The First Facility Management Blog

The International Code Council (ICC) has approved 23 building and fire code changes based on recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The recommendations were part of NIST’s investigation of the collapses of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York on 9/11.

With the changes implemented, future buildings (especially tall structures) should be increasingly resistant to fire, more easily evacuated in emergencies, and safer overall, states the October 1, 2008 release from NIST. The changes, adopted at the ICC hearings held Sept. 15 to 21, 2008, in Minneapolis, MN, will be incorporated into the 2009 edition of the ICC’s I-Codes (specifically the International Building Code, or IBC, and the International Fire Code, or IFC), a model code used as the basis for building and fire regulations promulgated and enforced by U.S. state and local jurisdictions. Those jurisdictions have the option of incorporating some or all of the code’s provisions but generally adopt most provisions.

“We applaud this historic action by the ICC—and the tremendous effort by NIST and its WTC investigation team that led to it,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. “The lessons learned from the tragic events of 9/11 have yielded stronger building and fire codes for a new generation of safer, more robust buildings across the nation.”

The new codes address areas such as:

• Increasing structural resistance to building collapse from fire and other incidents
• Requiring a third exit stairway for tall buildings
• Increasing the width of all stairways by 50% in new high-rises
• Strengthening criteria for the bonding, proper installation and inspection of sprayed fire-resistive materials (commonly known as “fireproofing”)
• Improving the reliability of active fire protection systems (i.e., automatic sprinklers)
• Requiring a new class of robust elevators for access by emergency responders in lieu of an additional stairway
• Making exit path markings more prevalent and more visible
• Ensuring effective coverage throughout a building for emergency responder radio communications.

Not Approved, But To Be Reconsidered
There were nine building and fire code change proposals consistent with the NIST WTC investigation recommendations that were not approved for the 2009 edition of the I-Codes but will be considered for resubmission at a later date after being amended. These are:

• Requiring buildings more than 420 feet high to be designed to survive a building contents fire to burnout without more than local failure of the structural frame.
• Requiring structures not to suffer a collapse disproportionate to a local initiating failure caused by an accident or incident.
• Requiring a risk assessment and acceptable mitigation of risks for buildings more than 420 feet high with an occupant load greater than 5,000; for buildings with an occupant load greater than 10,000; and for buildings determined to be at higher than normal risk.
• Requiring use of a new standard for conducting wind tunnel testing.
• Requiring installation of stairway communication and monitoring system at every fifth floor of each exit stairway. Also requiring, in buildings more than 75 feet high, a video surveillance system in each exit stairway, elevator lobby, elevator hoistway and elevator machine room to enhance situational awareness of emergency responders.
• Requiring fire safety and evacuation plans for all occupancies and buildings where required by the International Fire Code (the International Building Code is more widely adopted across the country than the IFC; this would ensure all situations are covered).
• Requiring detailed schematic building plans, including an approved Building Information Card, to be located in fire command centers to show the type of construction, stairway access and pressurization, fuel oil tank and hazardous materials locations, standpipe availability and locations, in addition to typical floor plan and details of the building core, means of egress, elevator locations, fire protection systems, firefighting equipment and fire department access.
• Limiting the length of horizontal transfer corridors used to connect a stairwell to 50 feet or less in buildings more than 75 feet high.
• Allowing the option to design buildings more than 420 feet high using the ICC Performance Code, instead of the high-rise provisions of the International Building Code. This change will allow the performance-based NIST WTC recommendations to be considered in a holistic manner.

A chart tracking the progress toward implementing all of the NIST WTC recommendations can be found at http://wtc.nist.gov.

Last Friday (1/18/08), NPR Morning Edition ran a segment fire safe elevators. This technology has been integrated into the Stratosphere Tower (the only location in the U.S. to date), and it may eventually become part of the safety code for all skyscrapers. The fastest elevators in the U.S., these lifts for the tallest building west of the Mississippi River travel at a speed of 1,800 feet per minute, creating significantly faster egress for pedestrians.

According to an article by Laurie Goldman and Sander Goldman in today’s (1/21/08) Popular Science, “To make elevators fire safe, shafts are sheathed in concrete, studded with heat sensors, and pressurized to keep out smoke. Cars have heat- and water-resistant electronics.” Sloping floors and drains would handle water, should the sprinkler system go off.

Fire safe elevators like those in the Stratosphere would surely save the lives of people with disabilities who have difficulty using stairwells in high rise buildings. For a population that has gotten slower and fatter, these elevators will speed evacuations. In an effort to assist firefighters, San Francisco has adopted a measure this year that will require all tall buildings to have at least one fire safe elevator.

Despite the benefits of fire safe elevators, some safety experts are concerned about the re-education process: nearly everyone has been trained to avoid elevators and head to the stairs in case of fire. One solution may be the development of a universal fire safe elevator symbol, but additional education efforts would be necessary.

For more on the NIST’s official position on this issue, download this PDF by Richard W. Bukowski, P.E., FSFPE
f02034.pdf

For a look at some of the world’s most interesting elevators, check out this link.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced this week the beginning of a technical study of the June 18, 2007, fire at the Super Sofa Store furniture store/warehouse in Charleston, SC, that killed nine firefighters.

Within 36 hours of the fire, NIST had a reconnaissance team of fire experts on site to assess the situation and gather data about the fire as well as the subsequent collapse of the Super Sofa Store building. Based on that reconnaissance, NIST has determined that additional study is warranted.

The NIST team of fire experts is currently in Charleston responding to an invitation by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to participate in the interviews of the Charleston Fire Department personnel who witnessed the fire. The NIST team will use the interview data to establish a timeline for reconstructing the fire in a computer simulation, both for NIOSH’s use and for further NIST research.

Other activities for the team could include:
* Determining the conditions in the building prior to the initiating event (geometry, materials of construction and contents; location and conditions of doors, windows and ventilation; installed fire protection systems);
* Determining why and how the fire spread so quickly and, if necessary based on further evaluation, why and how the building collapsed so quickly; and
* Using computer simulations to study the impact on human survivability (referred to by researchers as “tenability”) in the Charleston fire if an installed sprinkler system had been in place.

A fire such as the one that occurred in Charleston raises a number of questions that, if answered, might serve as the basis for:

* Improvements in how buildings are designed, constructed, maintained and used;
* Improved tools and guidance for the fire service and building owners;
* Recommended revisions to current model codes, standards and practices; and
* Improved public safety.

NIST’s study of a 1999 townhouse fire in Washington, DC, resulted in a computer model that determined the cause of the rapid burst of flames up a stairway that claimed the lives of two firefighters. Based on the finding, District of Columbia Fire Department operating procedures were changed and the computer simulation is now used as a training tool nationwide.

NIST has more than 30 years of experience studying and investigating structural failures, including those as a result of fire, earthquakes and wind. For more information on these efforts, visit www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/bfrlinvestigations.htm.

About NIST
As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.