FireBIMFireBIM

Modelling guideline

What a BIM modeller needs to put in an IFC model so that FireBIM can read the fire-safety information.

Official FBO → IFC mapping

The authoritative table of which IFC class, property set and property to use for each FireBIM concept (current version 2026.09.04, draft, issued 2026-09-04). Filter by IFC entity, country or buildingSMART-standard properties, and download it as Turtle or CSV.

Open the mapping table

Note: the mapping above is the FireBIM default. Users and organisations may work with other mappings – the FireBIM platform lets every user maintain their own term mappings, and compliance checks follow the mapping you select. Whatever mapping you use, the modelling principles below stay the same.

Principles

1. Complete spatial structure

Model the full IfcProject → IfcSite → IfcBuilding → IfcBuildingStorey → IfcSpace hierarchy. Every room, corridor, stair and shaft that matters for evacuation or compartmentation must be an IfcSpace with a floor-area quantity (Qto_SpaceBaseQuantities.NetFloorArea) – many area-based FireBIM concepts are derived from it.

2. Fire compartments as zones

Group the spaces of a fire compartment in an IfcZone (early design) or model the compartment as an IfcSpatialZone.FIRESAFETY with geometry (detailed design). Which one you use depends on the design stage and your software – the mapping table lists both options per concept.

3. Fire properties on elements

Walls, slabs, doors and windows carry their fire performance in the standard buildingSMART property sets (Pset_WallCommon.FireRating, Pset_DoorCommon.FireRating, Pset_WallCommon.IsExternal, Pset_DoorCommon.SelfClosing, …). Where IFC has no standard property, use the FireBIM custom property set CPset_FireBIM with the property names exactly as given in the mapping table (for example CPset_FireBIM.Compartment to name the compartment a space belongs to).

4. Evacuation and access

Exits and escape doors need Pset_DoorCommon.FireExit = TRUE; staircases, corridors and refuges need the space types and Pset_SpaceFireSafetyRequirements values listed in the mapping. Site access for the fire service is described on IfcSite.

5. Use the national terms

National regulations define terms differently. The national FBO modules (FBO-BE, FBO-DK, FBO-LT, FBO-NL, FBO-PT) contain the legal definitions and the regulation articles behind each concept, and link every national term to its European umbrella concept and to the IFC mapping.

Workflow in the FireBIM platform

  1. Export IFC 4.3 (IFC4 is accepted) with property sets and base quantities enabled.
  2. Upload the model on app.firebim.org; the model is converted to a building graph.
  3. Choose the ontology release and the mapping (official or your own) in the Lexicon.
  4. Run the rule books for your country and review the diagnostics – missing properties are reported per element.

The guideline evolves with the ontology. Versions of the mapping are permanently available on the ontologies page.