What is refuge area?

An area built for the emergency shelter in residential and commercial properties for people is a refuge area. A refugee area in a building is a demarcated space which is made mandatory by the Indian government for all the builders and developers to be included in residential and commercial buildings.

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Any building having more than 9 floors falls into the category of a high rise building. The binding laws for developers by the government has clearly mentioned to have a refugee area after the seventh floor. 

According to the National Building Code, it is mandatory to have a refugee area after every 24 meters in a high rise building. 

Refuge floor is a floor where one can find all the equipment and accessories in case of any mishap or emergency. A refuge floor is expected to have adequate supply of power and ventilation, fire protective gears, emergency medical kit, etc. In a non-high rise building, a terrace can be counted as a refuge floor. The refuge areas are safe as they are equipped and built to withstand the crisis or emergencies such as fire break out, earthquake, etc.

There are a few safety rules that are associated with the refuge floor. Below is the list.

• The refugee floor or are must be easily accessible.
• The area should not be used for any other purposes
• A building above 70m of height must have ‘fire check’ floor in the building.

Hello. I can help you by sharing what is refuge area in a building. I live in a high-rise building in Bangalore and we have a refuge area here. The refuge area acts as a safe space for residents of the building to take shelter in times of emergency till help arrives. I will tell you more.

What is Refuge Area in Building?

So, continuing from above, the refuge area serves as a safe zone for residents in case they have to evacuate the building for any reason. I am sharing the rules and regulations for a refuge area below.

1. As per the National Building Code, every tall building or skyscraper needs to have a refuge area on the seventh floor.

2. The first refuge area can be present after the first 24 m in height or on every seventh floor as I said above.

3. The refuge area should not be enclosed with no high walls around the area. There can be a railing or a medium-height fence or wall though.

4. There must be a clear passage which leads the residents to the refuge area. The passage should be well-lit.

5. The building residents or the authority should make sure that the door of the refuge area remains open at all times.

6. The entrance to the refuge area should be displayed in bright and glowing paint.

7. During an emergency, rescue services should be able to reach the refuge area without any severe effort or difficulty.

8. The refuge area should strictly not be used for any other purposes.

This is all from my side regarding what is refuge area in high rise building. I hope it helps.