Refuge Area & its Norms :: The What

An area of refuge or safe room is a place in a building designed to hold occupants during a fire or other emergency when evacuation may not be safe or possible. Occupants can wait there until rescued or relieved by firefighters.

The norms for refuge area in high-rise buildings in India are designed to ensure the safety and well-being of occupants during a fire emergency situation.

The refuge area should be equipped with a ventilation system that provides fresh air and removes smoke and other harmful gases. 

The refuge area should be designed to accommodate a specific number of people, based on the occupancy of the building.

According to DCPR 2034, The refuge area shall be preferably provided within building line at floor level. In case of high rise buildings having height more than 32 m, first refuge area shall be provided at 24 m or at 1st habitable floor, whichever is higher. Thereafter, the refuge area shall be provided at every 7th habitable floor. The refuge area shall be 4% of the habitable floor area it serves, and will be free of FSI. With the permission of Commissioner due to planning constraints it may be allowed to be exceeded up to maximum limit of 4.25%. If it exceeds 4.25%, the excess area shall be counted in FSI. For buildings having height upto 70 m, as an alternate, Refuge areas can be provided as RCC cantilever projections at the alternate mid-landing levels of staircase, free of FSI. Each refuge area at mid-landing shall have a minimum width of 3.0 m, and minimum area of 10.0 sq. m for residential and 15 sq. m for non-residential buildings. In case of buildings upto 32 m height, the terrace floor of the building shall be treated as the refuge area.