Much More to Building Safety Than “Just the Fire Code”

There are not many disciplines in the codes and standards development world as engaged, organized and passionate as the fire services stakeholders. The fire sprinkler hearings in Rochester, NY, in 2007 is a perfect example. The International Code Council (ICC) had more people engaged in the hearing room than ever before.

Whether proposing changes to the ICC, NFPA or Underwriters Laboratories (UL) processes, the fire service is aggressive, enthusiastic and diligent. However, that is only one code discipline, and while you are keeping the fire codes current and refining every detail, you are losing ground in the overall safety provisions that are of utmost importance to the protection of the occupants and the health of the firefighters within a structure. To be fully effective, members of the fire service must remove their blinders and look out in the periphery of the codes.

Connect to other codes

More and more, as the latest technologies compete and clamor for acceptance and recognition, they are brought forth into other code processes outside the scope of the fire codes. The mechanical, plumbing and gas codes, authored by ICC and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) contain many safety provisions that have an effect on you, your department and the public at large. In fact, arguments could be made that much of what is in these codes should be placed in the fire codes. The products and systems within them cover toxic substances, flammables and explosives as well as byproducts of combustion that are known to cause cancer when inhaled or ingested.

Up until recently, the mechanical code development process was one of the most neglected by industries outside their discipline. Not that it was created in a vacuum, but during the code development meetings, there were oftentimes only a handful of experts in the room. The quality was good, but only a few people were deciding important issues without much input from the outside. That is not the case anymore. Codes, even though well coordinated, have become a quagmire of interrelated provisions that do not always distinctly define the disciplines the same in the book as the actual practical application in real life.

Of course, it is simple to see the relationship of flammable fuel gas and fire services, but it is more than that. If you look back in code history, we will see that corrugated stainless-steel tubing (CSST) had some major fire safety issues related to lightening and arcing, causing fires in homes and businesses. The material and system were proposed through the mechanical, gas and plumbing code development process, not the fire code, but the resulting fires were certainly the responsibility of the fire departments. Over the last few years, the fire community has begun taking notice and actually creating local ordinances regulating these systems. In fact, some have outlawed the systems through fire service efforts.

It is extremely difficult to prepare for future accidents and fire events as the science of buildings and products changes as often as the wind blows a different direction. Oftentimes these products that enhance the dangers appear to be cumulative. In other words, it is not the plumbing water supply piping alone that increases the toxic danger load. To truly understand how toxic the situation is, one must add in the dry pipe of PVC and ABS for drain and vent materials on top of that total. Taking it a deadlier step further, you would add cabinet coverings, counter tops, carpet, curtains, toys and more that cannot be regulated after the building is completed.

There are minimal requirements in some building codes that restrict the use of PVC and other products that produce toxins under fire conditions; however, there has been an increase across the country in the number of attempts to remove these restrictions from local plumbing codes in large residential structures as well as hospitals and high-rise buildings. This means that, in a hospital for example, miles of extra PVC and ABS plastic piping can be installed instead of typical noncombustible metal piping. This piping is “dry,” or drainage piping, so it is especially prone to ignition and the resulting off-gassing of toxic and highly toxic gases. Is this a plumbing code issue only or also a fire fighter concern?

The plumbing industry, while working diligently to improve their trade and the minimum safety of the related systems, may not have seen the issues related to the PVC and other plastics burning in a fire and causing serious health issues for the firefighters. While it may be difficult to regulate the wall coverings, furniture and other plastics brought into buildings after they are built, it is relatively easy to reduce the load that is placed into the “bones” of the building—the structure and critical systems. This is an example where firefighters can have a positive influence in the other code disciplines.

If you work to control those components common to every building, maybe then you can reduce the load enough so that the accessories and furnishings that are impossible to regulate won’t make as much of a difference. To truly curb the mass of these loads associated with extreme fires, we as an entire industry should be looking at the structure and critical systems. The only ways to limit materials that could be dangerous is to engage in the code development hearings from the beginning or at the local jurisdiction-level during adoption and amendment process.

Currently, A2L (flammable) refrigerant proposals have already been addressed by fire interests at the 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) hearings and many were accepted into the fire code—before any other code. This is a perfect example of a system installed by the mechanical industry, but being regulated through the fire code development process. The fire industry is just as engaged as the HVACR industry, if not more.

The fire service’s proactivity with flammable refrigerants in the mechanical and fire codes should be emulated in other codes as well. There are plenty of critical health and safety items already overlapping in the fire and other codes. Beside the building code issues already monitored by the fire and building interests, there many other areas of mutual concern and code overlap:

NFPA 54 and IFGC: propane, natural gas, CSST and proper venting
IMC and UMC: flammable refrigerants, grease ducts and hoods
IPC and UPC: toxic fire loads (PVC, ABS), fire protection backflow

Get involved

With the ever-changing scientific advancements in all aspects of construction and the adaptation of manufacturers to meet the demands of new technology, it is almost impossible to stay abreast of it all. It is imperative though to make an effort, form a committee, join a council, attend development, amendment and adoption hearings.

It may sound like a cliché, but ignorance is no excuse, especially when it comes to your safety and that of those for whom you are responsible.