What are the fire protection system design requirements for homestays?
I am fire safety expert Alexander Li. As a densely occupied accommodation facility, a homestay (B&B) requires fire safety design of critical importance, directly affecting the safety of guests' lives and property. In the many homestay renovation and new-build projects I have participated in, fire protection system design is often overlooked due to small scale, but once a fire occurs, the consequences can be extremely serious. Therefore, national codes must be strictly followed and optimized in light of the actual characteristics of homestays.
First, according to Article 5.1.1 of the Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings (GB 50016-2014, 2018 edition), homestays are generally classified as "hotel buildings," and their fire resistance rating shall not be lower than Grade II; if built of timber structure or in old buildings, fire compartmentation must be particularly strengthened. Specific design requirements include:
- Automatic sprinkler system: According to Article 8.3.3 of GB 50016, hotel buildings with a building height greater than 15 m or a total floor area greater than 3,000 m² shall be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. For small homestays (e.g., below this threshold), it is recommended to install a simplified sprinkler system or standalone fire alarm devices to enhance safety. For example, in a homestay project in Zhejiang, because the building was a three-story brick-and-timber structure with a total floor area of approximately 500 m², we added a simplified sprinkler system, with design parameters implemented per Article 5.1.1 of GB 50261-2017 Code for Construction and Acceptance of Automatic Sprinkler Systems, using K=80 sprinklers covering all guest rooms and corridors.
- Automatic fire alarm system: According to Article 8.4.1 of GB 50016, hotel buildings shall be equipped with an automatic fire alarm system. For small homestays, standalone smoke detectors may be used (at least one per guest room and public area), interlocked with sound-and-light alarm devices. In a homestay project in Yunnan, because the buildings were laid out in a dispersed manner, we used wireless networked smoke detectors, which both meet the code and are easy to maintain.
- Means of escape: According to Article 5.5.8 of GB 50016, each fire compartment shall have at least two safety exits. The width of escape corridors in homestays shall not be less than 1.1 m, and the width of stairs shall not be less than 1.1 m (Article 5.5.18). In a homestay renovation in Sichuan, the original building had only one staircase; we added an outdoor steel escape stair and ensured its fire resistance rating was not less than 1 hour.
- Fire extinguisher provision: According to Article 6.1.1 of the Code for Design of Fire Extinguisher Distribution in Buildings (GB 50140-2005), fire extinguishers shall be provided on each floor, no fewer than 2 units at each location, of the ABC dry powder or carbon dioxide type, with a protection distance not greater than 20 m.
Summary: Homestay fire protection design should take GB 50016 and GB 50261 as the core, with emphasis on strengthening automatic alarm, fire suppression systems and means of escape, with particular attention to fire protection renovation of old buildings. The above are reference opinions. The actual project conditions still need to be further evaluated and implemented in combination with specific operating conditions, site conditions and other factors.