their function as smoke extraction systems in the event of a fire;

(d) smoke extraction systems shall have a manually operated triggering device;

(e) mechanical smoke extraction systems shall additionally be such that they can be operated from a location permanently manned by shipboard personnel or crew members;

(f) natural smoke extraction systems shall be fitted with an opening mechanism, operated either manually or by a power source inside the extraction system;

(g) manually operated triggering devices and opening mechanisms shall be accessible from inside or outside the room being protected.

17. Lounges not constantly supervised by shipboard personnel or crew members, galleys, engine rooms and other rooms presenting a fire risk shall be connected to an appropriate fire alarm system. The existence of a fire and its exact whereabouts shall be automatically displayed at a location permanently manned by shipboard personnel or crew members.