Fire Safety in an Office Fit-Out: What Changes When You Add a Wall

If you are fitting out an office in Singapore, fire safety will shape the design more than almost any other set of rules. It decides where walls can go, which materials you can use, how doors lock and how long the approvals take. It is also where we see the most expensive surprises, usually because a layout was agreed before anyone checked it against the Fire Code.

This guide is for business owners planning a fit-out and for designers who are newer to commercial work. It explains who is involved, what changes when you add rooms to an open floor, and the questions we are asked most often. It reflects how we run our own projects. For any specific unit, your Qualified Person's assessment takes priority.

Who is responsible for what

SCDF regulates fire safety in Singapore's buildings under the Fire Safety Act. The technical requirements sit in the Code of Practice for Fire Precautions in Buildings, which most of the industry simply calls the Fire Code. On a typical office fit-out, several parties have a role:

• The Qualified Person (QP), a registered architect or professional engineer, designs the fire safety works and submits the plans to SCDF.
• SCDF reviews and approves the plans, and later issues the Fire Safety Certificate.
• The Registered Inspector (RI) independently inspects the completed fire safety works before the certificate is issued.
• Building management sets its own rules through the fit-out manual, and usually requires its nominated contractor for sprinkler and fire alarm works.
• The design and build team coordinates everyone above and builds to the approved plans.

Clients are sometimes surprised by how many people need to agree. The design team handles most of the coordination. What the client needs to know is that layout decisions have to be made early enough for this chain to work.

What counts as fire safety works

Fire safety works are anything that affects the building's fire protection systems or its means of escape. In an office, that typically includes new partitions that form rooms, changes to exit routes and exit doors, changes to sprinklers and the fire alarm, and fire-rated walls or doors.

Some minor works are exempt from plan submission under the Fire Safety (Exempt Works) Order. The exemption removes the need to submit plans, and the works must still comply with the Fire Code in full. Building management will usually still ask for drawings, and a later inspection can still find problems.

How partitions change the sprinkler and alarm layout

In a bare office, the sprinkler heads, smoke detectors and alarm speakers are spaced for one large open floor. Enclose a meeting room, a manager's office or a server room with full-height walls, and that room is cut off from the heads outside it. It needs its own coverage.

On most projects this means adding or moving sprinkler heads for each new room, and depending on the building's system, smoke detectors and alarm speakers may need to follow. The building's nominated fire protection contractor usually does this work, so part of its cost and timing sits outside the main contract. We ask for their quotation early so it doesn't arrive as a surprise halfway through the project.

Ceilings deserve the same attention. Bulkheads, feature ceilings, baffles and open ceilings with exposed services all change the distance between the sprinkler heads and the room below, and can put obstructions in the spray pattern. Tall joinery and storage that reaches close to the ceiling can do the same.

Glass or partial-height partitions that stop short of the ceiling may avoid some of this, depending on the size of the gap and the building's system. That is a question for the QP and the fire protection contractor. The answer changes the budget, so ask it before the design goes to the client.

Escape routes and travel distance

The Fire Code limits how far anyone should have to walk to reach an exit, and how long a dead-end corridor can be. An open plan meets these limits easily. Once rooms, pantries and storage start to shape the circulation, people have to walk around them, and the distances grow.

We test travel distance during space planning, before a layout is presented as a design. Moving a meeting room on a sketch is easy. Explaining to a client why a layout they have already approved needs to change is much harder. We also check these details on every project:

• Exit signs must be visible along the route. New walls and tall joinery often block the view of an existing sign, so more signs are needed.
• Doors on escape routes with card access or magnetic locks must release automatically when the fire alarm activates or the power fails.
• Reception desks, pantry counters and storage cannot narrow an exit corridor below its required width.
• Fire extinguishers and hose reels must stay visible and reachable. New cabinetry boxes them in more often than you would expect.
• Emergency lighting has to cover the new layout, including new corridors and enclosed rooms.

Choosing materials and finishes

Wall and ceiling linings are classified by how quickly flame spreads across their surface. The Fire Code sets the minimum class for each type of space, and exit routes such as corridors, lobbies and staircases are held to the strictest standard.

This is where fire safety meets the look of the space. Timber slats, fabric acoustic panels, decorative laminates, wallpapers and some feature ceilings may not meet the required class in their standard form. Many suppliers offer a fire-retardant version or treatment, and that choice affects cost and lead time.

We ask for the supplier's test report before a material appears on the drawings, and we check that the report covers the exact product and thickness being specified. A report for a similar product is not enough. Replacing a finish after installation is the most expensive way to discover that it doesn't comply.

Fire doors, fire-rated glazing and several other fire safety products are regulated in Singapore. They need a Certificate of Conformity under SCDF's product listing scheme, and it has to cover the product as installed, including its frame and hardware where relevant. We confirm this before placing the order.

How approvals fit into the programme

Where the fit-out includes fire safety works that need plan approval, the sequence runs like this. The QP submits plans to SCDF and SCDF approves them. The works are built to the approved plans. The Registered Inspector inspects them, and SCDF issues the Fire Safety Certificate.

Two things matter for planning. Changes after submission mean amendments, so the layout should be final before the plans go in. The fire safety works also need to be certified before the space is occupied, so the move-in date has to allow time for inspection and certification after construction ends. We build both into the programme from the first week.

Common questions

Do I need an SCDF submission for a small office renovation?

It depends on the works. Replacing carpet, repainting or changing loose furniture generally has no fire safety impact. Adding rooms, changing doors on an escape route or modifying sprinklers usually does. Some minor works are exempt from submission, but they must still comply with the Fire Code. A QP can confirm which applies to your scope.

Can we have glass meeting rooms?

Yes, and most offices do. Glass walls still create enclosed rooms, so sprinkler and detection coverage has to be checked just as it would be for solid walls. Glass in an exit route or a fire-rated wall must be certified fire-rated glazing, which is heavier and costs more than standard glass.

Why does building management insist on its own sprinkler contractor?

The sprinklers and fire alarm on your floor are part of the whole building's system. Using a nominated contractor keeps one party responsible for the system and its records. It limits your choice of contractor, and in return the person working on the system knows it well. Plan for their pricing and schedule early.

Can I lock the office with card access at night?

Yes. Doors on the escape route must release automatically when the fire alarm activates or the power fails, so people inside can always get out. Your access control installer and the fire alarm contractor need to coordinate that connection.

Are timber and fabric finishes allowed?

They can be, if the product meets the flame spread class required for its location. Expect stricter limits in corridors and lobbies than inside rooms, and ask for a test report that matches the exact product before you specify it.

How much time does the fire safety process add?

That varies with the scope, the building and how quickly decisions are made. The part you control is the start: fix the layout early and avoid changes after submission.

In summary

Fire safety in an office fit-out is mostly decided at the layout stage. The points to remember:

• Every enclosed room needs its own sprinkler and detection coverage, usually installed by the building's nominated contractor.
• More rooms mean longer travel distances, so test the layout against the Fire Code before presenting it.
• Finishes must meet the required flame spread class, with the strictest limits on exit routes.
• Fire doors and fire-rated glazing need a Certificate of Conformity.
• Fix the layout before plans go to SCDF, and plan the move-in date around the Fire Safety Certificate.

We review fire safety from the first space plan, so clients see its cost and its effect on the design while they can still make choices about it. If you have a unit in mind, we're glad to look at the floor plan with you and tell you what it would take.