FiCR, Fire Compliance and Risk Analysis, is a domain specific semantic model designed to represent fire safety and fire risk relevant physical objects, building elements, equipment, functional roles, and their relationships in existing buildings. It supports a structured and interoperable representation of both passive and active fire protection measures, as well as risk related attributes and performance outcomes, enabling compliance assessment, fire risk analysis, and inspection activities throughout the building operation and maintenance phase. FiCR further provides a semantic foundation for rule based reasoning and fire oriented digital twins that integrate regulatory compliance and risk informed decision making.
FiCR: Fire Compliance and Risk Analysis Ontology
FiCR, Fire Compliance and Risk Analysis Ontology
Property domain convention: properties shared by multiple record types (e.g. supportedByEvidence, hasEvidenceStatus, measurement properties such as hasActualREI) are deliberately declared without rdfs:domain to avoid unintended type inference. Properties with a single host class declare an explicit rdfs:domain. Intended subjects are documented in each property's rdfs:comment.
Links a boundary condition record to the physical object whose fire-related boundary or performance condition it concerns.
aboutElement
Specifies the class of physical element this requirement applies to, e.g. ficr:Wall or ficr:Floor.
appliesToElementType
Specifies the building purpose group for which this requirement is applicable.
appliesToPurposeGroup
Links a boundary condition record to the risk unit whose fire risk interpretation it informs.
appliesToRiskUnit
Links an assessment to the physical element(s) it evaluates. For compliance assessments, this is the wall, door, or floor being checked. For risk assessments, this covers elements involved in fire spread modelling.
assessesElement
Links an assessment to the zone(s) or space(s) it covers. For risk assessments, this is the space whose fire scenario is being evaluated. For compliance assessments, this is the space containing the assessed elements.
assessesZone
Links a compliance finding to the regulatory requirement being checked.
checksRequirement
Links an assessment finding to the physical object it concerns.
concernsElement
Links an assessment finding to the risk unit it concerns.
concernsRiskUnit
Links an assessment finding to the building system it concerns.
concernsSystem
Links an assessment finding to the spatial zone or space it concerns.
concernsZone
Relates a spatial zone to a building system located in, passing through, or spatially associated with that zone. This property is used where a system-level entity should not be treated as a BOT element.
containsSystem
Links a risk unit to the spatial zone whose fire exposure it aggregates.
coversSpatialZone
Links a fire risk scenario to boundary condition records or assumptions that influence the scenario interpretation.
dependsOnBoundaryCondition
Links a regulatory requirement individual to the regulatory, standard, or guidance source from which it was derived.
derivedFromRegulatorySource
Links a risk finding to the fire risk scenario from which it was derived, enabling finding-level traceability when one risk analysis evaluates multiple scenarios.
derivedFromScenario
Records whether an assessment finding or checklist item is applicable, not applicable, or not assessed in the current assessment scope.
hasApplicabilityState
Links an assessment activity or assessment result to the evidence bundle that supports it.
hasAssessmentBasis
Identifies the boundary-related performance aspect assessed by a boundary condition record.
hasBoundaryPerformanceAspect
General property relating an entity to its classification.
hasClassification
Links a compliance finding to its compliance result.
hasComplianceResult
Expressing the compositional relationship of components
hasComponent
Links a boundary condition record to its assessed condition state, such as effective, compromised, or unknown.
hasConditionState
indicates that the two individuals have a passageway.
hasConnectionWith
Links an assessment finding, boundary condition record, or other assessment-related record to a controlled evidence status. The domain is intentionally left open to avoid forcing all evidence-qualified records into the AssessmentFinding hierarchy.
hasEvidenceStatus
Assigns a fire risk unit role to an entity.
hasFireRiskUnitRole
General property linking an entity to a fire safety role. More specific subproperties are used for physical objects, zones, and systems.
hasFireSafetyRole
Links an asset, system, provision, or relevant physical object to its operational impairment state. The domain is intentionally left open because impairment may apply to fire-protection provisions, general equipment, building systems, or other inspected assets.
hasImpairmentState
Links an asset, system, provision, or relevant physical object to its installation status. The domain is intentionally left open because installation status may apply to fire-protection provisions, general equipment, and building systems.
hasInstallationStatus
Links a fire risk scenario to the zone where the fire is modelled to originate.
hasOriginSpace
Assigns a fire safety role to a physical object, such as a wall, doorset, stair, damper, equipment item, or other object relevant to fire assessment.
hasPhysicalObjectFireSafetyRole
Relates a building to its functional purpose group classification according to ADB Table 0.1
hasPurposeGroup
Links a risk analysis to the fire risk scenario or scenarios it evaluates. Each scenario represents a hypothetical fire origin and relevant spread or exposure context used for risk-informed interpretation.
hasScenario
Links a fire risk scenario to the risk unit whose fire risk is being interpreted.
hasScenarioRiskUnit
Links a risk unit to a separation distance record describing its exposure to an adjacent risk unit.
hasSeparationRecord
Informational: for future use.
Assigns an everyday or operational space-use classification to a spatial zone or space, such as kitchen, corridor, lobby, bathroom, habitable room, or place of special hazard.
hasSpaceUsage
Assigns a fire safety role to a building system, such as active protection, protected supply, evacuation support, or firefighting support.
hasSystemFireSafetyRole
Top-level property linking an entity to a usage type classification. Sub-properties specialise domain and range.
hasUsageType
Assigns a building planning utilization purpose (e.g. Hotel, Office) to a zone or building.
hasUtilizationPurpose
Assigns a fire safety role to a spatial zone, enabling protected-space and route-related classifications.
hasZoneFireSafetyRole
Inverse of hasClassification.
isClassificationOf
Links an individual equipment item to the building system it belongs to. Inverse direction of hasComponent at the instance level.
isComponentOf
Indicates potential fire spread exposure between risk units.
isExposedTo
Inverse of hasFireRiskUnitRole.
isFireRiskUnitRoleOf
Inverse of hasFireSafetyRole.
isFireSafetyRoleOf
describe the location and/or surroundings of a place.
isLocatedIn
Inverse of hasPhysicalObjectFireSafetyRole
isPhysicalObjectFireSafetyRoleOf
Inverse of hasPurposeGroup.
isPurposeGroupOf
Inverse of hasSpaceUsage.
isSpaceUsageOf
Indicates that the subject storey is directly above the object storey.
isStoreyAbove
Indicates that the subject storey is directly below the object storey.
isStoreyBelow
inverseOf containsSystem
isSystemContainedIn
Inverse of hasFireSafetyRole, linking a fire safety role to the system or element that bears it.
isSystemFireSafetyRoleOf
Inverse of hasUsageType.
isUsageTypeOf
Inverse of hasUtilizationPurpose.
isUtilizationPurposeOf
Inverse of hasZoneFireSafetyRole.
isZoneFireSafetyRoleOf
Links a task to the assessment record produced by executing that task.
producesAssessment
Links a task to evidence items it generates.
producesEvidence
Links an assessment to the findings it produces.
producesFinding
Links an assessment to a boundary condition record that it relies on or interprets. This allows compliance checking and risk analysis to expose whether their conclusions depend on effective, compromised, unknown, or weakly evidenced boundary conditions.
reliesOnBoundaryCondition
Links an assessment finding, boundary condition record, or other assessment-related record to evidence items that support, justify, or document it. The domain is intentionally left open because evidence support is used both for produced findings and for assessment dependencies such as boundary condition records.
supportedByEvidence
A task is created because an event (e.g., risk detected) occurred.
triggeredBy
Links a trigger event to the task(s) created because of it.
triggersTask
Links a risk analysis to compliance findings used as inputs for risk interpretation.
usesComplianceFinding
Links a task to evidence items it consumes as inputs.
usesEvidence
A human-readable title used to display the document in user interfaces.
documentTitle
A resolvable URI or file path pointing to the document location for human access.
documentURI
The actual measured fire resistance period (R=load-bearing, E=integrity, I=insulation) in minutes.
hasActualREI
Measured physical separation distance in metres between two risk units.
hasActualSeparationM
The floor area of a space in square metres.
hasArea
Height of a building is measured as shown in Appendix D, Diagram D4.
hasBuildingHeight
Records the clause, table, paragraph, section, or provision reference from which a regulatory requirement was derived.
hasClauseReference
Total gross floor area of all storeys in a building, in square metres.
hasCombinedGrossFloorArea
The spatial coverage mode of the detector, e.g. PointDetector, BeamDetector, AspiratingDetector.
hasCoverageType
The detection principle of the alarm device, e.g. OpticalSmoke, Ionisation, Heat, MultiSensor, CarbonMonoxide.
hasDetectionType
The shortest distance from any point within the floor area to the nearest storey exit, measured within the external enclosures of the building, and ignoring walls, partitions and fittings other than the enclosing walls and partitions to protected stairways.
hasDirectDistance
The vertical height of a storey floor level above a reference datum, in metres.
hasElevation
The extinguishing agent type, e.g. DryPowder, CO2, WaterMist, WetChemical, Foam.
hasExtinguisherAgent
A human-readable statement of what the finding records. Used for expected-vs-actual validation tables and reporting.
hasFindingStatement
The fire class rating per BS EN 2, e.g. A, B, AB, ABC, AF.
hasFireClassRating
This refers to the total asset value of the space.
hasFixedAssetValue
A unique identifier string for the entity.
hasID
Specifies the jurisdiction in which a regulatory source, requirement, or assessment context applies.
hasJurisdiction
The length dimension of a building element, in metres.
hasLength
Number of storeys excluding basements
hasNumberOfStoreys
The minimum REI value mandated by regulation for a given element type and purpose group, in minutes.
hasRequiredREI
Minimum separation distance in metres required to prevent fire spread, computed per NFPA 80A. Stored here as an externally-supplied value; FiCR does not compute this internally.
hasRequiredSeparationM
Provides a narrative description of the fire risk scenario, including where the fire is assumed to originate, how it may spread, and why it is expected to stop or be limited.
hasScenarioDescription
The date by which the equipment must be serviced or replaced to remain compliant.
hasServiceExpiryDate
Records the edition, year, version, or publication date of a regulatory, standards, or guidance source.
hasSourceEdition
Records the issuing body or publisher of a regulatory, standards, or guidance source.
hasSourcePublisher
The floor-to-floor height of a storey, in metres.
hasStoreyHeight
The thickness dimension of a building element, in metres.
hasThickness
Height of the floor of the top storey above ground level is measured as shown in Appendix D, Diagram D6.
hasTopStoreyFloorHeight
The floor-to-ceiling height of the topmost storey, in metres.
hasTopStoreyHeight
(unless otherwise specified, e.g. as in the case of flats) The distance that a person would travel from any point within the floor area to the nearest storey exit, determined by the layout of walls, partitions and fittings.
hasTravelDistance
The volume of a space, in cubic metres.
hasVolume
The width dimension of a building element, in metres.
hasWidth
Determine whether the storey is a basement or above ground.
isAboveGround
Boolean indicating whether the element shows visible damage affecting its fire performance.
isDamaged
Boolean indicating whether the element or space is fully enclosed by construction.
isEnclosed
Boolean indicating whether the element forms part of the external building envelope.
isExternal
Boolean indicating whether the element carries structural loads.
isLoadBearing
Refers to the state of being obscured.
isObscured
The scheduled end date and time of a task.
plannedEndTime
The scheduled start date and time of a task.
plannedStartTime
Must be subject to inspection assignments (e.g., fire safety inspections).
requiresInspection
An individual fire alarm equipment item or device that provides warning functionality within a fire alarm or detection arrangement. This class represents equipment-level alarm items.
Alarm
A trigger event generated when abnormal conditions are detected by monitoring or analytics, causing tasks to be created for verification, inspection, or risk follow-up.
AnomalyTriggerEvent
A duct to deliver combustion air to a gas appliance.
ApplianceVentilationDuct
A controlled state indicating whether a requirement, rule, or assessment condition applies in a given context.
ApplicabilityState
A fire-related assessment record produced through an O&M task. It may represent compliance checking, risk analysis, or inspection assessment and can produce assessment findings.
Assessment
A bundle of evidence items used to justify a fire compliance evaluation or risk assessment. It groups observed site evidence, regulatory sources, and supporting external documents for traceability and explanation.
AssessmentBasis
A record produced by an assessment to capture a compliance, risk, or inspection finding concerning an assessed element, system, zone, risk unit, requirement, or scenario. Findings may be linked to evidence, evidence status, and assessment results where applicable.
AssessmentFinding
An abstract superclass for controlled state or result values used in FiCR assessments, including boundary condition states, operational impairment states, evidence states, applicability states, and compliance results. Subclasses retain their domain-specific meanings and are not merged.
AssessmentState
A continuous space that passes through one or more structural floors within a building, not necessarily vertically. Enclosed lift wells, enclosed escalator wells, building services ducts and stairs are not classified as atria.
AtriumSpace
A device that normally holds a door open, but closes it automatically if any one of the following occurs. • Smoke is detected by an automatic device of a suitable nature and quality in a suitable location. • A hand-operated switch, fitted in a suitable position, is operated. • The electricity supply to the device, apparatus or switch fails. • The fire alarm system, if any, is operated.
AutomaticReleaseMechanism
A balcony is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, enclosed by a balustrade or railing, and accessed from an upper-level room.
BalconySpace
A storey with a floor that, at some point, is more than 1200mm below the highest level of ground beside the outside walls. (However, see Appendix B, paragraph B26c, for situations where the storey is considered to be a basement only because of a sloping site.)
BasementStorey
A beam is a horizontal structural element that carries loads perpendicular to its length, transferring weight from a roof, floor, or ceiling to vertical supports like columns or walls.
Beam
A boundary condition record used where risk analysis relies on an assumed, incomplete, or provisionally assessed boundary-performance condition. It may later be confirmed, revised, or replaced by inspection evidence.
BoundaryAssumption
A record describing the assessed or assumed condition of a fire-related boundary or boundary-performance aspect within a risk unit. It may be used as an assessment dependency and can be linked to condition state, evidence status, supporting evidence, and related physical elements.
BoundaryConditionRecord
A classification of the boundary-related performance aspect considered in fire risk interpretation, such as compartmentation, cavity barrier performance, external fire spread, or structural stability.
BoundaryPerformanceAspect
A movable or non-integral physical object relevant to fire assessment, such as furniture, finishes, or contents.
BuildingContent
A building system refers to the interconnected, functional components of a building, including its mechanical, and electrical infrastructure.
BuildingSystem
A construction within a cavity, other than a smoke curtain, to perform either of the following functions. • Close a cavity to stop smoke or flame entering. • Restrict the movement of smoke or flame within a cavity.
CavityBarrier
A space enclosed by elements of a building (including a suspended ceiling) or contained within an element, but that is not a room, cupboard, circulation space, protected shaft, or space within a flue, chute, duct, pipe or conduit.
CavitySpace
Part of a building that encloses a room, protected shaft or circulation space and is exposed overhead. The soffit of a rooflight, but not the frame, is included as part of the surface of the ceiling. An upstand below a rooflight is considered as a wall.
Ceiling
A document evidence item representing a certificate that supports an assessment finding or record.
CertificateEvidence
A continuous pathway that allows electricity to flow from the main supply (consumer unit) to various outlets, lights, or appliances, and back again.
Circuit
Cladding is an external layer applied to a building's structure to provide weather protection, thermal insulation, and improved aesthetics.
Cladding
Classify buildings or compartments according to their intended use, construction type, or structural risk to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and facilitate communication between professionals such as planners, insurers, and contractors.
Classification
A fabric element category for components that close openings in the building envelope or internal partitions, including doors, windows, and dampers.
Closing
A column is a vertical structural element in a building that supports loads from above and transfers them down to the foundation.
Column
A fire resisting floor to separate one fire compartment from another.
CompartmentFloor
A fire resisting wall to separate one fire compartment from another. including a wall that is common to two or more buildings.
CompartmentWall
An assessment that checks whether fire-related requirements are satisfied. It produces compliance findings rather than storing a single assessment-level result.
ComplianceChecking
A task that evaluates one or more requirements against available evidence and produces a compliance result.
ComplianceCheckingTask
An assessment finding produced by compliance checking. It records the assessed item, applicable requirement, actual value or condition, required value or criterion, compliance result, evidence status, and regulatory basis where available.
ComplianceFinding
A trigger event created when a compliance request is received from an external authority, or when a prior task identifies missing evidence or unmet preconditions requiring follow-up inspection or assessment.
ComplianceRequestTriggerEvent
A controlled assessment state representing the result of a compliance finding, such as compliant, non-compliant, or undetermined. Compliance results are attached to ComplianceFinding records so that they remain traceable to the assessed target, checked requirement, evidence status, and regulatory source.
ComplianceResult
Physical performance status assessment of boundary condition state.
ConditionState
In buildings, a "controller" is the "brain" of an automated system, receiving data from sensors and sending commands to devices like HVAC, lighting, and alarms to ensure comfort and efficiency.
Controller
Part of a solar shading device which is set in motion by the operating system and fulfils the purpose of a blind, awning or shutter.
Curtain
An inspection finding that records an observed defect, shortfall, obstruction, damage, missing evidence, or other adverse condition relevant to fire-related O&M assessment.
DeficiencyFinding
An external file or record that supports assessment or documentation, such as product data sheets, installation manuals, certificates, drawings, or inspection reports. It is linked for human access and traceability and does not directly participate in logical inference unless explicitly modelled.
DocumentEvidence
A doorset is a complete, integrated door system consisting of the door leaf, frame, and all necessary hardware like hinges, seals, and closers, sold as a single unit from one source.
Doorset
A document evidence item representing a drawing that supports an assessment finding or record.
DrawingEvidence
A duct space is a designated area or channel within a building that houses the systems for conveying air, cables, and other utilities.
DuctSpace
An electrical system in a building is a network of wiring, equipment, and protective devices that safely distributes power from its entry point to all the loads, such as lights, outlets, and appliances, within the structure.
ElectricalSystem
A protection system that provides lighting for escape routes, safety equipment, or relevant spaces when normal lighting fails.
EmergencyLightingSystem
An independently identifiable and maintainable physical device or apparatus. Equipment is modelled as ficr:PhysicalObject and aligned with bot:Element when it is located in or associated with the building topology.
Equipment
Inspection task consumes observations produced by upstream tools.
EquipmentInspectionTask
A fire safety role related to escape, evacuation, exits, access rooms, protected routes, dead ends, circulation spaces, or other route-related fire-safety interpretation.
EscapeAndEvacuationRole
The part of the emergency lighting that is provided to ensure that the escape route is illuminated at all material times.
EscapeLighting
A lift that may be used to evacuate people in a fire.
EvacuationLift
An occurrence that triggers the creation of one or more tasks in the FiCR workflow, such as a routine schedule, an anomaly alert, or a compliance request.
Event
A single piece of evidence that supports an assessment. It may be an observation, a regulatory reference, or an external document. Evidence items are linkable, traceable, and can be attached to specific assets, spaces, or checks.
EvidenceItem
A controlled assessment state describing whether the evidence required to support an assessment finding or boundary condition record is available, missing, insufficient, or not required.
EvidenceStatus
The external wall of a building includes all of the following. • Anything located within any space forming part of the wall. • Any decoration or other finish applied to any external (but not internal) surface forming part of the wall. • Any windows and doors in the wall. • Any part of a roof pitched at an angle of more than 70 degrees to the horizontal if that part of the roof adjoins a space within the building to which persons have access, but not access only for the purpose of carrying out repairs or maintenance.
ExternalWall
An external wall door is a door that is part of a building's exterior wall, providing an entrance and exit to the building.
ExternalWallDoor
An external wall window is a window that is part of a building's exterior wall, which acts as the outer boundary separating the interior from the outside environment.
ExternalWallWindow
A physical construction element forming part of the building fabric. Fabric elements are modelled as ficr:PhysicalObject and aligned with bot:Element so that they can participate in spatial containment, adjacency, and fire-related classification.
FabricElement
Finishes are the final surface treatments and decorative elements applied to a building's interior and exterior.
Finishes
A system-level arrangement of components for detecting fire and giving audible, visual, or other perceptible warning of fire.
FireAlarmSystem
A fire damper which, in addition to the performance of the fire damper, resists the spread of smoke.
FireAndSmokeDamper
A fire safety space bounded by compartment walls and compartment floors, designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke beyond the compartment of origin.
FireCompartment
A mechanical or intumescent device within a duct or ventilation opening that operates automatically and is designed to resist the spread of fire.
FireDamper
A door or shutter which, together with its frame and furniture as installed in a building, is intended (when closed) to resist the spread of fire and/or gaseous products of combustion and meets specified performance criteria to those ends.
FireDoorset
A portable or fixed manually-operated device containing an extinguishing agent that can be expelled for the purpose of suppressing or extinguishing a fire. Fire extinguishers are classified by their agent type (water, foam, CO2, dry powder, wet chemical) and by the fire classes they are rated to address.
FireExtinguisher
A lift with additional protection and with controls that enable it to be used by the fire and rescue service when fighting a fire.
FireFightingLift
A physical object, building element, or component that contributes to fire protection performance. This class groups physical fire-protection provisions while preserving their identity through more specific classes such as wall, doorset, stair, damper, cavity barrier, or fire stop.
FireProtectionElement
A maintainable equipment item that supports fire protection or fire safety operation, such as warning, detection, suppression, release, control, manual firefighting, monitoring, or activation. Equipment-level provisions remain distinct from system-level provisions.
FireProtectionEquipment
A building element, equipment item, system, component, or spatial arrangement that is provided or designated to support fire protection or fire safety performance. This class is used as a common query target for fire-related provisions without treating all of them as building systems.
FireProtectionProvision
A fire safety role related to active or passive fire protection, fire separation, fire resistance, or limitation of fire spread.
FireProtectionRole
A spatial zone or arrangement that contributes to fire protection or fire safety performance, such as a compartment, protected corridor, protected lobby, protected shaft, protected stairway space, or other protected escape or separation space.
FireProtectionSpatialProvision
A distributed or system-level building system that supports fire protection or fire safety operation, including detection, alarm, suppression, smoke control, emergency lighting, protected electrical supply, firefighting support, or evacuation support.
FireProtectionSystem
A task that produces a fire risk analysis assessment for O&M use. It supports risk-informed interpretation by linking risk units, fire risk scenarios, compliance findings, boundary condition records, condition states, and evidence status.
FireRiskAssessmentTask
A hypothetical fire scenario anchored to an origin space or zone. It describes the fire origin, relevant spread context, affected risk unit, and boundary conditions used for risk-informed O&M interpretation.
FireRiskScenario
A controlled role or designation assigned to a physical object, spatial zone, or building system to describe its fire-safety function. The role itself is independent of the assignment target; the assignment context is expressed by the property used, such as hasPhysicalObjectFireSafetyRole, hasZoneFireSafetyRole, or hasSystemFireSafetyRole.
FireSafetyRole
"Fire safety space" in a building refers to the areas designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke and guide occupants to safety.
FireSafetySpace
A fire protection system that uses a network of pipes, control components, and sprinkler outlets to discharge water for fire suppression or control.
FireSprinklerSystem
A seal provided to close an imperfection of fit or design tolerance between elements or components, to restrict the spread of fire and smoke.
FireStop
A fire safety role related to firefighter access, firefighting support, fire service intervention, or systems and spaces designated to support firefighting operations.
FirefightingSupportRole
A floor is the horizontal surface in a building that forms the base of a room, providing structural support for occupants, furniture, and the building's own weight.
Floor
A horizontal structural slab forming an intermediate or ground-level floor, transferring occupancy and dead loads to the supporting structure.
FloorSlab
Movable items that make a space habitable and decorative.
Furnishings
A storey at or above ground level, defined by isAboveGround = true.
GroundAndAboveStorey
Guidance documents explaining how to meet requirements or how to conduct assessments are not necessarily laws in themselves.
GuidanceDocument
An HVAC system is a building's climate control system for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
HVACSystem
ImpairmentState of the building component.
ImpairmentState
An assessment activity that evaluates fire safety or compliance conditions through inspection.
InspectionAssessment
An assessment finding produced by inspection activity. It records observed fire-related conditions, deficiencies, evidence gaps, or verification outcomes relevant to O&M assessment.
InspectionFinding
A document evidence item representing an inspection report that supports an assessment finding or record.
InspectionReportEvidence
Whether a fire safety system or component is installed, and if so, to what specification.
InstallationStatus
A lift shaft is a vertical passageway in a building where an elevator travels between floors.
LiftShaft
Complete machinery and infrastructure for vertical transport.
LiftSystem
A document evidence item representing a maintenance record that supports an assessment finding or record.
MaintenanceRecordEvidence
The building is regarded as a multi-storey building if both of the following apply. • There is more than one gallery. • The total aggregate area of all the galleries in one space is more than half the floor area of that space.
MultiStoreyBuilding
Evidence collected from the building or its digital sensors during inspection or monitoring, such as RGB images, depth, LiDAR/point clouds, and sensor readings. This class represents the content used for assessment, not the provenance metadata standard itself.
ObservedEvidence
Refers to any intentional void in walls, floors, or ceilings for access, light, air, or services, such as doors, windows, ducts, or stairwells.
Opening
A document evidence item representing a photograph that supports an assessment finding or record.
PhotographEvidence
A tangible object relevant to fire-related assessment. A physical object may be a building element, equipment item, or building content. Only those physical objects that participate in the building topology are aligned with bot:Element.
PhysicalObject
A building system composed of pipes, fittings, valves, and related components for conveying water, gas, or other fluids within or through a building.
PipingSystem
An electrical circuit that is protected against fire.
ProtectedCircuit
A corridor that is adequately protected from fire in adjoining areas by fire resisting construction.
ProtectedCorridor
A circulation area, consisting of a hall or space in a flat, that is enclosed with fire resisting construction other than an external wall of a building.
ProtectedEntranceHall
A corridor or lobby that is adequately protected from fire in adjoining areas by fire resisting construction.
ProtectedLobby
A shaft that enables people, air or objects to pass from one compartment to another, and which is enclosed with fire resisting construction.
ProtectedShaft
A stair that leads to a final exit to a place of safety and that is adequately enclosed with fire resisting construction. Included in the definition is any exit passageway between the foot of the stair and the final exit.
ProtectedStairway
A stairway space that leads to a final exit to a place of safety and that is adequately enclosed with fire resisting construction. Included in the definition is any exit passageway between the foot of the stair and the final exit.
ProtectedStairwaySpace
Classification of a building or compartment by its intended use according to ADB Table 0.1.
PurposeGroup
A dwelling is a unit where one or more people live (whether or not as a sole or main residence) in either of the following situations. • A single person or people living together as a family. • A maximum of six people living together as a single household, including where care is provided for residents.
PurposeGroup1
Residential other than Dwellings.
PurposeGroup2
Storage and Car Parking
PurposeGroup7
A railing refers to a protective barrier or fence, usually made of metal (such as wrought or cast iron, steel, or aluminium), timber, or plastic, designed to provide safety and support.
Railing
A classification derived from a regulatory source and used to organise compliance requirements or assessment criteria.
RegulatoryClassification
Laws, regulations, and regulatory documents with statutory binding force.
RegulatoryInstrument
A requirement specification derived from a regulatory, standards, or guidance source. It records the applicable scope, required value or criterion, clause reference, jurisdiction, and source traceability.
RegulatoryRequirement
A referenced regulatory or standards document used as the normative basis for a check or requirement, such as Approved Document B, BDM02, or related standards. It provides the requirement context and should be versioned where possible.
RegulatorySource
The boundary or notional boundary that one side of the building faces and/or coincides with, and that is parallel or at an angle of a maximum of 80 degrees to that side of the building.
RelevantBoundary
A structured specification of a requirement, criterion, or threshold used in assessment. Requirement specifications may be derived from regulations, standards, guidance documents, or project-specific assessment criteria.
RequirementSpecification
An assessment that supports risk-informed interpretation by using risk units, fire risk scenarios, compliance findings, boundary condition records, condition states, and evidence status. It does not perform full quantitative fire risk calculation in the FiCR core ontology.
RiskAnalysis
An assessment finding produced by risk analysis. It records risk-relevant interpretation for a risk unit, scenario, element, system, or zone, using compliance findings, boundary condition records, and evidence status as inputs.
RiskFinding
A spatial or operational aggregation unit used for fire risk interpretation, evidence-gap review, and inspection prioritisation during O&M. A risk unit may correspond to a dwelling unit, compartment, floor area, tenancy, fire area, or other assessment-defined unit.
RiskUnit
A roof is the top covering of a building that provides protection from the elements like rain, sun, snow, and wind.
Roof
A horizontal structural slab forming the topmost floor of a building, directly supporting the roof covering and transferring loads to walls or columns.
RoofSlab
A roof space is the area inside a building between the ceiling of the top floor and the underside of the roof.
RoofSpace
A dome light, lantern light, ridge light.
Rooflight
A skylight, glazed barrel vault or other element to admit daylight through a roof.
RooflightOpening
An enclosed space within a building that is not used solely as a circulation space. The term includes not only conventional rooms, but also cupboards that are not fittings and large spaces such as warehouses and auditoria. The term does not include cavities such as ducts, ceiling cavities and roof spaces.
RoomSpace
A trigger event generated from routine schedules or planned inspection cycles derived from FiCR maintenance and regulatory schedules, such as monthly fire exit checks.
RoutineTriggerEvent
A device that closes a door, when open at any angle, against a door frame. NOTE: If the door is in a cavity barrier, rising butt hinges (which are different from the self-closing device mentioned above) are acceptable.
SelfClosingDevice
A sensor in a building is a device that detects environmental changes and sends data to a control system to manage building functions like lighting, HVAC, and safety.
Sensor
An evidence item generated by a sensor or monitoring device to support an assessment finding or record.
SensorEvidence
A service shaft is a vertical passage in a building that houses pipes, cables, and ducts for essential building systems like water, electricity, and ventilation.
ServiceShaft
A smaller, enclosed vertical space extending through multiple floors used for specific building services, such as elevator hoistways, enclosed stairwells, or ducts for plumbing, electrical, or air-conditioning equipment.
ShaftSpace
A building that consists of a ground storey only. Basements are not counted as storeys in a building (see Appendix D). A separated part that consists of a ground storey only, with a roof to which access is only provided for repair or maintenance, may be treated as a single storey building.
SingleStoreyBuilding
A spatial boundary representing the extent of the site or land associated with a building. This class is not used to represent fire compartment boundaries or boundary condition records.
SiteBoundary
A slab is the thick, structural concrete element (like reinforced concrete) forming a building's horizontal plane
Slab
A device attached to the external surface of an external wall for reducing heat gain within a building by shading or deflecting sunlight.
SolarShadingDevice
Describe the uses of the space.
SpaceUsage
Includes any of the following. • A balcony attached to an external wall. • A device for reducing heat gain within a building by deflecting sunlight which is attached to an external wall.
SpecifiedAttachment
a stairway (or staircase) is a series of steps connecting different levels in a building, serving as a pedestrian route.
Stair
A stair flight (or simply "flight") refers to an uninterrupted, continuous sequence of stairs (steps/risers) that connect two levels, floors, or intermediate landings.
StairFlight
A stairway space, also called a stairwell, is the vertical compartment in a building that contains a flight of stairs and the associated landings, hallways, or other areas needed to move between floors.
StairSpace
Technical standards, codes, or guides issued by standards organizations are typically technical specifications; whether they are mandatory depends on whether they are cited in regulations, contracts, or by an authority.
Standard
A structural element is a component of a building that is essential for its stability and for transferring loads to the ground, such as foundations, beams, columns, and load-bearing walls.
StructuralElement
A workflow task in FiCR. Tasks organise how evidence is collected, how compliance checking or risk analysis is initiated, and how assessments are produced during fire-related O&M activity.
Task
An evidence item generated by a test or measurement activity to support an assessment finding or record.
TestEvidence
A controlled classification value used to assign use, purpose, or fire-safety role to buildings, spaces, physical objects, zones, or systems. UsageType values are used as controlled vocabulary terms and may be represented through OWL punning where required for value-based class definitions.
UsageType
Assigns the planning or occupancy use of a building, such as dwellinghouse, office, hotel, school, shop, or factory. This is distinct from regulatory purpose group classification.
UtilizationPurpose
A Vertical Transport System (VT) in buildings refers to the equipment and planning used to move people and goods vertically between different floors.
VerticalTransportSystem
A wall in buildings is a vertical structure that defines and separates spaces, provides shelter and security, and can be either load-bearing or non-load-bearing.
Wall
Sub-structure component, typically concrete, brick, or masonry, that transfers loads from the building's walls down to the ground or a concrete footing
WallFoundation
A window is an opening in a building wall for light and air, featuring casements or sashes with glass panes, enhancing natural lighting, ventilation, and aesthetics.
Window
Approved Document B Volume 1&2 Building regulation in England covering fire safety matters within and around buildings.
Fire Protection of Buildings RISCAuthority BDM02 - Fire Protection of Buildings - 2022 v2 A4
Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance.
The Building Risk Evaluation Tool (BRET), is intended to provide an easy to follow insight into how the use, design, and construction material choices can influence the resilience of a building to the challenges presented by fire in terms of property protection, business resilience, and insurability. It may provide benefit to designers during the initial development stages looking to ensure the end result will meet the resilience expectations of the occupier and be insurable, and to insurers triaging new prospects.
Access role refers to the room that the only escape route from an inner room passes through.
AccessRoomRole
A utilization purpose for premises providing temporary or permanent residential living.
Accommodation
A fire protection role involving active detection, alarm, suppression, control, release, emergency lighting, or operational response. This role is typically assigned to fire protection systems or equipment.
ActiveFireProtectionRole
Escape routes that are sufficiently separated by direction and space or by fire resisting construction to ensure that one is still available if the other is affected by fire. A second stair, balcony or flat roof which enables a person to reach a place free from danger from fire is considered an alternative escape route for the purposes of a dwellinghouse.
AlternativeEscapeRouteRole
One of two or more exits, each of which is separate from the other.
AlternativeExitRole
An applicability state indicating that the requirement, rule, or assessment condition applies in the given context.
Applicable
A utilization purpose for premises used for public assembly, entertainment, or recreation.
AssemblyPlace
An auditorium is a large room or building designed for public gatherings, such as performances, lectures, or meetings.
Auditorium
a room for washing and personal hygiene, typically containing a toilet, sink, and either a bathtub or shower.
Bathroom
A utilization purpose for premises providing lodging and meals for paying guests.
BoardingHouse
A boiler room is a dedicated space in a building that houses essential mechanical equipment for services like heating, hot water, and electricity
BoilerRoom
A utilization purpose for premises designed for vehicle parking and storage.
CarParking
Assumption that internal cavities are adequately sealed by cavity barriers and do not provide a path for fire spread.
CavityBarrierPerformanceAspect
Circulation space refers to a space (including a protected stairway) mainly used as a means of access between a room and an exit from the building or compartment.
CirculationSpaceRole
A space usage for areas primarily serving pedestrian movement, such as corridors, halls, and lobbies.
CirculationUsage
A utilization purpose for premises used for commercial trading activities.
CommercialPlace
Assumption that floor and wall partitions maintain fire compartmentation and prevent vertical or horizontal fire spread.
CompartmentationPerformanceAspect
A compliance result indicating that the assessed element or system meets the applicable regulatory requirement.
CompliantResult
A condition state indicating that the physical performance of a boundary element is degraded or unreliable.
Compromised
A corridor is a long, narrow passageway in a building that connects different rooms or areas. A design of a building containing flats, in which each flat is approached via a common horizontal internal access or circulation space, which may include a common entrance hall.
Corridor
An area from which escape is possible in one direction only.
DeadEndRole
A utilization purpose for premises used for lawful detention of persons.
DetentionHouse
Does not include a flat or a building containing a flat.
Dwellinghouse
A condition state indicating that the physical performance of a boundary element is intact and functioning as designed.
Effective
In buildings, an "engine room" typically refers to the central location for the mechanical and electrical systems that keep the building running, such as HVAC, boilers, generators, and pumps.
EngineRoom
A utilization purpose for premises used for entertainment or recreational activities.
EntertainmentPlace
A hall or space inside a dwelling that connects the entrance door to the rooms.
EntranceHall
The route along which people can escape from any point in a building to a final exit.
EvacuationRole
An evidence status indicating that supporting evidence is available for the finding or record.
EvidenceAvailable
An evidence status indicating that supporting evidence is available but insufficient for the finding or record.
EvidenceInsufficient
An evidence status indicating that no supporting evidence is available for the finding or record.
EvidenceMissing
An evidence status indicating that supporting evidence is not required for the finding or record.
EvidenceNotRequired
A protected passageway that connects a protected stairway to a final exit.
ExitPassagewayRole
Assumption that the external wall construction does not contribute to external fire spread between compartments or buildings.
ExternalFireSpreadPerformanceAspect
Factory
The end of an escape route from a building that gives direct access to a street, passageway, walkway or open space, and is sited to ensure that people rapidly disperse away from the building so that they are no longer in danger from fire and/or smoke. Windows are not acceptable as final exits.
FinalExitRole
A fire protection role indicating that an object is required or designated to provide fire resistance for a stated period according to relevant performance criteria.
FireResistingRole
A fire protection role indicating that an object contributes to fire separation or compartmentation, such as a compartment wall, compartment floor, cavity barrier, or enclosing construction for a protected route or special hazard.
FireSeparatingRole
Firefighting in buildings is the strategic and tactical process used by the fire and rescue service to control and extinguish fires, protect lives and property, and manage associated hazards within a built structure.
FirefightingRole
A flat is a separate and self-contained premises constructed or adapted for use for residential purposes and forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally.
Flat
The large area where people meet or wait just inside the main doors of a building.
Foyer
Fuel storage in buildings refers to the secure and safe storage of various fuels, such as oil, petrol, or wood, for heating, cooking, or other purposes.
FuelStorage
A floor or balcony that does not extend across the full extent of a building’s footprint and is open to the floor below.
Gallery
A room used, or intended to be used, for people to live in (including, for the purposes of Approved Document B Volumes 1 and 2, a kitchen, but not a bathroom).
HabitableRoom
A "hall" in a building can refer to a large, central room or a long, narrow passageway.
Hall
A utilization purpose for institutional residential accommodation, typically for students or workers.
HallOfResidence
A utilization purpose for premises providing medical treatment, care, or maintenance of persons.
Hospital
A utilization purpose for premises providing basic shared accommodation.
Hostel
A utilization purpose for premises providing temporary guest accommodation with services.
Hotel
The system is out of service, degraded, or bypassed.
Impaired
The operational state cannot be determined.
ImpairmentUnknown
Inner room refers to Room from which escape is possible only by passing through another room (the access room).
InnerRoomRole
An installation status indicating that installation of the system or component is not required.
InstallationNotRequired
An installation status indicating that whether the system or component is installed is unknown.
InstallationUnknown
An installation status indicating that the system or component is installed.
Installed
A room for food preparation.
Kitchen
A lobby is the large, open space at the main entrance of a building that serves as an entry hall, gathering area, and passageway.
Lobby
Structural means that provide one or more safe routes for people to go, during a fire, from any point in the building to a place of safety.
MeansOfEscapeRole
A compliance result indicating that the assessed element or system does not meet the applicable regulatory requirement.
NonCompliantResult
An applicability state indicating that the requirement, rule, or assessment condition does not apply in the given context.
NotApplicable
An applicability state indicating that applicability has not yet been assessed for the requirement, rule, or condition.
NotAssessed
An installation status indicating that the system or component is not installed.
NotInstalled
Offices or premises used for any of the following and their control: • administration • clerical work (including writing, bookkeeping, sorting papers, filing, typing, duplicating, machine calculating, drawing and the editorial preparation of matter for publication, police and fire and rescue service work) • handling money (including banking and building society work) • communications (including postal, telegraph and radio communications) • radio, television, film, audio or video recording • performance (premises not open to the public).
Office
The system is functioning as designed.
Operational
An installation status indicating that the system or component is only partially installed.
PartiallyInstalled
A fire protection role involving passive construction, separation, enclosure, fire resistance, cavity protection, fire stopping, protected routes, or protected spaces. This role may be assigned to physical objects, zones, or systems depending on the assessment context.
PassiveFireProtectionRole
A room such as any of the following. • Oil-filled transformer room. • Switch gear room. • Boiler room. • Storage space for fuel or other highly flammable substance(s). • Room that houses a fixed internal combustion engine.
PlaceOfSpecialHazard
PurposeGroup1a
Dwellinghouse that contains a habitable storey with a floor level a minimum of 4.5m above ground level up to a maximum of 18m.
PurposeGroup1b
Dwellinghouse that does not contain a habitable storey with a floor level a minimum of 4.5m above ground level.
PurposeGroup1c
Hospital, home, school or other similar establishment, where people sleep on the premises. The building may be either of the following: • Living accommodation for, or accommodation for the treatment, care or maintenance of, either: - disabled people with a range of impairments including physical, sensory and cognitive impairments, or mental health conditions - people under the age of 5 years. • A place of lawful detention.
PurposeGroup2a
Hotel, boarding house, residential college, hall of residence, hostel or any other residential purpose not described above.
PurposeGroup2b
PurposeGroup3
Shops or premises used for either of the following. • A retail trade or business (including selling food or drink to the public for immediate consumption, retail by auction, self-selection and over-the-counter wholesale trading, the business of lending books or periodicals for gain, the business of a barber or hairdresser, and the rental of storage space to the public). • Premises to which the public are invited either: – to deliver or collect goods in connection with their hire, repair or other treatment – (except in the case of repair of motor vehicles) where the public themselves may carry out such repairs or other treatments.
PurposeGroup4
Place of assembly, entertainment or recreation, including any of the following: • bingo halls, broadcasting, recording and film studios open to the public, casinos, dance halls • entertainment, conference, exhibition and leisure centres • funfairs and amusement arcades • museums and art galleries, non-residential clubs, theatres, cinemas, concert halls • educational establishments, dancing schools, gymnasia, swimming pool buildings, riding schools, skating rinks, sports pavilions, sports stadia • law courts • churches and other buildings of worship, crematoria • libraries open to the public, non-residential day centres, clinics, health centres and surgeries • passenger stations and termini for air, rail, road or sea travel • public toilets • zoos and menageries.
PurposeGroup5
Factories and other premises used for any of the following: • manufacturing, altering, repairing, cleaning, washing, breaking up, adapting or processing any article • generating power • slaughtering livestock.
PurposeGroup6
Either of the following: • place (other than described under 7(b)) for the storage or deposit of goods or materials • any building not within purpose groups 1 to 6.
PurposeGroup7a
Car parks designed to admit and accommodate only cars, motorcycles and passenger or light goods vehicles that weigh a maximum of 2500kg gross.
PurposeGroup7b
A utilization purpose for a college providing on-site residential accommodation for students.
ResidentialCollege
A place of education for children between 2 and 19 years old. The term includes nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools as defined in the Education Act 1996.
School
A space usage for rooms primarily housing building services equipment and infrastructure.
ServiceUsage
Includes two or more dwellings in the same building or on adjacent sites, designed and constructed as residential accommodation for vulnerable or elderly people who receive, or will receive, a support service.
ShelteredHousing
Shops or premises used for either of the following. • A retail trade or business (including selling food or drink to the public for immediate consumption, retail by auction, self-selection and over the-counter wholesale trading, the business of lending books or periodicals for gain, the business of a barber or hairdresser, and the rental of storage space to the public). • Premises to which the public are invited either: – to deliver or collect goods in connection with their hire, repair or other treatment – (except in the case of repair of motor vehicles) where the public themselves may carry out such repairs or other treatments.
Shop
A utilization purpose for premises used for storing goods or materials.
Storage
A final exit, or a doorway that gives direct access into a protected stairway, firefighting lobby or external escape route. NOTE: If an institutional building is planned to enable progressive horizontal evacuation, a door in a compartment wall is considered a storey exit for the purposes of requirement B1.
StoreyExitRole
Assumption that the building structure maintains load-bearing stability for the required period during a fire event.
StructuralStabilityPerformanceAspect
A switchgear room in a building is a dedicated space that houses electrical equipment used to control, protect, and isolate the building's electrical system, such as circuit breakers, switches, and fuses.
SwitchGearRoom
A transformer room is a dedicated space within a building that houses transformers and associated electrical equipment to step down high-voltage electricity from the grid to a usable low voltage for the building.
TransformerRoom
A compliance result indicating that the compliance status could not be determined from available evidence.
UndeterminedResult
A condition state indicating that the physical condition of a boundary element cannot be determined from available evidence.
Unknown
Unprotected area (in relation to a side or external wall of a building) All of the following are classed as unprotected areas. • Any part of the external wall that has less than the relevant fire resistance set out in Section 11. • Any part of the external wall constructed of material more than 1mm thick if that material does not have a class B-s3, d2 rating or better, which is attached or applied, whether for cladding or any other purpose. • Windows, doors or other openings. This does not include windows that are designed and glazed to give the necessary level of fire resistance and that are not openable. NOTE: Recessed car parking areas as shown in Diagram A1 should not be regarded as unprotected areas.
UnprotectedAreaRole
A warehouse is a large building used for storing goods, such as raw materials, finished products, or equipment, until they are needed for manufacturing, distribution, or sale.
Warehouse