Passive building fire safety and the provision of
fire services installations are basically designed
following the prescriptive codes issued by the
government Buildings Department (BD) [1-3] and
Fire Services Department (FSD) [4]. However,
prescriptive codes might not be suitable for
buildings with new design features. Therefore,
‘engineering approach’ in Hong Kong [5] (or
engineering performance-based fire codes in
overseas) are used. Though the codes are different
in different countries, flame spreading over lining
and finishes materials is a key element [6].