Hotel Fire Separations

[LGreene]

Happy New Year all...

Last week I took my family for a short vacation on Cape Cod. The "resort" was a series of 2-story buildings with fire doors between them. There were also cross-corridor doors mid-way down each guest room corridor.

All of these doors were propped open with wedges, the latches had been removed, and most of the doors were in terrible condition. The guest rooms are not sprinklered, and the doors to the lobby were also propped open so there was no separation between the guest room corridors and the lobby, restaurants, ballroom / meeting room area, etc.

I'm assuming that since the doors had painted-over labels, the code requires fire doors in those locations, or at least it did at one time. And I don't know why the doors would be present mid-way down the corridors unless they are required for a smoke separation. I would like to bring this to the attention of the hotel, but I'd like to have a little back-up information before I do. Maybe something has changed so the separation is no longer required?

Determining which doors need to be rated isn't normally part of my job as a hardware consultant. Can any of you point me in the right direction? We are currently transitioning from the 2003 IBC to the 2009 IBC, and we were on BOCA '93 when the building was last renovated in 2004. The building was originally built in 1970, and I'm not sure which code was being used back then since I was more interested in teething biscuits than fire doors. All of the editions I listed have Massachusetts amendments, but if you get me started I will do the research. I'm not worried about being too specific...that's someone else's job.

Thanks in advance! And in case you want to see the floor plan or any photos, I did a few blog posts while I was there. Here are a couple that show the doors in question:

http://idighardware.com/2010/12/another-hotel/

http://idighardware.com/2011/01/top-hinge-retrospective/

 

[peach]

Start in IBC 715 - opening protectives; the cross corridor doors may not be required to be fire rated (but it's odd to put them in if they aren't meant to break up the fire area).

Propping them open is a no-no

 

[cda]

Peach

Original building was built in 1970

When you look at the pictures the door area looks like it has been there since 1970

 

[mtlogcabin]

I would guess they are part of an original ASW (area separation wall) which was used to avoid sprinklers or constrcut a building of that size

 

[Frank]

Not at all unusual

One of the big issues with the compartmentation concept is the very high failure rate of fire doors as installed and "maintained".

We find high failure rates on new installations with regards to doors closing properly often having to be adjusted before they close properly on initial installation inspection.

In existing buildings during renovations, observations during normal commerce, and after fires very high failure rates are observed.

In a survey from 1984 to 88 FM found a 18% failure rating in testing fire doors in insured properties.

http://books.google.com/books?id=JDvKK9PxXg0C&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=fire+door+failures&source=bl&ots=p9K97ErU3F&sig=FWZuyp9Xr4iuO3SjJB34OgFiagA&hl=en&ei=ktwhTamhDIO88ga4gLG1Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=fire%20door%20failures&f=false pages 81-82

This failure rate is based on failures of the door to close properly, not including failures due to wedges and movable obstructions which I have observed after fires.

Note also that FM insureds are HPR properties that are inspected annually and would be expected to have a higher maintenance standard than most properties.

 

[Coug Dad]

I took a quick look at the 93 BOCA and did not see a specific requirement for cross corridor doors in hotel occupancies. My guess would be that the doors may have been part of a negotiated code compliance solution.

 

[texas transplant]

I could be having a bad drug and alcohol flashback from the 70's but it seems BOCA had some sort of a smoke compartmentization trade off for occupancies like hotels and apartment buildings back in the 60's. Something about keeping smoke areas under so many square feet to control smoke thru out a building. Don't have any of the code books from back then anymore, so going on my feeble memory. My only experience on that section was back in the 70's working with a design firm on an apartment building in a City that was on maybe the 1966 BOCA code. All of those doors would have been required to have closers on them and as stated by someone else, no propping the doors open. The design I was involved with had double doors in all the corridors that split them into (I think) 3000 or 5000 square foot smoke areas. It was a trade off for both construction type and sprinklers (again, I think) for buildings 2 or 3 stories or less in height. Been way to long ago. Anybody have a BOCA that old? I know that section was gone by the time the 1978 BOCA was published.

 

[peach]

looks like a sprinklered building.. from Lori's pictures.. (pop downs)..

BUT it looks like a overall maintenance issue that the FM may be interested in.

 

[LGreene]

I emailed the hotel while I was staying there and the response was that only the rooms with fireplaces were sprinklered. I don't know how many rooms have fireplaces, but not a lot, and I think they're in a separate section of the hotel.

I emailed again this morning to nicely tell them that their fire doors have problems. I haven't heard back yet...they're probably calling their lawyer to have my blog shut down. For the record, I never mentioned the hotel name or where it was, and I took all of the identifying words off the floor plan including the name of the ballroom, restaurant, etc. I'm very interested to see their answer.

 

[cda]

LG.

Do you also have a general question when the doors are required???

 

[LGreene]

CDA: Do you also have a general question when the doors are required???

I was hoping to have something to point to so I could show them that the doors were required, but I went with your original advice and said that the doors were labeled but not functioning as rated doors. If someone has told them that they don't need rated doors any more, then they'll tell me that. I'd be surprised though.