Fire Protection in Schools and Dormitories

Even in the same building, a school and a dormitory are two different fire problems. In a school occupants are awake and drilled; in a dormitory they are asleep. A sleeping occupant changes the detection design completely.

Schools and dormitories in BYKHY: class and thresholds

Schools and dormitories sit in different classes in the regulation and have different thresholds. Schools are educational facilities within the institutional buildings class (Article 11/1-a); student dormitories are accommodation buildings (Article 10/1). Note that Article 11/1-a lists care-home dormitories (yetiştirme yurtları) and regional boarding schools among educational facilities.

Topic	School (educational facility)	Student dormitory (accommodation)
Automatic sprinklers (96/2)	Where the structure height exceeds 30.50 m (96/2-a); the other items (e.g. an enclosed car park, 96/2-c) are checked separately.	Where, in a building of more than one storey, the number of bedrooms exceeds 100 or the number of beds exceeds 200, or where the structure height exceeds 21.50 m (96/2-ç). Below these thresholds sprinklers are a recommendation.
Automatic detection (75/3, Annex 7)	The "3. Institutional buildings" row of Annex 7 has been annulled; there is currently no Annex 7 threshold.	Mandatory where the structure height exceeds 6.50 m or the total enclosed floor area exceeds 1000 m²; detectors are then installed in all rooms to TS EN 54-14 (75/5).
Manual call points (75/2)	Mandatory in all non-residential buildings of two to four storeys with a floor area above 400 m² (75/2-a), in all non-residential buildings of more than four storeys (75/2-b) and in all high-rise buildings (75/2-c).
Fire hose cabinets (94/1-b-1)	Mandatory in educational and accommodation buildings with a total enclosed floor area above 1000 m², and in high-rise buildings.

Schools: evacuation is fast but crowded

The advantage in a school is that occupants can move and drills are held regularly. The difficulty is that a large number of people head for the same exits in a short time. The leading design headings are:

• Exit capacity and travel distance. The swing direction of classroom doors into the corridor and the corridor width are critical.
• Two-way escape. Two independent exits reachable from every point.
• Protected stairs. Keeping the stair enclosure clear of smoke.
• Assembly point. An area away from traffic where a roll call can be taken.
• Accessibility. A refuge area and communication arrangement for disabled students.

High-risk spaces in a school

General classrooms carry a low fire load; the risk concentrates in special spaces: the chemistry laboratory (flammable liquids and gases), workshops (welding, swarf), kitchen, boiler room, records store, generator room, and in recent years electric vehicle and scooter charging points. Each is assessed as a separate compartment with its own hazard class.

Dormitories: the sleeping occupant

In a dormitory occupants are asleep and may take minutes to notice a fire. That brings two design consequences to the fore:

1. Detection inside the room. Corridor detectors alone are not enough; early warning is needed in the room where the fire starts. In dormitories with a structure height above 6.50 m or a total enclosed floor area above 1000 m², automatic detection is mandatory under BYKHY and detectors go in all rooms (Article 75/3, 75/5, Annex 7).
2. Automatic suppression. In a space with sleeping occupants, sprinklers are the only active measure that buys the time needed to evacuate. Quick response heads are preferred. Under BYKHY, sprinklers are mandatory in a dormitory where, in a building of more than one storey, the number of bedrooms exceeds 100 or the number of beds exceeds 200, or where the structure height exceeds 21.50 m (Article 96/2-ç); below these thresholds they are a recommendation, not a regulatory requirement.

Alongside that, dormitory management must control the fire load: room heaters, multi-way adaptors, cooking rings and charging electric scooters are common ignition sources.

Common areas and the kitchen

A dormitory kitchen and laundry are larger than domestic scale and should be treated as commercial: automatic hood suppression (required by BYKHY Article 57/1 in kitchens serving more than 100 people at a time), duct cleaning and tumble dryer filter cleaning. Lint accumulating in tumble dryer filters is a known ignition source in dormitory fires.

Fire safety management

Topic	Practice
Drills	At the start of term in schools; including a night scenario in dormitories
Escape routes	Kept clear of lockers, boards and storage
Doors	Fire doors never wedged; closure tested
Electrical	Inspection of multi-way adaptors and portable heaters
Charging	A dedicated, supervised area for electric scooters and bicycles
Records	Maintenance records for detection, sprinklers and extinguishers

Frequently Asked Questions

Are in-room detectors needed in a dormitory?

Yes. A sleeping occupant notices a fire late, and corridor detectors alone are not enough. Early warning is needed in the room where the fire starts. In dormitories with a structure height above 6.50 m or a total enclosed floor area above 1000 m², automatic detection is mandatory under BYKHY and detectors go in all rooms (Article 75/3, 75/5, Annex 7).

Where does the risk concentrate in a school?

Not in general classrooms but in the chemistry laboratory, workshops, kitchen, boiler room, records store, generator room and charging points — each a separate compartment with its own hazard class.

Is a dormitory kitchen treated as domestic?

No. Dormitory kitchens and laundries are commercial in scale and need hood suppression (required by Article 57/1 in kitchens serving more than 100 people at a time), duct cleaning and dryer filter cleaning.

Which three laboratory rules dominate inspections?

Flammable liquids in an approved cabinet, gas cylinders restrained, and the main shut-off valve accessible from outside.

Are sprinklers mandatory in a dormitory?

Not in every dormitory. Under Article 96/2-ç they are mandatory in dormitories where, in a building of more than one storey, the number of bedrooms exceeds 100 or the number of beds exceeds 200, and in all sleeping-accommodation facilities with a structure height above 21.50 m. Below these thresholds sprinklers are a recommendation.

Is automatic fire detection mandatory in a school?

The Annex 7 row “3. Institutional buildings”, which covered educational facilities, was annulled by the Council of State 10th Chamber decision of 28/12/2021, E.2019/261, K.2021/5537, final since the İDDK approval of 22/2/2023. There is therefore currently no Annex 7 detection threshold for schools; the manual call point provisions of Article 75/2 apply.

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