We've been having trouble interpreting tire storage requirements regarding enforcement for our inspectors for both indoor and outdoor existing buildings within our district.

The code path: The scope of Chapter 34 - Tire Rebuilding and Tire Storage of the IFC states that tire storage facilities shall comply with Chapter 34 as well as NFPA 13, and that, particularly, storage in buildings shall also comply with Chapter 32 - High-Piled Combustible Storage.

For the Indoor Storage case: According to NFPA 13 Section 3.3.136, tire storage is considered miscellaneous and incidental to the occupancy if they don't exceed the thresholds denoted in that section.

In this case, from an egress perspective, are we correct in assuming aisle widths would be governed by IFC § 1018.5—giving a minimum of 28 inches if nonpublicly accessed and the occupant load is less than 50?

Otherwise, wouldn't the width have to be no less than that of a corridor maintained at 44 inches or greater as determined by the occupant load?

Conversely, say the area of storage outlined by NFPA 13 is exceeded, then both Chapters 34 and 32 (if storage height exceeds 6 ft as it's considered a high hazard commodity) of the IFC apply. Chapter 34 gives thresholds for on-tread vs. other storage arrangements and wheel hole alignment as they pertain to storage alongside/against adjacent walls.

Once the storage height exceeds 6 feet, does Chapter 32 trigger the full suite of fire protection requirements in Table 3206.2 based on public vs. non-public access and total storage area?

For non-rack storage arrangements, would aisle widths and egress considerations then fall to whether the building is sprinklered or non-sprinklered per IFC §3206.10.1.1 & 3206.10.1.2?

Finally, for storage that exceeds the miscellaneous tire thresholds per NFPA 13 but stays under the 6-foot height cap (meaning Chapter 32 high-piled rules don't apply), we still have to watch the total volume.

Once storage volume exceeds 20,000 cubic feet, is it automatically considered "bulk storage of tires," classified as a Group S-1, and would egress then default back to Chapter 10 aisle widths in that scenario?

Thanks in advance.

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I'm working on a church youth building in a rural area and trying not to sprinkler due to cost. Occupant load of each wing is under 300. Wings to be separated with a double fire wall between the lobby and the east wing.

NFPA 221 (2018) Section 6.10.1 requires the length of openings not to exceed 25% of the fire wall length.

Does that apply in this scenario? See image below for openings within the fire wall.

​(Note: There are other emergency exits for the west wing not shown in the image for use in case of fire.) Thank you for your help.

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I’m working on a super high-rise scheme, five towers over a common 9-story podium. Towers are more than 12 m apart; no connection above podium level; transfer slab is 3-hour rated and sprinklered throughout.

Client is proposing 2 x 2,500 L diesel tanks at the lower technical floor of each tower plus a 900 L tank at each roof technical floor, so 5,900 L per tower and 29,500 L across the development.

The issue is that IBC Section 605.4.2.2 sets the aggregate fuel oil quantity on a per-building basis, with a maximum of 3,000 gallons (11,350 L) where protected above-ground tanks to UL 2085 are used in a sprinklered building. Per tower, we are within that limit, but across the development as a single building, we are not, by a wide margin.

​If the podium is 3-hour separated from all towers above, can I take a separate fuel limit for each tower, or do I have to add up the fuel across all five towers on the basis that the development is a single building?

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A building will partially be a data center as part of a Group B Occupancy in the IBC.

Is a fire-resistance-rated separation required between the data halls and the offices?

The data center area has accessory rooms such as a sprinkler riser room and a fiber cable entry, which are rated, but I'm looking at the data hall versus office specifically. Table 509 of the IBC doesn't mention anything about data center areas specifically. 

Thanks in advance.

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I have a project under the 2015 International Codes that is building onto an existing fitness center/gym. The existing building has an A-3 occupancy under 12,000 SF, but an occupant load over 300 people. The total fire area of this existing building is 22,300 SF. Also, the building is not sprinklered.

There is a new building going directly next to the existing building that will connect the two (they share a wall).

The new building is an aquatic center (pool and splashpad) with an A-3 occupancy under 12,000 SF, but an occupant load over 300 people. The total fire area of this new building is 13,000 SF.

The architect was originally trying to see if sprinklers could be removed from the scope (since there are none in the existing building), but based on the occupancy and square footage of the new building, sprinklers will be required (IBC 903.2.1.3). Since sprinklers are required in the new building, the architect is trying to determine what type of separation is required at the two buildings (fire partition, fire barrier, or fire wall) to avoid requiring retrofitting sprinklers in the existing building.

My take on it was to provide a "Fire Wall" to completely separate the buildings and not calling the existing plus new spaces a "single building" which could push us into requiring sprinklers throughout the existing building.

In addition, IBC 903.2.1 indicates that sprinklers "shall be provided throughout buildings and portions thereof used as Group A occupancies provided in this section" and sprinklers "shall be provided throughout the story where the fire area containing Group A-1, A-2, A-3, or A-4 is located and throughout all stories from the Group A occupancy to, and including, the levels of exit discharge serving the Group A occupancy." I then looked at the commentary on Group A-3 occupancies (903.2.1.3) which stated "an automatic sprinkler system is required throughout the fire area containing the Group A-3 occupancy, including the entire story where the Group A-3 occupancy is located..."

Based on 903.2.1 and the commentary on 903.2.1.3 it sounds like anything less than a "fire wall" used to completely separate the buildings, we would need to sprinkler the entire floor that the A-3 occupancy exists including the adjacent building since the are connected and share a wall. The architect's code consultant said I was wrong and that sprinklers are only required within the "fire area" and a "fire barrier" is sufficient.

In addition, IBC 903.1.1 indicates that if the code requires a building to be sprinklered then they are to be provided throughout. NFPA 13 (2019) also indicates that if a building is protected by a sprinkler system, then sprinklers are to be provided in all areas except for omissions indicated in the standard. I brought up this NFPA requirement and the code consultant said I was also wrong with this and that sprinklers are only limited to fire areas and aren't required to be installed throughout the building.

​I would appreciate any thoughts on this, thank you.

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I am the third-party reviewer for an existing building that is a high-rise but does not have elevator pressurization.

If this were a new building, IBC (2021) Section 3006.3 would apply. But, this is an existing building, and the work qualifies as an Alteration Level 2. The primary engineer says that since the freight elevator is within the work area (although not being touched), per IEBC 801.3, the client will need to install either elevator curtains or a vestibule to keep smoke out per Section 3006.3.

I am of the opinion that since they aren't touching the elevator, I think the IEBC 803.1 is a stretch, and the fact that per Exception 5 of the Vertical Openings Section (803.2.1), the elevator isn't even required to be enclosed. (I do think it's a good idea though, and it's not like it's every floor, only their project space would get curtained.

This is purely a code required question, though.

Does an existing high-rise with Level 2 Alteration trigger smoke management here, even though the elevator is not altered?

Thanks in advance.

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Does a panoramic or free-standing elevator have to be in a fire-rated shaft if it's not penetrating a floor assembly?

IBC 3002.1 requires shaft enclosures per Sections 712 and 713 and opening protections for the shaft, but in this photo example of an elevator in an open atrium, I wouldn't think it's penetrating a floor slab, so it would be required to be in a shaft. I believe that the wall facing the floor would need to be rated accordingly, but not the rest of the shaft.

I'm pretty sure this makes sense, but I don't see any code language that would explicitly say this is right.

​Thanks in advance.

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My company just completed design/build construction of a canopy structure over a courtyard between two restaurant buildings located on the east & west sides.

We assigned an Occupancy Classification of A-5. The structure is all steel, other than the roof construction is comprised of the following layers: 22 gauge steel B deck, 7/16 inch OSB, 24 gauge metal standing seam. The standing seam contractor asked for a solid substrate, instead of metal to metal (Standing Seam attached to the B Deck.

We agreed to add the OSB. We examined the 2018 IBC and assessed that we could use the OSB. Our assessment concluded that the entire structure could be built with wood framing without sprinklers (A-5, no enclosures, height 37ft, 6,090 sf, Type V(A) Construction).

The AHJ shut us down and told us we needed to remove the OSB (combustible material).

What we didn't know was that the City and developer executed a Covenant Agreement that stipulated the Canopy was an A-3 Assembly occupancy. This was arranged because the developer didn't want the exterior restaurant walls to be fire-rated because of the ease of movement from the restaurant to the courtyard.

As a result, the OSB needs to be changed to fire-retardant-treated plywood.

Was the original classification of A-5 occupancy (which could have been wood) canopy assembly an acceptable approach?

Picture below, showing the galvanized steel deck.

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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.

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NFPA references are based on current editions. While NFPA 101, Section 30.3.1.1.4 (New Apartments) allows vertical penetrations to be protected with a 1-hour rating when sprinklered, NFPA 101, Section 30.5.2 requires HVAC equipment to comply with NFPA 90A.

According to NFPA 90A, Sections 9.1.3 and 6.8.3, a higher level of protection is required for shafts that penetrate more than four floors (2-hr fire rated and fire dampers).

Does the exception provided in NFPA 101 permit reducing the required fire rating to 1-hour for duct shafts, or does NFPA 90A take precedence?

I'm curious to hear different perspectives on this.

I can understand both sides of the issue but find it challenging to justify allowing a 1-hour fire rating for a vertical exit within a New Apartment while requiring a 2-hour fire rating for the duct shafts.

Thanks in advance.
​
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Imagine you have a 6-unit, true townhouse-construction building covered by the 2018 IRC under construction. It has an NFPA 13D sprinkler and a one-hour separation between units, but​ there is one common closet for the sprinkler riser and domestic water main. This closet is accessed only through a door on the exterior and is under the control of the landlord, not the tenant.

What is the code path to require any fire separation between that closet and the dwelling units?

There is no dog house off the side. The IRC only seems to call out separation between units, and even if you go into the IBC, it is not apparent.

Thanks in advance.

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