1. The meeting was called to order by Chair James Lathrop at 8:00 AM (CDT) on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.

Transcription

1 MINUTES NFPA Technical Committee on Residential Occupancies NFPA 101 and NFPA 5000 First Draft Meeting Wednesday, August 26, 2015 InterContinental Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI 1. The meeting was called to order by Chair James Lathrop at 8:00 AM (CDT) on Wednesday, August 26, Self-introduction of committee members and guests were made. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT James Lathrop, Chair Roland Asp, Principal Harry Bradley, Principal Phillip Brown, Principal Daniel Buuck, Principal Bradford Cronin, Principal Daniel Finnegan, Principal Sam Francis, Principal Stanley Harbuck, Principal Kenneth Isman, Principal Marshall Klein, Principal Josh Lambert, Principal Alfred Longhitano, Principal Eric Mayl, Principal Ronald Nickson, Principal Richard Roberts, Principal David Newhouse, Alt. to R. Roberts David Wilmot, Alt. to W. Bonisch Koffel Associates Inc. National Fire Sprinkler Association Maryland State Fire Marshal s Office Rep.: International Fire Marshals Association American Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. National Association of Home Builders Newport Fire Department Rep.: Rhode Island Association of Fire Marshals Siemens Industry, Inc. Rep.: Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc. American Wood Council School of Building Inspection Rep.: American Public Health Association University of Maryland Marshall A. Klein & Associates, Inc. University of Texas at Austin Alfred J. Longhitano, P.E., LLC Core Engineers Consulting Group, LLC National Multifamily Housing Council Honeywell Life Safety Rep.: National Electrical Manufacturers Association Gentex Corporation Rep.: National Electrical Manufacturers Association Aon Fire Protection Engineering Page 1 of 5

2 Gregory Harrington, Staff Liaison National Fire Protection Association TECHNICAL COMMITTEE PRINCIPAL MEMBERS NOT PRESENT (NOT LISTED WHERE ALTERNATE ATTENDED) H. Wayne Boyd, Principal US Safety & Engineering Corporation Patrick Boyer, Principal State Farm Insurance Company Ralph Gerdes, Principal Ralph Gerdes Consultants, LLC Richard Long, Principal Exponent, Inc. Rep.: Upholstered Furniture Action Council Henry Paszczuk, Principal Connecticut Department of Public Safety John Sharry, Principal Beakmann Properties Kevin Spangler, Principal Michael Baker International Joseph Versteeg, Principal Versteeg Associates Carl Weaver, Principal Concord Management Ltd. Jeffrey Zwirn, Principal IDS Research & Development Inc. Donald Damron, Voting Alternate Sarasota County Fire Department GUESTS PRESENT Jay Hall Jim Kirby Linda Strobl Robert Solomon Portland Cement Assoc. Kellen For GYP. Assoc. Hamilton Public Health-Canada National Fire Protection Association 3. Approval of June 24, 2013 second draft meeting minutes. The previous meeting minutes were approved as submitted. 4. The process staff PowerPoint presentation. Staff provided an overview of the first draft meeting procedures. See the meeting agenda for the PowerPoint slides. 5. Correlating Committee minutes with direction for 2018 editions. a. Home health care: The committee reviewed the CC direction, no action. See also Item 7 below. b. Life safety sprinkler systems: The committee reviewed the CC direction; no action. The TC will await the report from the upcoming life safety sprinkler system workshop to be hosted by NFPA in December. c. NFPA 13R attic protection: The committee reviewed the CC direction; no action. The TC will await the report from the upcoming life safety sprinkler system workshop to be hosted by NFPA in December. d. Private homes/dwellings rented as B&Bs: The committee reviewed the CC direction; no action. e. Apartments for the elderly: The committee reviewed the CC direction, no action. See also Item 7 below. 6. Core chapters, first revisions of interest staff review. Staff provided an overview of the core chapter revisions of interest to the TC. Revisions and CIs were developed as appropriate see the first draft report. Page 2 of 5

3 7. Elderly Housing Task Group report B. Cronin, TG Chair. See Attachment, pg NFPA 101 First Draft preparation. The TC reviewed the NFPA 101 PIs and developed FRs and CIs as applicable see the NFPA 101 first draft report. 9. NFPA 5000 First Draft preparation. The TC reviewed the NFPA 5000 PIs and developed FRs and CIs as applicable see the NFPA 5000 first draft report. 10. Other business. It was noted the definition of one- and two-family dwelling in of NFPA 101 does not match the Ch. 3 definition. The TC directed staff to provide the following proposed definition to the 101 and 5000 correlating committees for action by the TC on Fundamentals: * Definition One- and Two-Family Dwelling Unit. A building that contains not more than two dwelling units with independent cooking and bathroom facilities with each dwelling unit occupied by members of a single family with not more than three outsiders, if any, accommodated in rented rooms. 11. Future meetings. The second draft (public comment) meetings will be held Q at a location TBD. Details will be provided when they are available. 12. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 5:15 PM, Wednesday, August 26, Page 3 of 5

4 Apartments for the Elderly Task Group Report Task Group Members: Brad Cronin (Chair), Dan Finnegan, Elizabeth Harbuck, Stan Harbuck, Marshall Klein, Jim Lathrop and Joe Versteeg As directed by the Correlating Committee, the Task Group reviewed past material to summarize work done previously. This was done by reviewing the 1981 Life Safety Code and Handbook material, and the supporting TCR and TCD. The Task Group also reviewed requirements that some states had specific to these type of occupancies. The following represents the findings of the group. Code Review 1981 Life Safety Code Requirements for apartments for the elderly were brought in for the first time in this edition. Definition o Apartments for the Elderly. An apartment building specifically designed for housing elderly individuals who are capable of self-preservation. Changes were broken into 2 categories; apartments for the elderly in general and those buildings 7 stories and up Requirements in both new and existing contained construction features and system requirements o For all: Reduced travel distance to exits, no spiral staircases, no winders, horizontal exit required, manual fire alarms, monitored fire alarm (4 stories and up), pressurization of exit corridors o For 7 stories and up: Monitored alarms and annunciator indicating floor, voice communication, smoke barriers, smoke partitions 5 of 26 votes were negative for TCR, comments below o Reliability of pressurizing elevator shafts and lobbies not proven, elderly requirements excessive o Use of elevators vs area of refuge is premature o Provisions for handicap are unreasonable, unjustifiable, and indefensible in terms of cost benefit and are impractical in application o Provisions for the handicapped are objectionable, not because of the stated purpose, but for the major effect on building design and arrangement o High cost impact, lack of objectives to achieve life safety objectives, arbitrarily applied regardless of occupancy, lack of documentation to show validity or practicality of requirements, and the measures are too broad in scope 2 of 29 votes were negative for TCD, comments below o Real danger of conflicts with building codes resulting from use of reference to incompatible set of building construction type designations o Need for set of special criteria for housing for the elderly has not been demonstrated by field experience Page 4 of 5

5 o The proposed special provisions for the handicapped fail to fully recognize the value of automatic sprinkler protection in providing "in-place" protection. It has not been demonstrated that the additional protection and expense of smoke barriers is justified by a real need 1985 Life Safety Code Requirements for apartments for the elderly were removed o Relevant comments Buildings designed for elderly housing are being discriminated against versus buildings which happen to have a large elderly population. The requirements for apartment buildings adequately protect residents of all age groups as long as they are capable of self-preservation o Residential Board and Care added as new chapter which included the elderly where care services were provided U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and Department of Health and Human Services provided comments supporting the addition of adding this chapter Various State Requirements MA has requirements for emergency plans and instructions provided to occupants annually RI has requirements for annual inspections of elderly apartments CT has requirements for sprinklers in buildings over 4 stories with at least 80% of occupants over 65 years old o It was noted that there are difficulties in determining age of occupants during an inspection Considerations 1981 requirements were hard to enforce in existing buildings since tenants may age in place triggering requirements that weren t in play when building was built. For example travel distance reduction in elderly apartments Defining elderly and is our concern only age or age and mobility Should we address both elderly occupants as well as those infirmed and requiring medical care in the home regardless of age Requirements and concerns would be different for both groups Which occupancies should we address: apartments, 1- and 2- family dwellings Possible Next Steps Getting stakeholders involved to ensure their concerns are heard Monitoring the FPRF project relating to this topic Seeking data on fires in these occupancies to focus any requirements Determining other state requirements for apartments for the elderly Page 5 of 5