RMG Fire Safety Equipment BOQ: Quantities, Specifications and Floor Schedule

How to turn findings into a procurement BOQ

Since the safety programmes that followed the Rana Plaza and Tazreen disasters, Bangladesh's export garment sector has worked under structured inspection and remediation regimes. Today the RMG Sustainability Council (RSC) carries out fire, electrical and structural safety inspections for its member factories, and many brands and buyers run their own audits. Remediation findings commonly cover protected stairs and fire doors, fire detection and alarm, sprinklers and fire water, exit signage and emergency lighting, and electrical installations.

This checklist is organised in those same layers. Walk each floor with it, mark every item Present / Missing / Defective, and attach photos. It is a buyer's and facility manager's tool, not a substitute for a qualified fire safety engineer's design or for the specific requirements of BNBC, the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) or your auditor. For an overview of the code framework, see BNBC 2020 fire safety requirements.

Layer 1: escape routes and fire separation

The first thing any inspector checks is whether people can get out.

• Fire-rated doors on every exit stair and at fire separation walls, with self-closing door closers, panic exit devices on doors in the direction of escape, smoke seals and vision panels where needed. See fire rated doors and the fire-rated door specification checklist.
• Stair enclosures kept free of storage, with doors that close and latch on their own.
• No collapsible or sliding gates on escape routes. Collapsible gates have legitimate uses on perimeters and stores, but not across exits or stair landings.
• Exit doors unlocked whenever people are in the building, opening in the direction of travel.
• Aisles marked on the floor and kept clear of bundles, trolleys and cartons.
• Exit signs and emergency lighting at every exit, stair and change of direction.
• Fire separation around boiler rooms, generator rooms, electrical rooms and chemical stores, with rated doors and sealed penetrations.

Layer 2: detection and alarm

• Smoke and heat detectors across production floors, warehouses, offices and electrical rooms, appropriate to the space (heat detectors in kitchens and dusty areas).
• Manual call points at exits and stair doors on every floor.
• Sounders and visual alarms audible and visible over machine noise in every area.
• Fire alarm control panel in a staffed or accessible location, with zone charts and battery backup.
• Interfaces to release magnetic door holders, stop air handling where required and signal suppression systems.

Browse fire alarm and detection for detectors, call points and panels.

Layer 3: fire water — hydrants, hose cabinets and sprinklers

• Fire water reservoir and fire pump set sized by the fire protection design, with pump controllers and test arrangements.
• Wet riser or standpipe with landing valves on each floor where the building requires it.
• Fire hose cabinets at each landing valve point, containing hose, branch pipe and, where specified, a hose reel; see fire hose cabinets.
• Fire hose reels for first-aid fire-fighting by trained staff.
• Automatic sprinklers where required by building height, occupancy or your auditor, with control valves, flow switches and inspector's test points.
• External hydrants and a fire service inlet where the site requires them.
• Valves and fittings tagged and accessible, with valve positions monitored or locked open.

Layer 4: portable equipment

• Fire extinguishers of the right type for each area: ABC/ABCE powder or water-based on production floors, CO2 at DB boxes and panels, foam at fuel stores, K-type in the canteen kitchen. See fire extinguishers.
• Extinguisher quantity and spacing calculated, not guessed; see how many fire extinguishers you need.
• Fire bucket stands with sand buckets in boiler, generator and loading areas as a supplementary measure.
• Fire-fighting equipment boxes holding tools such as fire axes, hooks and ropes for the fire team.
• Fire blankets in the canteen kitchen and any area with small oil or chemical fires.

Layer 5: fire team PPE and electrical safety

Fire team equipment for the trained in-house fire fighting and evacuation teams:

• Fire-resistant suits, helmets, gloves and boots.
• Breathing apparatus where the fire plan calls for it, with training.
• Torches, megaphones, high-visibility vests or armbands for floor wardens.
• First-aid kits and stretchers at assembly points.

Electrical safety is a major source of factory fires:

• Enclosed, earthed DB boxes with doors and covers in place; no open busbars.
• Cable trays and conduits instead of loose cables across floors.
• Correct breaker sizing and labelling; thermographic checks on panels.
• Clear space in front of panels, with CO2 extinguishers nearby.
• Generator, transformer and switch rooms separated from production and kept free of storage.

Master floor schedule and quantity checklist

Safety Plus manufactures fire-rated doors, fire hose cabinets and DB boxes at its Demra factory and supplies extinguishers, alarm items and fire-fighting equipment. Send your gap list through request a quote and we will price the remediation items together. See also our RMG and textile industry page.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• RMG Sustainability Council (RSC)
• Fire Service and Civil Defence, Bangladesh
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)