Safety system for jails
The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) has developed a Fire Safety Evaluation System (FSES) for Detention and Correctional Facilities.
This system will be used to determine if the fire safety level of a prison or jail is equal to one that meets the requirements of the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code. This Code includes fixed requirements for prisons and jails.
However, even if these facilities do not meet all the fixed requirements, they can still fulfill the Code by having combinations of fire safety features. The only requisite is that the level of fire safety be equivalent to that mandated by the Code.
These institutions merit special fire safety consideration because they are designed to be escape proof.
Both this system and the one for evaluating the fire safety of board and care homes (see Dispatches, FIRE ENGINEERING, July 1985) are included as appendices to the 1985 edition of the NFPA’s Life Safety Code.
