Building plan assessment & fire safety plan
Fire safety isn’t a box to tick at the end of design — it belongs in every phase. From first sketch to permit application, we guide the fire safety of your construction or fit-out project step by step, in line with BRL-5019 and delivered in English.
Fire safety in every phase of the build
We work to the standard phasing of the building process and deliver the right advice at each stage: an SO fire safety advice in the sketch-design phase, a VO fire safety advice in the preliminary-design phase, a full fire safety plan as the basis for the environmental permit, and construction supervision during delivery — from checking working drawings to a completion check with the Pandveilig app.
Alongside phase guidance, we carry out the supporting calculations and analyses that connect directly to the plan: fire spread (WBDBO), fire load, non-enclosure determination, smoke-and-heat extraction and more — everything in one hand, each part fitting the next.
Four phases, one managed approach
Phase 1 — SO fire safety advice (sketch design)
Bring fire safety in before the design is fixed. When the footprint, number of storeys, use functions and rough layout are on the table, it’s the moment to fold fire safety requirements into design choices — without costly changes later. Includes: use-function determination (which Bbl requirements apply), a feasibility check on compartmentation, non-enclosure determination (is an atrium or covered street enclosed or not — with major consequences for requirements and often real design freedom), an escape-route concept, a fire-load scan, early exploration of equivalent (gelijkwaardige) solutions, and flagging of special risks (atria, large spans, bio-based structures, complex mixed use).
Phase 2 — VO fire safety advice (preliminary design)
As the design becomes concrete, we translate Bbl requirements to the specific situation: compartmentation checks, escape-route analysis (travel distances, exits, connection to public space), fire-resistance requirements (EI/REI per separating element), fire spread calculation (WBDBO) to neighbouring plots, installation requirements in outline (detection, evacuation alarm, sprinkler), smoke-and-heat extraction (RWA) assessment, sprinkler baseline document (UPD) where relevant, and points to resolve in the detailed-design phase.
Phase 3 — Fire safety plan (permit phase)
The formal document submitted with the environmental permit for construction. It describes and substantiates all fire safety measures on the final drawings: building description and use functions, applicable regulations, compartmentation with drawings, escape routes and exits, fire resistance per element, WBDBO substantiation, fire-load calculation where required, installations, fire-service access and firefighting-water supply, and full substantiation of any equivalent solutions (Bbl article 4.6).
Phase 4 — Construction supervision (delivery)
A granted permit and approved plan are the start, not the finish. Small deviations on site — a misplaced fire damper, an incompletely sealed penetration, a detail that doesn’t match the approved plan — can have big consequences. We offer tailored supervision: design of fire safety installations, checking working drawings against the permit and plan, detailed checks of junctions and construction details, on-site guidance with inspections at the right moments (e.g. before ceilings are closed), and a completion check recording any defects with their location in our Pandveilig app so remediation can be tracked and signed off.
Supporting calculations and analyses
Run in parallel with the assessment or commissioned separately:
- Fire spread calculation (WBDBO) — resistance to fire penetration and spread to/from neighbouring plots, per NEN 6068; required where the distance to the plot boundary is below the standard value, or where an equivalent solution is chosen.
- Fire-load calculation — determines the severity of a potential fire and the required fire resistance; per NEN 6090. Especially relevant for industry, storage and archives.
- Fire resistance via natural fire (FDS / Ozone / CFAST) — the standard ISO fire curve is a simplification; natural-fire modelling can show a structure is sufficiently fire-resistant under real fire load, enabling cost optimisation or innovative solutions.
- Smoke-and-heat extraction (RWA) calculations — for large industrial halls, car parks, covered shopping streets and atria.
- Non-enclosure determination — whether a space counts as enclosed or non-enclosed has direct consequences for requirements; per the Bbl definition and current case law.
- CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) — for complex smoke spread in atria and large halls, where analytical models fall short. We use FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) for this modelling.
- Fire compartmentation — advice on the optimal compartment layout and equivalent solutions where the standard compartment size isn’t feasible (a key lever for large logistics and industrial buildings).
- Fire Safety Engineering / Performance-Based Engineering — for complex or innovative projects where standard Bbl requirements don’t apply or are demonstrably over-dimensioned: performance-level substantiation via fire simulation (FDS), evacuation simulation and integral risk analysis.
Why start early?
- Cost saving — major changes on site cost ten times more than design changes in the SO phase.
- Less delay — a permit application with a complete, correct fire safety plan clears assessment faster.
- Design freedom — early advice makes optimal use of equivalent solutions.
- Integral — fire safety, structure and installations are better aligned.
- All in one hand — from SO advice to fire safety plan and completion check, one point of contact throughout.
Who we work with
Architects, developers and clients, structural engineers and installers, contractors, and municipalities / environmental agencies.
Building types: housing (apartments, residential towers, care-housing complexes), care buildings, educational buildings, assembly buildings (theatres, museums, congress centres, sports), offices and mixed use, industrial and logistics buildings, car parks, hotels and hospitality, and transformation / repurposing projects.
Why choose us
- Independent and certified — SKG-IKOB certified, no construction interest.
- 20+ years’ experience — from simple housing to complex facilities.
- All in one hand — assessment and supporting calculations by the same team.
- Pragmatic and cost-aware — the solution that works, not the most expensive.
- In English — direct lines with architect, engineer and municipality.
- Nationwide — active in every province.
Fire safety advice for your building project?
Get in touch early — the sooner we’re involved, the more value we can add.