BUILDING CODE COMMISSION

Transcription

1 Ruling No Application No BUILDING CODE COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF Subsection 24(1) of the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c. 23, as amended. AND IN THE MATTER OF Sentence (2) of Regulation 403, as amended by O. Reg. 22/98, 102/98, 122/98, 152/99, 278/99, 593/99, 597/99, 205/00 and 283/01 (the Ontario Building Code ). AND IN THE MATTER OF an application by Michael Bonnah, G.M. of Operations & Logistics, West Park Hospital, for the resolution of a dispute with Bruce Ashton, Deputy Chief Building Official, City of Toronto, to determine whether the use of unlisted, alpha-numeric display devices forming part of the call station located in the nursing stations provides sufficiency of compliance with Sentence (2) of the Ontario Building Code at the West Park Long-Term Care Facility, 82 Buttonwood Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. APPLICANT RESPONDENT PANEL PLACE Michael Bonnah G.M. of Operations & Logistics West Park Hospital Bruce Ashton Chief Building Official City of Toronto Len King, Vice-Chair Fred Barkhouse Donald Pratt Toronto, Ontario DATE OF HEARING June 20, 2002 DATE OF RULING June 20, 2002 APPEARANCES Allan Larden Larden Muniak Consulting Inc. Toronto, Ontario Agent for the Applicant Sait Toprak Manager, Plan Review City of Toronto Designate for the Respondent

2 -2- RULING 1. The Applicant Michael Bonnah, G.M. of Operations & Logistics, West Park Hospital, has received a building permit under the Building Code Act, S.O. 1992, c. 23, as amended, and is constructing a nursing home known as the Extendicare Long-Term Care Facility, West Park Hospital Site, 82 Buttonwood Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. 2. Description of Construction The Applicant is completing construction of a nursing home facility having a Group B, Division 2 occupancy classification. The structure is three storeys in building height and 4,450 m 2 in building area. The facility will be equipped with both a sprinkler system and a fire alarm system. The construction in dispute involves the visual signals required in addition to the requirements for fire alarm and smoke detection systems. It is proposed that a series of triple dome lights be located on the ceiling of the corridor in the immediate vicinity of each residential bedroom. A smoke detector located inside the residential room will actuate a red dome light in the corridor. The dome lights also activate when the nurses call buttons are pushed. A yellow light will appear if the nurses call is generated from the bathroom, a green light is illuminated if a call is initiated from the bedroom area. In addition to the triple dome lights in the bedroom corridors, wall mounted alpha-numeric display devices will be located at the nurses call stations and will identify the room in which a signal has been activated. These devices are not listed by ULC as an ancillary device to the fire alarm system. The displays, however, will indicate the room number and simultaneously provide an indication of the type of signal that has been triggered. A ceiling mounted strobe light is also proposed at each nurses call station. These lights will be triggered if a smoke detector is activated anywhere in the area of the home in which the nursing station is situated. Finally, it is proposed that an additional fire alarm annunciating device be located at the centrally located ground floor nursing station. This annunciating device will also identify the individual room in which a smoke detector has been activated. 3. Dispute The issue at dispute between the Applicant and Respondent is whether the proposed system of dome lights, together with the unlisted alpha-numeric display devices at the call stations, provide sufficiency of compliance with Sentence (2) of the Ontario Building Code (OBC). This sentence requires that, in addition to the requirements for fire alarm and detections systems, visual signals from smoke detectors located in sleeping rooms of a Group B occupancy, must be provided to allow staff to easily identify the room or location of the fire alarm initiation. In this respect, a series of dome lights and alpha numeric display devices referred to as a Nurse Call System are being proposed. As noted above, dome lights will be situated outside each sleeping room and will light with a red indicator if activated by a smoke detector. In addition, a signal will appear at the alpha-numeric displays located at each nursing station and at the centrally located ground floor nursing station. These signals will identify the individual room in which a detector has been activated. The proposed alpha-numeric display devices, however, are not ULC listed. The system is not

3 -3- electronically supervised by the building base fire alarm system nor is it provided with a dedicated backup source of power. 4. Provisions of the Ontario Building Code Visual Signals (2) In addition to the requirements for fire alarm and detection systems in this Subsection, visual signals from smoke detectors required in sleeping rooms of Group B occupancy shall be provided so that staff serving those rooms can easily identify the room or location of fire alarm initiation. (See Appendix A.) 5. Applicant s Position The Agent for the Applicant explained that the new nursing home is currently in the final stages of construction. It was during one of the final inspections that the design and function of the required visual signals was raised as an issue of concern by the Respondent. In January 2002 the Applicant was advised that a) the colour coding of the dome lights outside sleeping rooms was an issue, b) all of the dome lights could not be seen from the nursing stations, c) the alpha-numeric display system was not listed by ULC as an ancillary device to the fire alarm system, and d) the additional fire alarm annunciator at the ground floor nursing station did not satisfy the intent of the Code to require a visual display at each nursing station. The Agent submitted that, in his opinion, Sentence (2) requires visual signals in addition to the fire alarm system. These signals, he argued, need not be ULC listed and form part of the fire alarm system. He referred to the Appendix note in the Code and suggested that there were two methods of compliance available. The first would be to provide visual signals in the corridor at the location of each sleeping room. This would be appropriate if staff could see each sleeping room from one spot. If this was not possible, signals are to be provided where staff are expected to be present, i.e. the nursing station. In this regard, the Agent argued that the building in question had been designed by employing both methods of visual signals anticipated by the Appendix note. The Agent for the Applicant explained that, because staff could not visualize all of the dome lights from one location, the alpha-numeric display would be used in conjunction with the corridor dome lights. He advised that staff of the facility are frequently walking through the corridors. As such, they felt is appropriate to use both types of visual signals to ensure the fastest possible response. In respect to the colour of the dome light on activation of a smoke detector, the Applicant argued that there is no basis for the Respondent s claim that the light should be amber in colour. He submitted that the red light proposed was more identifiable as an alarm or alert colour. Furthermore, the Agent argued that there is no requirement in the Code for the visual signal devices to be ULC listed or to be considered part of the fire alarm system. He submitted that ancillary devices, such as these alpha-numeric display devices, are to be activated by the fire alarm system but are not required to be part of the fire alarm system. In referring to an extract from the ULC Standard, the Applicant noted that a fire alarm may include other devices such as voice communications. Strobe lights or other visuals could be added if desired. This, he argued, supported the position that there was no requirement that these ancillary devices be listed and form part of the fire alarm system. In summation, the Agent submitted that the Nurse Call System proposed for this facility will serve

4 -4- to visually identify the room in which a smoke detector has been actuated. The Agent stated that other long term care facilities have been constructed throughout the province that have been equipped with the type of system proposed here. The dome lights outside the individual rooms will provide a visual signal in addition to the alpha-numeric display at the nursing station. Furthermore, the annunciator panel to be provided at the ground floor nursing station will provide staff in this location with information regarding the activation of a detector. Staff throughout the facility are also supplied with pagers that would indicate the room number and priority level of an activated signal. The Agent submitted that the Applicant is voluntarily exceeding the minimum requirements of the Code by providing both the dome light system and the alpha-numeric displays. He reiterated that there is no provision in the Code to require these ancillary devices to be ULC listed. 6. Respondent s Position The Designate for the Respondent submitted that, upon inspection of the facility, they had identified two areas of concern. Namely, the type of visual signals being proposed and the colour coding of those signals. The Designate advised the Commission that in 1990 the colour of visual signals became an issue with the Ministry of Health. In this respect he submitted that an amber signal has been the colour of choice for Toronto Fire Services in their effort to standardize operations with those of the Ministry, which has adopted this colour as being most appropriate. In respect to the visual signal system itself, the Designate argued that these devices are marketed as life safety systems. Staff have to be able to respond to the signal and will come to rely on its accuracy and efficiency. He argued that, because it is not ULC listed, there would be no control over maintenance, inspection or monitoring. As a way to ensure that the system is operating as designed, the Designate argued that it should be listed. To be consistent with past practices, the Designate stated that fire alarm annunciators at each nursing station, in addition to the alpha-numeric displays would satisfy their concerns. This would be a maintained system and part of the fire alarm system. Such a system would reliably alert staff immediately and would satisfy his concerns in respect to the potential for failure of the unsupervised system being proposed by the Applicant. In summation, the Designate submitted that by relying on these visual signals as a life safety system it is appropriate to ensure its effective operation. If staff are not able to properly respond to a signal, the response time of the fire department may be affected. To ensure continued maintenance, monitoring and inspection it is, therefore, appropriate to require listed devices to satisfy the provisions of Sentence (2). 7. Commission Ruling It is the decision of the Building Code Commission that the use of unlisted, alpha-numeric display devices forming part of the call station located in the nursing stations provide sufficiency of compliance with Sentence (2) of the Ontario Building Code at the West Park Long-Term Care Facility, 82 Buttonwood Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.

5 -5-8. Reasons i) The system of dome lights outside of each patient room, in addition to the alpha-numeric display devices, is sufficient to provide the visual signals required by Sentence (2). ii) iii) The alpha-numeric display system will be used in conjunction with remote pagers supplied to the nursing staff which would identify the room where a smoke detector has been activated. An additional annunciator, which is capable of identifying individual smoke detector activation anywhere in the facility, is provided at the ground floor nursing station.

6 Dated at Toronto this 20th day in the month of June in the year 2002 for application number Len King, Chair-Designate Fred Barkhouse Donald Pratt