How is the sprinkler requirement decided?
The Turkish Regulation on Fire Protection of Buildings (BYKHY) lists where an automatic sprinkler system is mandatory: Article 96/2 for new buildings and Article 165/1 for existing ones. Each clause is an independent condition, so meeting any one of them makes sprinklers compulsory. The decision rests on four inputs: use class, height, floor area and, for accommodation, the number of bedrooms and beds. Enclosed car parks with a laminated-glass lift lobby and LPG storage are further triggers that come from other articles.
This checker runs that first step of a fire strategy with article and clause references, and shows whether the requirement covers the whole building or only one part, such as the car park. The result is a regulatory decision rather than a hydraulic calculation; the sprinkler design itself then follows TS EN 12845.
Two heights: building height and structure height
Most mistakes start with the height definition. Building height (Art. 4/h) is measured from the datum level of the building to the eaves. Structure height (Art. 4/bbb) is the total height of every storey built, including basements, mezzanines and attic rooms. For new buildings every height threshold in Article 96/2 uses structure height, so a building with three basements can need sprinklers even though its street elevation looks well below the limit. For existing buildings, Article 165/1-a uses building height and 165/1-b uses structure height.
New buildings: the clauses of Article 96/2
| Clause | Applies to | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 96/2-a | All buildings other than dwellings | Structure height > 30.50 m |
| 96/2-b | Dwellings | Structure height > 51.50 m |
| 96/2-c | Enclosed car parks | Total area > 600 m² or > 10 cars taken in by lift |
| 96/2-ç | Hotels, dormitories, guest houses (multi-storey building) | Bedrooms > 100 or beds > 200 |
| 96/2-ç | All facilities with beds | Structure height > 21.50 m |
| 96/2-d | Multi-storey shops; retail, commercial and entertainment premises (see interpretation below) | Total area > 2000 m² |
| 96/2-e | Buildings producing or holding readily ignitable and flammable materials | Total area > 1000 m² |
The text words every threshold as "more than", "exceeding" or "above", so a value exactly on the threshold does not trigger the clause. The open/enclosed car park distinction is in Article 60/1: unless the openings to outside exceed 5% of the floor area, the car park counts as enclosed. The same paragraph also requires hose reels and fire-brigade outlets in enclosed car parks above 600 m². Under Article 62/4, a laminated-glass lobby in front of lifts or escalators in a car park means the car park and the glass are protected by sprinklers. Under Article 111, LPG stores and tanks with a total capacity above 10 m³ need a cooling sprinkler system.
Interpretations used by the checker
Where the text is not explicit the checker applies the recommended reading and flags it with an Interpretation line; most can be switched. (1) In 96/2-d “multi-storey” qualifies only the adjacent “shops”, so a single-storey retail, commercial or entertainment place above 2000 m² triggers the clause; in 165/1-d the condition heads the list, and that difference in word order supports this reading. (2) Basements count as storeys: Art. 4/ı defines a basement as a storey. (3) For Article 17 uses (flammable liquids, explosives, LPG) the readily-ignitable-materials condition of 96/2-e is taken as met by default, since Article 17 defines those places by such materials. (4) Prisons and detention centres count as facilities with beds, because people stay there overnight. (5) For existing buildings 165/1-e also applies to a store forming part of a shopping centre, factory or hotel, and 165/1-d treats wholesale markets, produce halls and spare-parts outlets as shopping places (Art. 13/1). (6) For existing buildings LPG cooling is conditional: 167/1 applies the specific legislation first and 167/2 brings in Part Eight only where it is silent. A laminated-glass car park lobby (62/4) has no existing-building rule and is left to the authority under Art. 144.
The check is not a complete list of every provision that mentions sprinklers. Façade sprinklers instead of solid spandrels (27/1), heads at small-atrium smoke curtains in sprinklered buildings (26/5), sprinklers protecting neighbouring flammable-liquid tanks (122/2) and the sprinkler-dependent relaxations in Annex 3/C and Annex 4 must be checked separately.
Existing buildings: Article 165/1
Existing buildings have different thresholds: building height of 30.50 m for non-residential, non-office buildings; structure height of 51.50 m for offices; 1000 m² (or more than 10 cars by lift) for enclosed car parks; 200 beds in hotels and guest houses of more than two storeys; 3000 m² of construction area for multi-storey shops, retail and entertainment premises and congress or meeting halls; and, for stores holding readily ignitable materials (including a store within a building of another use), 2000 m² in basements or 4000 m² on other floors. There is no sprinkler clause for existing dwellings. Buildings that already meet the 2002 Regulation are, as a rule, not asked for extra measures (138/2), but buildings later converted to healthcare, nurseries, primary schools, children's homes, entertainment, accommodation or hazardous-material use follow the new-building rules (138/1, 139).
Worked example
Take a seven-storey hotel: structure height 26.40 m including two basements, building height 19.80 m; 118 bedrooms and 236 beds; a 1,450 m² car park on the first basement with openings of 2% of its floor area.
- 96/2-a: non-residential, but 26.40 m ≤ 30.50 m → not triggered.
- 96/2-ç: multi-storey building with 118 > 100 bedrooms and 236 > 200 beds → triggered. A hotel is also a facility with beds and 26.40 m > 21.50 m, so the clause is met twice.
- 96/2-c: openings 2% ≤ 5% → enclosed; 1,450 m² > 600 m² → triggered. Article 60/1 adds hose reels and fire-brigade outlets.
Result: sprinklers are required throughout the building. Treating it as a low building because the building height is under 21.50 m would skip the structure-height rule.
Common mistakes
- Deciding on building height. For new buildings the measure is structure height, which counts basements and attic rooms.
- Carrying the Article 48/7 exemption over to sprinklers. Leaving basements separated by a 120-minute floor out of the structure height is written only for the escape-stair arrangement in the fifth paragraph of Article 48; Article 96 has no such exemption.
- Not verifying the open car park status. Without more than 5% openings, and opposite openings where two façades are used, the car park is enclosed.
- Assuming facility types that are not listed. The room/bed threshold of 96/2-ç names only hotels, dormitories, guest houses and official guest houses; ask the authority about motels or holiday villages. "Facility with beds" is not defined in the Regulation.
- Judging a mixed-use building by one class. If the uses cannot be separated by a suitable fire compartment, the stricter class governs the whole building (Art. 18).
If sprinklers are required
Article 96/5 requires the design to follow TS EN 12845, with components complying with TS EN 12259. In Light Hazard and Ordinary Hazard 1 areas one standard head protects at most 21 m². Wet rooms with no combustibles, fire-rated escape-stair enclosures, lift shafts and rooms covered by another automatic extinguishing system may be left unsprinklered (96/3); rooms holding water-reactive materials must not be sprinklered (96/4). Use the EN 12845 hazard class finder for the hazard class and the fire water tank calculator for storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which buildings need sprinklers under the Turkish regulation?
For new buildings, BYKHY Article 96/2 requires them in non-residential buildings with a structure height above 30.50 m, dwellings above 51.50 m, enclosed car parks above 600 m² or taking more than 10 cars by lift, hotels, dormitories and guest houses in multi-storey buildings with more than 100 bedrooms or 200 beds, facilities with beds above 21.50 m, multi-storey shops and retail, commercial and entertainment premises above 2000 m² (reading “multi-storey” as qualifying only shops), and buildings holding readily ignitable materials above 1000 m².
What is the difference between building height and structure height?
Building height runs from the datum level of the building to the eaves (Art. 4/h). Structure height is the total height of every storey, including basements, mezzanines and attic rooms (Art. 4/bbb). The sprinkler thresholds for new buildings use structure height.
From what size does an enclosed car park need sprinklers?
In new buildings, enclosed car parks with a total area above 600 m², or where more than 10 cars are taken in by lift (96/2-c, 60/1). A car park is enclosed unless its openings to outside exceed 5% of the floor area. For existing buildings the area threshold is 1000 m² (165/1-c).
How is the requirement decided for existing buildings?
Article 165/1 applies: building height of 30.50 m for non-residential, non-office buildings; structure height of 51.50 m for offices; 1000 m² for enclosed car parks; 200 beds in hotels and guest houses of more than two storeys; 3000 m² for multi-storey retail, entertainment and congress halls; and 2000 m² in basements or 4000 m² on other floors for stores holding readily ignitable materials, including a store within a building of another use. LPG cooling in an existing building is conditional under 167/2. Some buildings whose use has changed follow the new-building rules (138/1).
Which standard governs the sprinkler design?
Article 96/5 requires the design to follow TS EN 12845, with components to TS EN 12259. The hazard class, design density and water storage are then set under that standard.
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