We found relevant clauses from Delhi Building Bye-Laws related to Fire Safety and NBC 2016 Part IV. I couldn’t find a definite clause in DFS/Delhi bylaws that explicitly mandates that flat entrance doors must be 30-minute rated, but found similar/related requirements which show where a 30-minute rating might be required by interpretation/enforcement. You can use these with your builder/society.
Relevant Clauses / Page References
1. Delhi Building Bye-Law Related to Fire (Appendix K, Bye Laws, Delhi)
- Appendix K-2.1: “The internal enclosing walls of staircase shall be of brick or R.C.C. construction having fire resistance of not less than two hours. All enclosed staircases shall have access through self-closing doors of at least half-hour fire resistance. These shall be single swing doors opening in the direction of the escape. The door shall be fitted with check action door closers.” (Amazon Web Services, Inc.)
- This means: For your staircases, the door between your flat/corridor/staircase opening must have ≥ 30 minute fire resistance when it is an enclosed staircase door.
- Appendix K-3 (Lift Enclosures): The landing doors in lift enclosures shall have fire resistance of not less than one hour. (Amazon Web Services, Inc.)
So, from Delhi Bye-laws, any door that provides access to a protected staircase enclosure should be 30-min rated (or more), and lift-lobby/landing doors even more (1 hour).
2. NBC 2016 Part IV (Fire & Life Safety) – Key Clauses
- 4.2 General Exit Requirements / Staircase Access: For internal staircases, access to exit staircase shall be through a fire door with fire resistance rating not less than 120 minutes. (sehgaldoor)
- 3.4.5.2: Doorways/openings in fire-resistant walls should have fire-resisting doors with fire rating not less than 120 minutes for certain specified constructions. (sehgaldoor)
- Fire Command Center, lift lobbies also have high fire rating requirements in NBC. (120 min for some walls / doors) (sehgaldoor)
What You Can Show to Builder / Society
You can present the following “cases” to insist a 30-minute rated front door under your flat entrance (if it opens into a protected corridor / staircase lobby), because:
- Delhi Bye-Law, Appendix K-2.1 says enclosed staircase doors must have at least 30 minutes fire resistance. If your flat front door opens into such an enclosed staircase lobby, the same logic should apply.
- NBC 2016 Part IV mandates high fire ratings in exit routes, staircases, and lift lobbies. Even if NBC speaks about 120 minutes for certain parts, many local rules / DFS enforce lower down (30 min) for “doorways to protected escape routes / staircases”.
Delhi Fire Safety Bye-Laws (Delhi Building Bye-Law Related to Fire)
- Clause K-2.1: “All enclosed staircases shall have access through self-closing doors of at least half-hour fire resistance …” is on Page 19. Amazon Web Services, Inc.
- The general section “Additional Fire Protection / Appendix K” appears starting around Page 19 onward. Amazon Web Services, Inc.
National Building Code of India (NBC) Part IV, Fire & Life Safety
Also, clause on “Exit access corridors … apartments … be provided with … 60 min tire resistant wall and 20 min self-closing fire doors.” (which shows some lower ratings being allowed under some conditions) appears in Section 4.6 of NBC Part IV. sehgaldoor
The clause “Access to exit staircase shall be through a fire door of minimum 120 min fire resistance rating” is in the NBC Part IV document, but I couldn’t find a stable public page number with the exact wording of your situation (flat front door) for 30 min. However:
The clause about staircases / exit access through fire doors with 120-minute rating is near Section 4.2-4.4 in the NBC PDF. sehgaldoor
