CLOSURE OF MUSTAFA CENTRE

CLOSURE OF MUSTAFA CENTRE

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(Review for existing commercial buildings): **

3.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for National Development in view of the recent closure of Mustafa Centre's ground floor for overcrowding and safety issues (a) how does the Ministry calculate and approve building development plans with regard to maximum payload and human traffic flow within a building; and (b) will there be a review done for future and existing commercial buildings.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: The permitted occupancy load per floor in a building is computed based on the size and usage of space within the floor. Under the Fire Code issued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the occupant load factor for shops and office space is 5 square metres per person and 10 square metres per person respectively. Overcrowding occurs when the number of persons on the floor at a particular time exceeds the maximum number of occupants allowed. These requirements are also clearly made known to building owners and operators.

For safety reasons, SCDF also requires the Qualified Person (either a Professional Engineer or a Registered Architect) designing the building to ensure that sufficient exits are provided at the onset based on the maximum occupancy load. Commercial buildings such as shops and offices that exceed four storeys in height (excluding basements) should provide at least two exit staircases for safe evacuation. The width requirements of the exit staircases would be determined based on the occupancy load of the building.

Hence, when occupancy load on a floor has been exceeded, it poses significant danger to people in the event of a fire and may impede speedy evacuation and escape.

The current method of determining occupancy load is adopted from the British Standard (BF9999:2008), a widely recognised standard which is also used in many other European countries. The SCDF will continue to use this standard in determining occupancy load.

Separately, the Building Control Regulations require the Qualified Person to design building floors to carry imposed load based on the type of activity or occupancy and reference is made to the British Standard (BS 6399 on Loading for Buildings) on the appropriate values to be adopted. The Regulations also require the owner to affix a notice on every storey stating the imposed load for which the floor has been designed. The Regulations prohibit buildings to be subjected to any load beyond its design load.

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