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2008 Indiana Fire and Building Code Takes Effect
On June 16th, 2008 the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission adopted the 2008 Indiana Fire and Building Code. The commission is statutorily obligated under IC 22-13-2-2 to adopt a statewide code of fire safety laws and building laws. Historically, this has been accomplished by adopting a model fire and building code by reference. In this case, the commission adopted the 2006 Edition of the International Fire and Building Code, published by the International Code Council (ICC).
The ICC provides a model code development process that offers an international forum for fire safety and building professionals to discuss performance and prescriptive code requirements. This provides an arena to debate proposed code revisions and encourages international consistency in the application of these provisions. Because of the ICC’s sound code development process, Indiana along with many other jurisdictions throughout the United States have adopted these codes for use as their fire and building safety laws.
A substantial change in 2006 Edition of the International Fire and Building Code (2008 Indiana Fire and Building Code) from previous editions was the requirement to install an automatic fire sprinkler system throughout all Group R (Residential) occupancies, excluding one-and-two family dwellings, but including hotels, motels, apartment houses, dormitories, fraternities and sororities to name a few. Previous code editions did not require installation of automatic sprinkler systems in Group R (Residential) occupancies until the structure was over a certain number of stories or contained more than a certain number of dwelling units. This new requirement was not amended by the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission when they adopted these codes. This was seen by code enforcement professionals as a significant advancement in life safety for occupants and for firefighters responding to fires in these types of structures.
Now, over a year later a proposed code change (LSA Document #09-186) has been submitted to the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission for consideration. The proposal calls for an amendment to Section 903.2.7 of the 2008 Edition of the Indiana Building Code adding an exception to the automatic sprinkler installation requirement for Group R occupancies. The exception would exempt a building owner from the automatic sprinkler system installation requirement in Groups R-2 and R-3 occupancies, which include: apartments, dormitories, and sorority and fraternities. Hotels and motels, which are R-1 occupancies, would not fall under this exception. The conditions that must be met to use this exception include:
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The building shall contain only R-2 or R-3 dwelling units (no accessory use areas permitted) |
| • | The building shall not be more than two (2) stories in height | |
| • | The building shall not exceed the permitted allowable area limitations | |
| • | A two (2) hour fire wall shall separate each two (2) dwelling units with a one (1) hour fire barrier separating all other dwelling units | |
| • | Each dwelling unit shall have its own separate and independent means of egress to the exterior | |
| • | Every attached garage shall be constructed entirely of one-hour fire resistive construction | |
| • | “NO GRILLING” signs shall be posted on all patios and balconies |
Stephen Jones, Division Chief of Prevention Services for Pike Township Fire Department presented the following points supporting the need for automatic fire sprinklers at the June 22nd public hearing for this proposed code change:
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Every year across the nation, apartment fires account for 103,300 structure fires and cause almost 700 deaths with over 6,500 injuries. These staggering numbers have prompted building authorities to increase safety in these buildings. The numbers of injuries and deaths have been deemed unacceptable by code professionals, prompting national building authorities to increase life safety in these multi-family dwellings. | ||||||
| • | The residential multi-family dwelling is the building at highest risk that fire services have to respond too. There are more fire injuries and deaths in multi-family dwellings than any other type of building. A multi-family (Group R) dwelling exponentially increases its risk. This is true for the following reasons: | |||||||
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Eliminating the active form of fire protection (automatic fire sprinklers) in exchange for passive forms of fire protection (fire walls and rated construction) as proposed in this ammendment does not provide for an equal alternative level of protection.
Case in point: On November 25, 2007, a fire occurred in a four unit, multi-family residential (Group R) structure located in the Indianapolis area at 3:34 PM. All occupants were awake at the time of the fire and a working smoke alarm was in place. The fire started on the first floor, progressed up the open stairway trapping a 3 year old child in his bedroom. The child did not survive.
This building, most likely constructed in the late 1970's, was not required to have automatic sprinkler protection. If this same building was constructed today, however, sprinklers would be required. According to the local Fire Marshal, in comparison to the items listed in the proposed exception to eliminate sprinklers, the only thing missing from the structure was the “NO GRILLING” signs.
The following facts are provided by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition:
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Installing both smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers reduces the risk of death in a home by fire by 82% relative to having neither; |
| • | 90% of fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler; | |
| • | and the national average to install sprinklers in new construction, costs between 1% - 1.5% of the total building cost. |
In closing, I ask that you consider the following: Apartment fires are in the news frequently; and unfortunately, more loss of life will occur. We may not be able to require automatic sprinkler installation in existing structures but we certainly should not be taking any steps backward in new construction. Leave the code requirement for automatic sprinklers alone as they are intended and the way they are currently being used throughout the country. Fires don’t burn differently in Indiana and as you can see, the passive fire protection features present in the above did not prevent a death. Is it worth the risk of constructing new residential buildings without automatic sprinklers in order to save a few thousand dollars?
Special Note: Thank you Division Chief Stephen Jones of Pike Township Fire Department for his input on this article.
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