HOUSING PROVIDERS · SHELTERED & EXTRA CARE
In Scotland, new sheltered and extra care housing developments must be protected by an automatic fire suppression system — sprinkler or water mist. We design around residents who may need more time to reach safety.
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WHY IT MATTERS
Specialised housing carries a different risk profile to general needs housing, and the standards reflect that.
Scottish building standards require automatic suppression in new sheltered and extra care housing developments.
Fast-acting, discreet protection suited to residents with reduced mobility or additional support needs, who may not be able to evacuate quickly.
Mains-fed pipework needs no large storage tank or dedicated plant room — which matters when the floor area is already committed to care facilities.
Design and documentation matched to what your building control officer and verifier expect to see, handed over as standard.
COMPLIANCE
Sheltered housing complexes are a named building type under Standard 2.15 of the Scottish building standards, which is what makes suppression a statutory requirement for new developments rather than a specification choice.
It sits alongside the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance on fire safety in specialised housing, which deals with the wider question of how fire strategy should work in buildings where some residents cannot self-evacuate. A suppression system is one part of that picture, not the whole of it, and we will say so.
Our systems are designed and documented to the water mist standard cited in the current Scottish handbooks, with the certification your verifier will ask for at design and completion stage.
FAQ
The statutory requirement bites on new developments. Existing stock is usually driven by the fire risk assessment and the landlord’s own fire strategy rather than by Standard 2.15 directly.
No. It sits dormant until heat triggers an individual nozzle, and routine servicing is quick and scheduled around the residents.
Usually yes. Slim mains-fed pipework is far less invasive than sprinkler installation, which is what makes retrofit into occupied specialised housing realistic.
Residential and domestic water mist systems, designed to the standard Scotland’s building standards cite.
Fitted and commissioned by qualified plumbers, backed by 19 years of frontline firefighting.
Design and consultancy for architects, builders and developers.
Bring us in early and we’ll tell you what Standard 2.15 requires for your scheme, and what it will take to satisfy your verifier.
