Life Safety Code

The publication Life Safety Code, known as NFPA 101, is a consensus standard widely adopted in the United States.^{[ according to whom? ]} It is administered, trademarked, copyrighted, and published by the National Fire Protection Association and, like many NFPA documents, is systematically revised on a three-year cycle.^{[ citation needed ]}

Contents

• History
• Ongoing amendment
• Current code
• Sample sections
• See also
• References
• External links

Despite its title, the standard is not a legal code, is not published as an instrument of law, and has no statutory authority in its own right. However, it is deliberately crafted with language suitable for mandatory application to facilitate adoption into law by those empowered to do so.

The bulk of the standard addresses "those construction, protection, and occupancy features necessary to minimize danger to life from the effects of fire, including smoke, heat, and toxic gases created during a fire.". ^[1] The standard does not address the "general fire prevention or building construction features that are normally a function of fire prevention codes and building codes". ^[2]

History

The Life Safety Code was originated in 1913 by the Committee on Safety to Life (one of the NFPA's more than 200 committees). As noted in the 1991 Life Safety Code Handbook; "...the Committee devoted its attention to a study of notable fires involving loss of life and to analyzing the causes of that loss of life. This work led to the preparation of standards for the construction of stairways,fire escapes, and similar structures; for fire drills in various occupancies and for the construction and arrangement of exit facilities for factories, schools and other occupancies, which form the basis of the present Code." ^[3] This study became the basis for two early NFPA publications, "Outside Stairs for Fire Exits" (1916) and "Safeguarding Factory Workers from Fire" (1918).

In 1921 the Committee on Safety to Life expanded and the publication they generated in 1927 became known as the Building Exits Code. New editions were published in 1929, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1942 and 1946.

After a disastrous series of fires between 1942 and 1946, including the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire in Boston, which claimed the lives of 492 people and the Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta which claimed 119 lives, the Building Exits Code began to be utilized as potential legal legislation. The verbiage of the code, however, was intended for building contractors and not legal statutes, so the NFPA decided to re-edit the Code and some revisions appeared in the 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1952 publications. The editions published in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963 refined the verbiage and presentation even further.

In 1955 the NPFA101 was broken into three separate documents, NFPA101B (covering nursing homes) and NFPA101C (covering interior finishes). NFPA101C was revised once in 1956 before both publications were withdrawn and pertinent passages re-incorporated back into the main body.

The Committee on Safety to Life was restructured in 1963 and the first publication in 1966 was a complete revision. The title was changed from Building Exits Code to Code for Safety to Life from Fire in Buildings and Structures. The final revision to all "code language" (legalese) was made and it was decided that the Code would be revised and republished on a three-year schedule.^{[ citation needed ]}

New editions were subsequently published in 1967, 1970, 1973 and 1976. The Committee was reorganized again in 1977 and the 1981 edition of the Code featured major editorial and structural changes that reflect the organization of the modern Code.^{[ citation needed ]}

Ongoing amendment

Codes produced by NFPA are continually updated to incorporate new technologies as well as lessons learned from actual fire experiences.^{[ citation needed ]}

The fire at The Station nightclub in 2003, which claimed the lives of 100 and injured more than 200, resulted in swift attention to several amendments specific to nightclubs and large crowds.

Current code

The Life Safety Code is unusual among safety codes in that it applies to existing structures as well as new structures. When a Code revision is adopted into local law, existing structures may have a grace period before they must comply, but all structures must comply with code. In some cases, the authority having jurisdiction can simply permit previously approved features to be used under specified conditions. In other cases, the local law amends the Code to omit undesired sections prior to its adoption.

When some or all of the Code is adopted as regulations in a jurisdiction, it can be enforced by inspectors from local zoning boards, fire departments, building inspectors, fire marshals or other bodies and authorities having jurisdiction.

In particular, the Life Safety Code deals with hazards to human life in buildings, public and private conveyances and other human occupancies, but only when permanently fixed to a foundation, attached to a building, or permanently moored for human habitation. ^[4] Regardless of official adoption as regulations, Life Safety Code provides a valuable source for determination of liability in accidents, and many codes and related standards are sponsored by insurance companies.

The Life Safety Code is coordinated with hundreds of other building codes and standards such as National Electrical Code NFPA 70, fuel-gas, mechanical, plumbing (for sprinklers and standpipes), energy and fire codes.

Normally, the Life Safety Code is used by architects and designers of vehicles and vessels used for human occupancy. Since the Life Safety Code is a valuable source for determining liability in accidents, it is also used by insurance companies to evaluate risks and set rates, not to mention assessment of compliance after an incident.

In the United States, the words Life Safety Code and NFPA 101 are registered trademarks of NFPA. All or part of the NFPA's Life Safety Code are adopted as local regulations throughout the country.

Sample sections

This listing of chapters from the 2009 edition ^[5] shows the scope of the Code.

Beyond the policies, core definitions and topical requirements of chapters 1–11, chapters 12–42 address the specific requirements for each listed class of occupancy, making reference to Chapters 1–11, as well as other codes.

• 1. Administration
• 2. Referenced Publications
• 3. Definitions
• 4. General
• 5. Performance Based Option
• 6. Classification of Occupancy and Hazard of Contents
• 7. Means of Egress
• 8. Features of Fire Protection
• 9. Building Service and Fire Protection Equipment
• 10. Interior Finish, Contents and Furnishings
• 11. Special structures and High Rise Buildings
• 12. New Assembly Occupancies
• 13. Existing Assembly Occupancies
• 14. New Educational Occupancies
• 15. Existing Educational Occupancies
• 16 New Day-Care Occupancies
• 17. Existing Day Care Occupancies
• 18. New Health Care Occupancies
• 19. Existing Health Care Occupancies
• 20. New Ambulatory Health Care Occupancies
• 21. Existing Ambulatory Health Care Occupancies
• 22. New Detention and Correctional Occupancies
• 23. Existing Detention and Correctional Occupancies
• 24. One- and Two-Family Dwellings
• 25. Reserved
• 26. Lodging and Rooming Houses
• 27. Reserved
• 28. New Hotels and Dormitories
• 29. Existing Hotels and Dormitories
• 30. New Apartment Buildings
• 31. Existing Apartment Buildings
• 32. New Residential Board and Care Occupancies
• 33. Existing Residential Board and Care Facilities
• 34. Reserved
• 35. Reserved
• 36. New Mercantile Occupancies
• 37. Existing Mercantile Occupancies
• 38. New Business Occupancies
• 39. Existing Business Occupancies
• 40. Industrial Occupancies
• 41. Reserved
• 42. Storage Occupancies
• 43. Building Rehabilitation (first appeared in 2006 Code)
• Annex A: Explanatory material
• Annex B: Use of elevators for early evacuation
• Annex C: Supplemental Evacuation Equipment

The Code and corresponding Handbook also include several supplemental publications including:

• Case Histories: Fires Influencing the Life Safety Code
• Fire Alarm Systems for Life Safety Code Users (NFPA 72 and related standards)
• Brief Introduction to Sprinkler Systems... (NFPA 13)
• Fire Test Standards (According to 25 different codes)
• Home Security and Fire Safety (crime prevention versus fire safety)
• Application of Performance Based Design Concepts
• Technical and substantive changes

See also

• Building code
• Fire code
• Fire Safety Equivalency System
• Sanitation code
• OSHA
• Electrical code

Related Research Articles

A firewall is a fire-resistant barrier used to prevent the spread of fire. Firewalls are built between or through buildings, structures, or electrical substation transformers, or within an aircraft or vehicle.

The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, at The Station, a nightclub and hard rock music venue in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. During a concert by the rock band Great White, a pyrotechnic display ignited flammable acoustic foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. Within six minutes, the entire building was engulfed in flames. The fire was the deadliest fireworks accident in U.S. history and the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It was also the second-deadliest nightclub fire in New England, behind the 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire.

A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water supply system providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, to which fire sprinklers are connected. Although initially used only in factories and large commercial buildings, systems for homes and small buildings are now available at a cost-effective price.

The National Electrical Code (NEC), or NFPA 70, is a regionally adoptable standard for the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment in the United States. It is part of the National Fire Code series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a private trade association. Despite the use of the term "national," it is not a federal law. It is typically adopted by states and municipalities in an effort to standardize their enforcement of safe electrical practices. In some cases, the NEC is amended, altered and may even be rejected in lieu of regional regulations as voted on by local governing bodies.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a U.S.-based international nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property, and economic loss due to fire, electrical, and related hazards. As of 2023, the NFPA claims to have 50,000 members and 9,000 volunteers working with the organization through its 250 technical committees.

Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a fire.

A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of a structure and to enable safe egress from a building or structure or ship. In North American building codes, it, along with fire dampers, is often referred to as a closure, which can be derated compared against the fire separation that contains it, provided that this barrier is not a firewall or an occupancy separation. In Europe national standards for fire doors have been harmonised with the introduction of the new standard EN 16034, which refers to fire doors as fire-resisting door sets. Starting September 2016, a common CE marking procedure was available abolishing trade barriers within the European Union for these types of products. In the UK, it is Part B of the Building Regulations that sets out the minimum requirements for the fire protection that must be implemented in all dwellings this includes the use of fire doors. All fire doors must be installed with the appropriate fire resistant fittings, such as the frame and door hardware, for it to fully comply with any fire regulations.

NFPA 1901, the Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, is published by the National Fire Protection Association to outline the standard for firefighting apparatus. The listing sets minimum standards for mechanical, cosmetic, lighting, and all equipment to be included with fire apparatus to be standards compliant in the United States. The current version of 1901 is the 2016 edition.

The International Code Council (ICC) is a nonprofit standards organization that creates the International Building Code (IBC), a model building code, as well as the International Residential Code (IRC), and other model codes. The IBC has been adopted for use as a base code standard by most jurisdictions in the United States.

NFPA 70E(Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace) is a standard of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The document covers electrical safety requirements for employees. The NFPA is best known for publishing the National Electrical Code.

A fire pump usually refers to a pressure-increasing component of the water supply for fixed-place fire suppression systems such as fire sprinklers, standpipes, and foam systems. Fire pumps are also a critical component integrated into fire trucks and fire boats, and serve a similar purpose boosting water supplies for firefighting hose operations.

A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buildings. They may include smoke detectors, heat detectors, and manual fire alarm activation devices. All components of a fire alarm system are connected to a fire alarm control panel. Fire alarm control panels are usually found in an electrical or panel room. Fire alarm systems generally use visual and audio signalization to warn the occupants of the building. Some fire alarm systems may also disable elevators, which are unsafe to use during a fire under most circumstances.

Within the context of building construction and building codes, occupancy is the use of a building for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented, leased, or otherwise in use. Lack of occupancy, in this sense, is known as vacancy.

Heat and smoke vents are installed in buildings as an active fire protection measure. They are openings in the roof which are intended to vent the heat and smoke developed by a fire inside the building by the action of buoyancy, such that they are known as "gravity vents".

A combustible material is a material that can burn in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.

The NFPA 72 is a standard published by the National Fire Protection Association every 3 years for installation of fire alarm systems and emergency communication systems in the United States.

Sprinkler fitting is an occupation consisting of the installing, testing, inspecting, and certifying of automatic fire suppression systems in all types of structures. Sprinkler systems installed by sprinkler fitters can include the underground supply as well as integrated overhead piping systems and standpipes. The fire suppression piping may contain water, air, antifreeze, gas or chemicals as in a hood system, or a mixture producing fire retardant foam.

A lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it is most likely to strike the rod and be conducted to ground through a wire, rather than passing through the structure, where it could start a fire or cause electrocution. Lightning rods are also called finials, air terminals, or strike termination devices.

The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act (FSIA) is the name of a piece of legislation that has been introduced in both the House and the Senate since 2003. The legislation would amend the 1986 Internal Revenue Code by classifying fire sprinkler retrofits as either a Section 179 depreciation deduction or a fifteen-year property for purposes of depreciation. Currently the tax depreciation time for commercial property is 39 years and 27.5 for residential.

An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility marking the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in an emergency that necessitates rapid evacuation. Most fire, building, health, and safety codes require exit signs that are always lit.

References

External links

• NFPA Web Site
• NFPA 101 Life Safety Code
• States Adopting NFPA 101
• United States Access Board ^{[ permanent dead link ]}