PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 05-10-044.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Chapter 51-54 WAC, Adoption and amendment of the 2003 International Fire Code, Sections 202 and 903.
Hearing Location(s): Renton Holiday Inn Select, One South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98055-2500, on October 14, 2005, at 10:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: November 4, 2005.
Submit Written Comments to: John Neff, P.O. Box 42525, Olympia, WA 98504-2525, e-mail sbcc@cted.wa.gov, fax (360) 586-9383, by October 13, 2005.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Sue Mathers by September 30, 2005, TTY (360) 753-7427 or (360) 725-2966.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: Chapter 148, Laws of 2005, requires the state Building Code Council to adopt rules requiring automatic sprinkler systems in all buildings containing a nightclub as defined in the bill. This proposed language adds the requirements from ESHB 1401 to the Fire Code.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: RCW 19.27.074 and chapter 148, Laws of 2005.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 19.27.074 and chapter 148, Laws of 2005.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Agency Comments or Recommendations, if any, as to Statutory Language, Implementation, Enforcement, and Fiscal Matters: The council is seeking comments on the issue proposed in the rule shown below.
Name of Proponent: State Building Code Council, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Krista Braaksma, P.O. Box 42525, Olympia, WA 98504-2525, (360) 725-2964; and Enforcement: Local jurisdiction.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. This bill/rule would have an impact on small business; however, the effects are mitigated by a special property tax exemption provided through chapter 148, Laws of 2005, which would extend for ten years after the initial application by property owners.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The rule is implementing Washington state statute.
August 3, 2005
John Neff
Council Chair
OTS-8212.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 04-01-105, filed 12/17/03,
effective 7/1/04)
WAC 51-54-0200
Chapter 2 -- Definitions.
SECTION 202 GENERAL DEFINITIONS.
ADULT FAMILY HOME means a dwelling in which a person or persons
provide personal care, special care, room and board to more
than one but not more than six adults who are not related by
blood or marriage to the person or persons providing the
services.
CHILD DAY CARE, shall, for the purposes of these regulations,
mean the care of children during any period of a 24-hour day.
ELECTRICAL CODE is the National Electrical Code, promulgated by
the National Fire Protection Association, as adopted in
chapter 296-46 WAC, or the locally adopted Electrical Code.
FAMILY CHILD DAY CARE HOME is a child day care facility, licensed
by the state, located in the dwelling of the person or persons
under whose direct care and supervision the child is placed,
for the care of twelve or fewer children, including children
who reside at the home.
NIGHTCLUB. An establishment, other than a theater with fixed
seating, which includes all of the following:
1. Provides live entertainment by paid performing artists or by way of recorded music conducted by a person employed or engaged to do so;
2. Has as its primary source of revenue the sale of beverages of any kind for consumption on the premises and/or cover charges;
3. Has an occupant load of 100 or more; and
4. Includes assembly space without fixed seats considered concentrated or standing space per Table 1004.1.2.
EDUCATIONAL GROUP E. Educational Group E Occupancy includes,
among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion
thereof, by six or more persons at any one time for
educational purposes through the 12th grade. Religious
educational rooms and religious auditoriums, which are
accessory to churches in accordance with Section 302.2 of the
IBC and have occupant loads of less than 100, shall be
classified as Group A-3 Occupancies.
Day Care. The use of a building or structure, or portion thereof, for educational, supervision or personal care services for more than five children older than 2 1/2 years of age, shall be classified as a Group E Occupancy.
| EXCEPTION: | Family child day care homes licensed by the Washington state department of social and health services for the care of twelve or fewer children shall be classified as Group R3. |
Group I-1. This occupancy shall include buildings, structures or parts thereof housing more than 16 persons, on a 24-hour basis, who because of age, mental disability or other reasons, live in a supervised residential environment that provides personal care services. The occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from staff. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
Residential board and care facilities
Assisted living facilities
Halfway houses
Group homes
Congregate care facilities
Social rehabilitation facilities
Alcohol and drug centers
Convalescent facilities
A facility such as the above with five or fewer persons and adult family homes licensed by the Washington state department of social and health services shall be classified as a Group R-3 or shall comply with the International Residential Code in accordance with Section 101.2. A facility such as above, housing at least six and not more than 16 persons, shall be classified as Group R-4.
A facility such as the above providing licensed care to clients in one of the categories listed in Section 313.1 regulated by either the Washington department of health or the department of social and health services shall be classified as Licensed Care Group LC.
Group I-2. This occupancy shall include buildings and structures used for medical, surgical, psychiatric, nursing or custodial care on a 24-hour basis of more than five persons who are not capable of self-preservation. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
Hospitals
Nursing homes (both intermediate-care facilities and skilled nursing facilities)
Mental hospitals
Detoxification facilities
A facility such as the above with five or fewer persons shall be classified as Group R-3 or shall comply with the International Residential Code in accordance with Section 101.2.
A facility such as the above providing licensed care to clients in one of the categories listed in Section 313.1 regulated by either the Washington department of health or the department of social and health services shall be classified as Licensed Care Group LC.
Group I-3. (Remains as printed in the IFC.)
Group I-4. Day care facilities. This group shall include buildings and structures occupied by persons of any age who receive custodial care for less than 24 hours by individuals other than parents or guardians, relatives by blood marriage, or adoption, and in a place other than the home of the person cared for. A facility such as the above with five or fewer persons shall be classified as Group R-3 or shall comply with the International Residential Code. Places of worship during religious functions are not included.
Adult care facility. A facility that provides accommodations for less than 24 hours for more than five unrelated adults and provides supervision and personal care services shall be classified as Group I-4.
| EXCEPTION: | Where the occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from the staff, the facility shall be classified as Group A-3. |
| EXCEPTIONS: | 1. A child day care facility that provides care for more than five but no more than 100 children 2 1/2 years or less of age, when the rooms where such children are cared for are located on the level of exit discharge and each of these child care rooms has an exit door directly to the exterior, shall be classified as Group E. |
| 2. Family child day care homes licensed by the Washington state department of social and health services for the care of 12 or fewer children shall be classified as Group R3. |
R-1 Residential occupancies where the occupants are primarily transient in nature, including:
Boarding houses (transient)
Hotels (transient)
Motels (transient)
R-2 Residential occupancies containing sleeping units or more than two dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature, including:
Apartment houses
Boarding houses (not transient)
Convents
Dormitories
Fraternities and sororities
Monasteries
Vacation timeshare properties
Hotels (nontransient)
Motels (nontransient)
R-3 Residential occupancies where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature and not classified as R-1, R-2, R-4 or I and where buildings do not contain more than two dwelling units as applicable in Section 101.2, including adult family homes and family child day care homes for the care of 12 or fewer children, licensed by the Washington state department of social and health services, or adult and child care facilities that provide accommodations for five or fewer persons of any age for less than 24 hours. Adult family homes and family child day care homes, or adult and child care facilities that are within a single-family home are permitted to comply with the International Residential Code in accordance with Section 101.2.
Foster family care homes licensed by the Washington state department of social and health services shall be permitted, as an accessory use to a dwelling, for six or fewer children including those of the resident family.
R-4 Residential occupancies shall include buildings arranged for occupancy as residential care/assisted living facilities including more than five but not more than 16 occupants, excluding staff.
| EXCEPTION: | Adult family homes, family child day care homes and foster family care homes shall be classified as Group R-3. |
LICENSED CARE GROUP LC. Licensed Care Group LC includes the use
of a building, structure, or portion thereof, for the business
of providing licensed care to clients in one of the following
categories regulated by either the Washington department of
health or the department of social and health services:
1. Adult residential rehabilitation facility.
2. Alcoholism intensive inpatient treatment service.
3. Alcoholism detoxification service.
4. Alcoholism long-term treatment service.
5. Alcoholism recovery house service.
6. Boarding home.
7. Group care facility.
8. Group care facility for severely and multiple handicapped children.
9. Residential treatment facility for psychiatrically impaired children and youth.
| EXCEPTION: | Where the care provided at an alcoholism detoxification service is acute care similar to that provided in a hospital, the facility shall be classified as a Group I-2 Occupancy. |
[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27.031 and 19.27.074. 04-01-105, § 51-54-0200, filed 12/17/03, effective 7/1/04.]
902.1 Definitions.
PORTABLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM. A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which requires a chassis to be transported, and is designed to be used as an educational space with or without a permanent foundation. The structure shall be trailerable and capable of being demounted and relocated to other locations as needs arise.
903.2.1.2 Group A-2. An automatic sprinkler system shall be
provided for Group A-2 Occupancies where one of the following
conditions exists:
1. The fire area exceeds 5,000 square feet (464.5 m2).
2. The fire area has an occupant load of 100 or more.
3. The fire area is located on a floor other than the level of exit discharge.
903.2.1.6 Nightclub. An automatic sprinkler system shall be
provided throughout an occupancy defined as a nightclub.
Existing nightclubs constructed prior to July 1, 2006, shall
be provided with automatic sprinklers not later than December
1, 2007. The occupant load of any nightclub shall be in
accordance with Table 1004.1.2 as determined by the fire code
official.
903.2.2 Group E. An automatic sprinkler system shall be
provided for Group E Occupancies as follows:
1. Throughout all Group E fire areas greater than 20,000 square feet (1858 m2) in area.
2. Throughout every portion of educational buildings below the level of exit discharge.
| EXCEPTION: | An automatic sprinkler system is not required in any fire area or area below the level of exit discharge where every classroom throughout the building has at least one exterior exit door at ground level. |
For the purpose of this section, additions exceeding 60 percent of the value of such building or structure, or alterations and repairs to any portion of a building or structure within a twelve-month period that exceeds 100 percent of the value of such building or structure shall be considered new construction. In the case of additions, fire walls shall define separate buildings.
| EXCEPTIONS: | 1. Portable school classrooms, provided aggregate area of clusters of portable school classrooms does not exceed 5,000 square feet (1465 m2); and clusters of portable school classrooms shall be separated as required in Chapter 5 of the building code. |
| 2. Group E Day Care. |
903.2.10.3 Buildings over 75 feet in height. An automatic
sprinkler system shall be installed throughout buildings with
a floor level having an occupant load of 30 or more that is
located 75 feet (22 860 mm) or more above the lowest level of
fire department vehicle access.
| EXCEPTIONS: | 1. Airport control towers. |
| 2. Open parking structures. | |
| 3. Occupancies in Group F-2. |
909.6.3.1 Standards and testing. Elevator shafts shall be
pressurized to not less than 0.10 inch water column relative
to atmospheric pressure. Elevator pressurization shall be
measured with the elevator cars at the designated primary
recall level with the doors in the open position. The test
shall be conducted at the location of the calculated maximum
positive stack effect in the elevator shaft. The measured
pressure shall be sufficient to provide 0.10 inch of water
column as well as accounting for the stack and wind effect
expected on the mean low temperature January day.
909.6.3.2 Activation. The elevator shaft pressurization
system shall be activated by a fire alarm system which shall
include smoke detectors or other approved detectors located
near the elevator shaft on each floor as approved by the
building official and fire chief. If the building has a fire
alarm panel, detectors shall be connected to, with power
supplied by, the fire alarm panel.
909.6.3.3 Separation. Elevator shaft pressurization equipment
and its ductwork located within the building shall be
separated from other portions of the building by construction
equal to that required for the elevator shaft.
909.6.3.4 Location of intakes. Elevator shaft pressurization
air intakes shall be located in accordance with Section
909.10.3. Such intakes shall be provided with smoke detectors
which upon detection of smoke, shall deactivate the
pressurization fan supplied by that air intake.
909.6.3.5 Power system. The power source for the fire alarm
system and the elevator shaft pressurization system shall be
in accordance with Section 909.11.
909.6.3.6 Hoistway venting. Hoistway venting required by IBC
Section 3004 need not be provided for pressurized elevator
shafts.
909.6.3.7 Machine rooms. Elevator machine rooms required to
be pressurized by IBC Section 3006.3 need not be pressurized
where separated from the hoistway shaft by construction in
accordance with IBC Section 707.
909.6.3.8 Special inspection. Special inspection for
performance shall be required in accordance with Section
((909.18.8.3 and IBC Section 1704)) 909.18.8. System
acceptance shall be in accordance with Section 909.19.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27.031 and 19.27.074. 04-01-105, § 51-54-0900, filed 12/17/03, effective 7/1/04.]