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My question is about small assembly occupancies and the total area of accessory occupancies per floor, with the 2021 IBC being the governing code. A small assembly occupancy can be considered part of the overall building occupancy if it is less than 750 sq ft and is accessory to that other occupancy (Section 303.1.2(2)).
My confusion comes when applying 508.2.3, which says that aggregate accessory occupancies cannot exceed 10% of the floor area. Is the small assembly occupancy still considered accessory, or is it part of the overall occupancy? Two scenarios have come up recently with multiple architects having differing interpretations. Assume the main occupancy is R-2. 1) Multiple small assembly occupancies scattered throughout the floor, that when added together, make up more than 10% of the floor area. Is the 10% in aggregate or is it per small assembly occupancy? One line of thought is that 303.1.2(2) is applied to each small assembly occupancy, meaning that they're all considered R-2. 2) A small assembly occupancy that is less than 10% of the floor area, but other accessory occupancies (storage for example) push the total accessory area over 10%. Does the small assembly occupancy not contribute to the 10% since it's considered part of the overall occupancy? Or does the small assembly occupancy + the storage occupancy need to be under 10%? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
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Is it permitted to install fire pump cables, from the controller panel to the motor, through a cable tray using armored cables, at a height of about 4 inches (10 cm) above the finished floor level?
Are there any code or standard requirements that affect this? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have a project where there is one large building that has many different activities throughout. There is also a trailer that is not connected to the building by walkway or anything except some plumbing for what I believe is a restroom.
This trailer is maybe 2-4 feet away from the larger main building, and the activity being done in the area closest to this trailer is woodworking/carpentry. I am trying to determine how the trailer should be classified to determine the requirements for a fire alarm system. I have gone back and forth between NFPA 101 and the IBC, but I am either overthinking or underthinking the scenario. I would just like to ensure I understand the criteria correctly because these two buildings do not share exit access or an exit, but may share an exit discharge. Would it be correct to classify the trailer as an existing business occupancy and look at Chapter 39 of NFPA 101? If I arrive there and look at Section 39.3.4.1, it appears that the three criteria listed there, which the trailer would not meet, result in a fire alarm system not being required. This does not sound correct but I could not piece together why. A ny help would be much appreciated! Thanks! Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe NFPA 2001, Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems now require an egress time study to show that the design limits exposure to halocarbon agents is no longer than 5 minutes, like FK-5-1-12 (NOVEC 1230), HFC-227ea (FM 200).
This comes from 2018 Edition Section 1.5.14, 2020 Edition Section 4.3.4, and 2022 Edition Section 4.3.4. Exposure time for inert gas agents will depend on the oxygen levels within the space or room. Concentration below 43 percent shall be permitted where exposure is no longer than 5 minutes. Concentration between 43 and 52 percent shall be permitted where exposure is no longer than 3 minutes. The annex of NFPA 2001 tells us to review the NFPA Handbook and the SFPE Handbook for more information. Is anyone doing these calculations, and if so, what exit flow, movement speed, and reaction time would you consider appropriate for spaces using these systems? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We're looking at "refuge areas" per 2024 IBC (not to be confused with "areas of refuge" in NFPA 101) within smoke compartments to satisfy the requirements for smoke barriers in Group I-1, Condition 2 in the IBC. Can the "refuge area" be calculated to include portions of the floor/smoke compartment that are open to the exterior of the building? For example, an occupant load of 80 persons receiving care on the fifth floor of a Group I-1, Condition 2 occupancy would require a minimum of two (2) smoke compartments to be provided (420.6). Each smoke compartment must be provided with a refuge area sized to accommodate 15 sqft/care recipient plus 6 sqft/other occupant and "areas or spaces permitted to be included in the calculation of the refuge area are corridors, lounge or dining areas and other low-hazard areas" (420.6.1). If each side of the smoke compartment is provided with an exterior lounge/amenity area, may this be used as the "refuge area" to meet the minimum required square footage?  Subject: Two story convenience opening separation from corridors. NFPA 101 (2021 edition) Section 8.6.9.1 permits convenience openings for two adjacent stories. But, these convenience openings shall be separated from corridors (requirement #3) and further states that separation should be by a smoke partition (requirement #5). How do you define a corridor versus an open floor area or lobby per NFPA 101, since no definitions are given within the code? Jurisdiction is required to follow NFPA 1 and NFPA 101. For example, a building has a large assembly space on the second floor. All doors from the assembly space lead to a ~40'-0" wide circulation space (+200'-0" long in the other direction). To reach the building exit stair, occupants from the assembly room must traverse the 40'-0" wide circulation space. Within this circulation space is a ~20'-0" x 40'-0" vertical opening that connects the 1st and 2nd floor. Should this circulation space be considered a corridor, and should the vertical opening be prohibited from being classified as a convenience opening without a smoke partition separating from the corridor? Or is the 2nd floor space to be considered an open floor area, with exits immediately accessible in different directions (NFPA 101 7.5.1.1.1) and not consider it a corridor? The width of the circulation space seems too wide to be defined as a corridor but NFPA only provides minimum width requirements for corridors, and no maximum width for a space to be considered a corridor as far as I can determine. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe  As many/most of us know, there's an internationally standardized pictogram (symbol) for exit signs that's common in many countries worldwide. However, it's not yet common in the US, likely due to what appears to be a misconception that the IBC/IFC only allows "EXIT" lettering. IBC/IFC Section 1013.5 requires internally illuminated exit signs to be listed to UL 924. (There's a different section on externally-illuminated exit signs, 1013.6.1, that specifies "EXIT" lettering, however, the vast majority of exit signs are internally-illuminated and therefore not subject to anything under 1013.6 due to that section's scope clause.) UL 924 was revised a while back to allow the internationally standardized pictogram, including in lieu of "EXIT" lettering. (see section 42 of UL 924) Therefore, my impression is that a UL-listed internally-illuminated exit sign that uses the internationally-standardized pictogram complies with the IBC/IFC. (There are such products currently on the market.) Are UL-listed internally-illuminated exit signs using the pictogram in compliance with IBC/IFC? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe  Does anyone know the historical context of why a 90-minute door is permitted on a 2-hour barrier?
Why the 30-minute difference? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe The 2018 IBC, Section 1009.7 for Exterior Area for Assisted Rescue (EAAR) requires exterior walls within 10 feet to be rated 1-hour for exposure to fire from the inside.
When a window is located within 10 feet of the EAAR, can it be protected with a window sprinkler system? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe What occupancy would you classify two sleeping rooms in an office building (otherwise B Occupancy)?
The area of the two rooms is 400 sf, and the area of the offices is 6,870 sf. Will the rooms be R-2? Does the building need sprinklers as a result? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I understand the definition of the "Common Path" from Section 3.3.49 in NFPA 101, but within the examples it is up to the point when you reach a corridor and have the two exit alternatives. In a case like the one in the image shown below, the orange area is very wide, or open space, up to where they would measure the common travel distance. At what point does the path of common travel stop in a scenario like this? What is that threshold?  In NFPA 101, is a solid riser and a solid tread required for an Exit Stair? See the image below that is metal tread but wouldn't have solid risers. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe  We have a sprinkler protected facility where we have a corridor that exceeds 50-ft in length.
At the end of the corridor is a door that leads to the apparatus bay. It's not a means of egress leading to an exit (higher hazard on the other side). The required means of egress are at other locations in the facility. Is this considered a dead end corridor under NFPA 101? In all the examples I've found on the topic, the end is truly dead-end with no means of exiting. What's your take on this? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have an airline opening a training facility in our jurisdiction. The building is fully sprinklered and has a fire alarm.
They wish to install a static airplane fuselage for training airplane cabin personnel. This would be a functioning fuselage with standard airplane doors with ramps. Has anyone had an experience with this? This is a fully sprinklered building so our thinking is the fuselage needs sprinkler coverage inside. Is this correct? This building has a fire alarm system so our thinking is the fuselage needs notification devices. Is this correct? The fuselage doors do not meet the code requirement for egress doors (locks, swing, etc), how is this addressed? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Is it a requirement to have a 42-inch handrail on the edge of the building, due to the standpipe hose connections and this needing to be accessible for the fire department use? If it's required, it seems that handrails could apply under IBC 2018 Section 1015.6.  Thanks in advance.
Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have a multistory hotel building with the rooms opening to an exterior corridor. There is Exterior Insulation Finish System (EIFS) along the walls of the exterior corridor.
NFPA 13 (2022), Section 9.2.3.3 allows omission of sprinklers from exterior exit corridors where the exterior wall of the corridor is at least 50% open and where the corridor is entirely of noncombustible construction. It seems from research that EIFS is considered combustible and would require sprinkler protection along the exterior corridor. Has anyone done more research on this or has this come up before for other projects with EIFS in the exterior corridors and ultimately required sprinkler protection? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe If a stair structure is supporting the fire barriers that enclose the exit enclosure, does the stair structure have to be fire rated as well?
Looking specifically at IBC 2018 Section 707.5.1 and NFPA 101 (2018) Section 7.1.3.2. If there is a fire inside a stair, the means of egress is no longer usable and at that point are you protecting the interior of the building from the fire inside the exit enclosure? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe A lot of office buildings and public transit depot buildings are being designed with "quiet" or "wellness" rooms for tired employees to take a break and "rest," leading a lot of AHJs to ask if these rooms are R occupancies.
The designed use is not a sleeping room and many clients "prohibit" sleeping but everyone agrees that it could be used as a sleeping room. Typically they're size for 1-5 people and have lounge chairs (no beds) so they fall under the accessory use category to the rest of the building. For example, assume a multi-story office building where each floor has one of these rooms, less than 500 square feet, no beds just chairs, room is entirely open inside. How would you treat these rooms and how would you address the requirements for corridors in the building assuming its a sprinklered building? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Is there an egress requirement for a garage structure that only houses the car stacker, with 10 bays and 3 levels?
What would a code path be for or against such a requirement? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I understand that Chapter 7 of NFPA 101 applies to stairs on the means of egress.
However, in the case of a feature stair, does the same dimensional requirements and handrails on both sides still apply? In theory, should a person be on the feature stair when the fire alarm activates, they would need to traverse the stair to escape and it therefore forms part of the means of egress? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe In the corridors of an apartment building (wrap) there are fire doors that are double-egress pairs that are left-hand-reverse by left-hand reverse which follows the natural traffic pattern within the corridor.  However, there are also several right-hand-reverse by right-hand-reverse in the same corridor.
Is there a requirement one way or another on which direction these are supposed to be? I informed the project manager that the egress needs to follow the natural traffic pattern. I was curious about the different flow patterns of the doors so I researched the code but was unable to locate anything in the code regarding whether it was code or not, except for the AHJ. The county where I live also agreed with me but if someone out there knows if this is code please respond. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe A business occupancy we're working on has 550 occupants, and requires three means of egress per Section 7.4.1.2 (NFPA 101, 2018 Edition).
Section 7.5.1.1.1 indicates that egress shall be arranged such that each occupant has access to not less than two means of egress. When the three means of egress are required per Section 7.4.1.2, does access to all three means of egress need to be provided to each occupant? Or will providing access for each occupant to a minimum of two means of egress satisfy the code requirement? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe NFPA 101, Section 39.2.2.2.2* Door Locking to Prevent Unwanted Entry. Where approved, doors, other than those complying with 39.2.11.2, shall be permitted to be locked to prevent unwanted entry provided that all of the following conditions are met:
Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe A high-rise is considered a building with an occupied floor located more than 75-ft above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access.
Would a rooftop access stair with floor level located at 76' warrant the requirements of a high-rise building? IBC 2015 Section 1011.12.2 states that where a stairway is provided for roof access shall be provided through a penthouse complying with 1510.2. Section 1510.2 states penthouse complying with 1510.2.1-5 shall be considered part of the story below. The roof is not occupied and is only provided for egress for equipment access for equipment located on the roof. Technically a portion of the occupied story is located above 75-ft. Do I need to meet highrise requirements? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have a new construction highrise that's more than 128-ft in height.
Under the IBC, 2018, Section 3007, it would require two firefighter elevators. Can we use one dedicated firefighter elevator, with a protected lobby, and the other one an emergency passenger elevator, without a lobby, where we would use the pressurization option in lieu of the elevator lobby requirement? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe |
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