Fire Department Company Officer (3Rd Edition)

Fire Department Company Officer (3rd Edition) Chapter 15-Fire & Life Safety Inspections "By the Numbers"

. In most cases, local jurisdictions adopt 1 or more ordinances delegating authority to the fire chief for protecting the public from fires and other hazards. . Halfhearted attempts to correct violations may result in a 2nd follow-up inspection, while disregard for corrections may result in forcing the business to cease operations or vacate premises until in compliance. . Items needed for an inspection include: flashlight, 50 foot measuring tape, clipboard, inspection form, graph paper, straight edge, pen/pencil with eraser, and camera with flash. . According to NFPA 101®, means of egress is defined as "a continuous and unobstructed way of exit travel from any point in a building or structure to a public way consisting of the exit access, the exit, and the exit discharge". . As defined in CABO/ANSI A117.1, American National Standard For Accessible And Usable Buildings And Facilities, an accessible means of egress is "a path of travel", usable by persons with severe mobility impairment, that leads to a public way or area of refuge. . A public way is defined as "any street, alley, or similar parcel of land essentially open to outside air, deeded, dedicated, or otherwise permanently appropriated to the public for public use and having a clear width and height of not less than 10 feet. . NFPA 101® classifies buildings according to their intended use. . The 10 occupancy classifications according to NFPA 101® are: Assembly, Educational, Health Care, Detention/Correctional, Residential, Mercantile, Business, Industrial, Storage, and Special Structures/High- Rise. . All occupancies covered by NFPA 101® have requirements relating to means of egress, construction features, building service, and fire protection equipment. . Assemblies include buildings or portions of buildings where 50 or more persons gather. . Spaces connected to "Assemblies" with occupant loads less than 50 are subject to the same requirements as the Assembly. . Occupant loads in occupancies without fixed seating (i.e.-dance hall) is based on 1 person per 7 square foot of floor space. . Occupant spacing for bleachers or bench-type seating requires 18 linear inches per occupant. . Educational occupancies are those in which 6 or more persons gather for educational purposes through 12th grade for at least 4 hour/day or 12 hours/week. . For day cares having clients 2 years old or under, the staff to client ratio is 1:3 (7 years and over is 1:15). . A 1 hour fire barrier must separate day care centers when connected to another building. . Dentists' offices are NOT considered health care facilities per NFPA 101®. . Health care occupancies sharing a building with one of another classification must be separated by a 2 hour fire barrier. . Detention/correctional facilities have 5 classifications based on degree of restraint imposed which are: I-free egress, II-zoned egress, III-zoned impeded egress, IV-impeded egress, and V-contained. . The NFPA 101® "Residential" classification includes hotels, motels, apartments, family dwellings, and board- and-care facilities. . The 3 levels of occupant evacuation capability for board-and-care facilites are: Prompt level (capable), Slow level (some assistance), and Impractical level (incapable, even with assistance). . Occupancy loads for mercantile buildings vary from 1 person per 30 square foot of floor space for upper floors to 1 person per 60 square foot on street level floors to 1 person per 300 square foot for warehouses. . Examples of business occupancies include: government officer, college buildings, doctor/dentist offices, and restaurants with occupant loads less than 50 (also includes out-patient clinics for ambulatory patients). . For most business occupancies, occupant load is calculated on 1 person per 100 square foot of floor space. . When business occupancies share a building with a parking garage, they must be separated with a 2 hour fire barrier. . The 3 sub-classifications for industrial occupancies are General, Special Purpose, and High Hazard. . In high hazard industrial occupancies, there must be no less than 2 means of egress from every story or section and dead-end corridors must not exceed 50 feet. . Hazardous material in high hazard industrial occupancies must be labeled per NFPA 704, Standard System for the Identification of Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response. . Storage facilities may require NFPA 704 placarding. . Special vehicles and vessels that are permanently attached and cannot navigate are covered under the NFPA 101®, Special Structures classification. . High-rise structures per NFPA 101® are considered to be more than 75 feet in height. . NFPA 101® classifies every individual occupancy according to relative fire hazard: Low Hazard (self- propagating fire can NOT occur), Ordinary Hazard (burn with moderate rapidity or produce considerable smoke), and High Hazard (burn with extreme rapidity or explosions likely). . Fire Detection/Signaling Equipment must meet the requirements of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code. . Up to 5 buildings may be covered by a remote station system (coded system), while single buildings are non- coded systems. . Stationary fire pumps must conform to NFPA 20, Standard on the Installation of Centrifugal Fire Pumps. . Stationary fire pumps range in capacity from 500 to 4,500 gpm. . NFPA 20 requires stationary fire pumps to be run for at least 30 minutes per week. . Testing of public fire alarm systems is covered in NFPA 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Public Fire Service Communications Systems. . Standpipe systems are covered by NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems. . NFPA 14 classifies standpipe systems as Class I, II, or III according to intended use. . Class I standpipe systems are used by firefighters who are trained in handling heavy hose streams and usually consist of a 2 1/2 inch valve-controlled outlet without hose. . Class II standpipe systems are used by building occupants until arrival of firefighters and are usually equipped with a rack/reel of 1 1/2 inch hose with nozzle and valve control. . Class III standpipe systems are a combinations system consisting of Class I and Class II features. . Water in the 1st fold of a standpipe hose indicates leaking or a partially open valve. . 1 1/2 inch standpipe connections should be tested by letting water flow into a bucket, while 2 1/2 inch connections should have a pressure gauge connected to test it. . An automatic sprinkler system consists of a water source, distribution piping, and 1 or more sprinklers. . The 3 types of dry-pipe sprinkler systems are dry pipe, pre-action, and deluge. . Dry chemical systems must conform to NFPA 17, Standard for Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems. . Wet chemical systems must conform to NFPA 17A, Standard for Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems. . Carbon dioxide systems must conform to NFPA 12, Standard on Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems. . Local application carbon dioxide systems are usually supplied from 1 or more small cylinders, while total flooding applications use much larger tanks or a bank of cylinders. . The production of halogenated agents (halons) was stopped in the year 2000 due to the Montreal Protocol, however, in applications where no suitable replacement is available, halon systems are acceptable (US stopped production in 1993). . Foam systems that porduce low-expansion foam must conform to NFPA 11, Standard for Low-Expansion Foam, while other systems must conform to NFPA 11A, Standard for Medium- and High-Expansion Foam Systems. . Portable fire extinguishers must be maintained in accordance with NFPA 10, Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers.