This section establishes life safety requirements for all existing
apartment buildings and structures housing apartments. This includes
buildings or structures containing three or more dwelling units with
independent cooking and bathroom facilities, whether designated as
apartment house, tenement, garden apartment, townhouse, condominium,
or by any other name.
A. All existing buildings or structures classified as apartment occupancies
shall conform to the provisions of the Life Safety Code of NFPA, Section
19-1, and shall meet the requirements of one of the following options:
(1)
Buildings provided with a complete automatic fire detection
and notification system.
(2)
Buildings provided with automatic sprinkler protection in selected
areas.
(3)
Buildings protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler
system.
B. Each dwelling unit in an existing apartment house shall have at least
one single station smoke detector.
C. No required path of travel to the outside from any room used as a
means of escape shall be through another room or apartment not under
the immediate control of the occupants of the first room, nor through
a bathroom or other space subject to locking.
D. Every dwelling unit in existing apartment occupancies shall have
access to at least two separate exits remote from each other.
E. Every public space, hallway, stairway, and other means of egress
shall have illumination which shall be continuous.
F. The floors of means of egress shall be illuminated at all angles
and points of corridors and passageways, stairways, landings of stairs,
and exit doors.
G. Any apartment building with more than three living units or greater
than three stories in height shall have emergency lighting. The emergency
lighting systems shall be so arranged as to provide the required illumination
automatically in the event of any interruption of normal lighting,
such as a power failure of a public utility or other power source,
opening of a circuit breaker or fuse, or any manual act(s).
H. All means of egress shall be marked. Exit signs shall be posted in
all apartment buildings requiring more than one exit.
I. No door in any means of egress shall be locked against egress when
the building is occupied. Locks, if provided, shall not require the
use of a key, tool, or special knowledge or effort for operation from
the inside of the building. Ordinary double-cylinder locks or chain
locks do not meet the provisions of this section.
J. Approved interconnected smoke detectors continuously powered by the
house electrical service shall be installed in all common areas such
as basements, cellars, hallways, corridors, or landings within the
apartment building regardless of the number of stories. The individual
unit detectors shall be in addition to any sprinkler system or other
detection system that may be installed in the building.
K. All existing apartment occupancies over 75 feet in height shall be
provided with an automatic sprinkler system in all corridors and in
all habitable rooms or living units. A quick-response sprinkler head(s)
shall be installed as part of the automatic sprinkler system in all
habitable areas or living units throughout. Sprinklers may be omitted
in small areas, such as closets not over 24 square feet and bathrooms
not over 60 square feet. For existing apartment occupancies to meet
the requirements of this subsection, a five-year period from the effective
date of this code shall be given to comply.
L. The fire protection rating of fire doors from dwelling units opening
onto corridors shall be not less than 20 minutes. Doors between dwelling
units and corridors shall be self-closing. Doors shall be equipped
with latches for keeping doors closed.
M. Existing transoms installed in corridor partitions of sleeping rooms
shall be fixed in the closed position and shall be covered or otherwise
protected to provide a fire-resistance rating.
N. Portable fire extinguishers shall be provided in all corridors and
hazardous areas.
O. Apartment buildings with more than three stories or with more than
11 dwelling units shall be provided with a fire alarm system in accordance
with Section 7-6 of the Life Safety Code 101.
[Amended 3-23-2004 by Ord. No. 9-2004; 7-13-2010 by Ord. No. 7-2010]
A. Child day-care facility occupancies, either new or existing, shall
meet the requirements of this chapter and the educational occupancy
codes of the Life Safety Code of NFPA. In a child day-care facility
which houses more than one age group, the requirements for the younger
age shall apply, unless the younger group life safety is maintained
in a separate fire area.
B. The occupant load of child day-care facilities for which means of
egress shall be provided for on any floor shall be the maximum number
of persons intended to occupy that floor, but not less than one person
for each 35 square feet of net floor area used.
C. The minimum staff-to-client ratio for child day-care facilities or
occupancies shall be as follows:
|
Staff Ratio
|
Age
|
---|
|
1:3
|
0 to 2
|
|
1:5
|
2 to 3
|
|
1:10
|
3 to 5
|
|
1:12
|
5 to 7
|
|
1:15
|
7 and over
|
|
No child day-care center, occupancy or home shall have children
more than two stories above the level of exit discharge or one story
below the level of exit discharge.
|
D. All child day-care facilities shall have two remote exits. One exit
shall discharge directly outside, and the vertical travel to ground
level shall not exceed eight feet.
E. In child day-care facilities all means of egress shall be illuminated
and shall be provided during the time that the conditions of the occupancy
require that the means of egress be available for use.
F. The floors of means of egress shall be illuminated at all points
of corridors and passageways, stairways, landings of stairs, stoops,
steps, and exit doors.
G. In child day-care facilities there shall be provided emergency lighting.
An emergency lighting system shall be so arranged to maintain required
lighting automatically in the event of interruption of normal lighting,
such as a power failure of a public utility or other outside electrical
power supply, opening of a circuit breaker or fuse, or any manual
act(s).
H. In child day-care facilities every closet door latch shall be such
that children can open the door from the inside.
I. In child day-care facilities every bathroom door lock shall be designed
to permit opening of the locked door from the outside in an emergency;
the opening device shall be readily available and accessible.
J. Rooms or spaces in child day-care facilities that are used for storage
of combustible materials and supplies of fuel shall be separated from
the remainder of the building by a construction having not less than
one-hour fire rating.
K. All child day-care facilities shall be equipped with a smoke detection system. If in a private residence, §
3-903.12 shall be complied with. Detectors shall be installed in lounges, recreation areas, and sleeping rooms.
L. Every room of a child day-care facility used for sleeping, living
or dining purposes shall have at least two means of escape, at least
one of which shall be a doorway or stairway providing a means of unobstructed
travel to the outside of the building at street or ground level. The
second means of escape may be through a window. No room or space shall
be occupied for living or sleeping purposes which is accessible only
by a ladder, folding stairs, or through a trap door.
M. The operators of child day-care occupancies shall hold fire drills
at least once a month, and a record of such fire drills shall be maintained
for inspection of the Fire Chief upon his request.
N. "Adult day-care facility" shall include any building used for non-sleeping
purposes for less than 24 hours per day to house one or more well,
ambulatory or semi-ambulatory (non-bedridden) adults, none of whom
require medical injections by staff personnel. For the purposes of
this definition, adults shall include those who:
(1)
May require limited attendance, supervision or observation;
(2)
May require the administration of dry or liquid oral medication
by staff personnel when prescribed by a medical practitioner;
(3)
Exhibit acceptable behavior (not harmful to others);
(6)
Possess adequate mobility; and
(7)
Are otherwise essentially homebound.
O. This section is to make clear that these occupancies contain persons
who are capable of self-preservation but need limited attendance,
supervision or observation.
NFPA references: 10, 11, 11A, 12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13D, 14, 15,
16, 17, 20, 30, 31, 40, 45, 54, 58, 70, 71, 72A, 72B, 72C, 72D, 72E,
74, 80, 82, 90A, 90B, 91, 101, 102, 211, 220, 241, 251, 252, 253,
255, 256, 257, 701, 703 and 1221.