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Icc / nfpa. Incfcpa

C

cda

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ICC Quest for a Unified Code, by Chad Beebe, the ASHE Director of Advocacy. A task force set up between ASHE and the International Code Council (ICC) is attempting to draw the IBC building code and the IFC fire code closer into alignment with the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. Chad reports that they got about 60% of their proposals accepted by the ICC committee which will be presented to the main ICC council for approval in September in Portland, OR. The main disappointment was a proposal to recognize acoustical tile and grid ceiling system as resisting the passage of smoke, which the NFPA codes do. This proposal was defeated at the committee level and still has a chance at the annual meeting in September, but needs a significant majority of the voters to approve it. By not recognizing acoustical tile and grid ceiling system as resisting the passage of smoke, the IBC and the IFC would expect 1-hour fire rated walls in corridors even in fully sprinklered buildings.

http://keyeslifesafety.com/ashe-annual-conference/
 
We in the healthcare design/construct industry would REALLY REALLY like to see the I codes aligned with the NFPA codes. ASHE's proposals would do this. I hope that the full voting membership uses evidence based decision making processes to review these proposals in Portland, and not just "it's the way we've always done it".

By not recognizing acoustical tile and grid ceiling system as resisting the passage of smoke, the IBC and the IFC would expect 1-hour fire rated walls in corridors even in fully sprinklered buildings.
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Baker Sierra

That is just some guy with a blog who is disappointed he could not get his misinformation into the I codes Commentaries. In the real world, the I codes require a smoke partition (non-rated) in I2 occupancies (which are required to be fully sprinklered) not a 1 hour fire barrier. Ceiling construction has no effect on Table 1018.1.

The issue is that by NFPA 101, the smoke partition could stop at a lay-in ceiling. There are a boatload of crap above corridor ceilings and a boatload of above ceiling penetrations in a hospital. New penetrations are always being made and old penetrations are always being abandoned. Maintaining tight above ceiling corridor walls is a constant battle. NFPA recognizes the special conditions of a hospital including the 24/7 trained supervisory nature of the staff. The IBC requirement for a smoke partition to extend to the deck (which hopefully is at least 5 feet above the ceiling) creates a real problem for the ongoing operations of the facility, for minimal benefit in facilities with an exemplary fire/life safety record (this is not India).
 
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