Major Changes Nova Scotia Building Code 2011 Construction and Maintenance Regulatory Change Industry Briefing

Major Changes Nova Scotia Building Code 2011 Construction and Maintenance Regulatory Change Industry Briefing Ted Ross Labour & Advanced Education Gerard Donahoe Labour & Advanced Education

Overview Where are the changes coming from? Changes to Parts 3 and 9 of the 2010 NBC Changes to Parts 3, 4, and 5 of the 2010 NFC Issues Addressed: Fire Protection Use and Egress Hazardous Materials and Activities Housing and Small Buildings 2

Code Process Update Where are we now? Oct 2008 Apr 2009 PCF 2007 Public Review SC Sep 22-23 SC SC PCF 2008 Public Review SC CCBFC 2009 Nov 12-13 Feb 21-22 Dec 2010 SC SC SC CCR PCF Public CCBFC Review 3

Spatial Separation Residential Care Facilities Fire and Smoke Alarms Exit Signs Major Changes Subjects Combustible Penetrations (Fire Stop, Fire Block) Plenum Cables Stairs, Ramps, Handrails and Guards (Parts3) NFC What s coming 4

Edmonton Fire Unsprinklered Buildings 5

Nature of Technical Changes (Spatial Separation Unsprinklered) Edmonton Fire Changes can be summarized as: limiting distance & fire department response time; unprotected openings; including size and spacing construction of exposing building faces; and combustible projections. 6

Construction of Exposing Building Face Spatial Separation Maximum Area of Unprotected Openings (MAUO) limiting distance >25 to 50 % Fire-Resistance Rating (FRR) 45 minutes Type of Construction Combustible or Noncombustible Cladding Noncombustible 7

Construction of Exposing Building Face Spatial Separation MAUO 25-50% exception for Noncombustible Cladding where: LD > 5 m Sprinkler (including attic) Cladding conforms to Section 9.27. 8

Spatial Separation Residential Care Facilities Fire and Smoke Alarms Exit Signs Major Changes Subject Combustible Penetration (Fire Stop, Fire Block) Plenum Cables Stairs, Ramps, Handrails and Guards (Part 3 & 9) NFC What s Coming 9

Residential Care Facilities Care Occupancy Group B, Div. 3 care occupancy Care occupancy means the occupancy or use of a building or part thereof where care is provided to residents. 10

Residential Care Facilities Treatment Occupancy Treatment occupancy (Group B, Div. 2) means the occupancy or use of a building or part thereof for the provision of treatment and where overnight accommodation is available to facilitate the treatment. 11

Treatment means Residential Care Facilities Treatment the provision of medical or other health-related intervention to persons, where the administration or lack of administration of these interventions may render them incapable of evacuating to a safe location without the assistance of another person. 12

Group B, Div. 3 (care occupancy) More stringent than Group C Part 3 compliance Sprinkler Fire alarm system Residential Care Facilities Main Requirements Less stringent than Group B, Div. 2 (treatment occupancy) Relaxations... 13

Residential Care Facilities Smoke Detector Relaxation... Permits the use of smoke alarms within sleeping rooms and suites of residential care facilities in lieu of smoke detectors. 14

Residential Care Facilities Sprinkler Relaxation NFPA 13R permitted for up to 3 storeys and 10 occupants NFPA 13D permitted no more than 2 suites and five residents 15

Residential Care Facilities Construction Relaxation Combustible construction permitted up to 3 storeys with limited occupant load 16

Residential Care Facilities Corridor Width Relaxation Corridor width reduction to 1100 mm from 1650 mm where occupant load does not exceed 10 persons 17

Residential Care Facilities Magnetic locks & Auxiliary Locking Devices Applies to exit doors, and doors in a means of egress Provincially Licensed Group B Division 2» nursing homes Division 3» small options Devices in compliance with CAN/ULC-S319-05 Electronic Access Control Systems Blue Pull Card swipe

The locking device on exit doors or doors in a means of egress, is permitted to be released by a force of not more than 90 N applied to the door opening hardware that initiates an irreversible process that will release the locking device within 15 s or activating a blue manual pull station, installed in close proximity to the door, and not relock until the door has been opened. Residential Care Facilities Magnetic locks & Auxiliary Locking Devices 3.4.6.15.(4) not more than 1 200 mm Card swipe Blue Pull Push

Spatial Separation Residential Care Facilities Fire and Smoke Alarms Exit Signs Combustible Penetration (Fire Stop, Fire Block) Plenum Cables Stairs, Ramps, Handrails and Guards (Part 3) Secondary Suites NFC What s Coming Major Changes Subject 20

Fire and Smoke Alarms Fire Protection Fire Alarm System Resolved Technical Differences between Part 9 and Part 3 21

Fire and Smoke Alarms Use and Egress Smoke Alarm Smoke Alarm shall be installed in bedrooms Fires in sleeping rooms are the second highest causes of fire deaths 22

Fire and Smoke Alarms Use and Egress Smoke Alarm Smoke Alarm shall meet the temporal pattern improve audibility and early detection 23

Fire and Smoke Alarms Use and Egress Smoke Alarm Smoke Alarm shall minimize potential tampering with smoke alarm (silencing) 24

Exit Signs green pictograms conforming to ISO standards conform to universal sign language independent internationally recognized harmonizing internationally Exit Signs Use and Egress 26

Exit Signs Use and Egress Exit Signs Recognizing that photoluminescent technology continues to function when building emergency power fails provides options to designers and easier installation, All exit signs need to be listed 27

Combustible Penetration New definitions Fire stop: a system comprised of material, component and means of support, used to fill gaps between fire separations, to fill gaps between fire separations and other assemblies, or used around items which wholly or partially penetrate fire separation. 29

Combustible Penetration Fire Block Fire Block 30

Fire block: Combustible Penetration New definitions a material, component or system installed in a concealed space in a building to restrict the spread of fire within that concealed space, or from that concealed space to an adjacent space. 31

Combustible Penetration Fire Protection Penetrations through Fire Separation Properly identify systems new definitions (fire block/fire stop) Clarifications how F- and FT-rating apply to fire stopping generalize explanation of cast-in-place sprinklers are exempted from having to be fire-stopped Penetrations in fire separation without FRR shall be smoke tight Relaxation: allow larger diameter combustible piping to penetrate a rated assembly 32

Combustible Penetration Penetrations Penetration of Wires/Cables and Outlet Boxes Single conductor metal sheathed cables > 25 mm can penetrate if: not grouped separated 300 mm 33

Combustible Penetration Penetrations by Water Closet Combustible Piping Penetrations Combustible drain piping is permitted to penetrate a horizontal fire separation provided it leads directly from a noncombustible water closet through a concrete floor slab. 34

Combustible Penetration Penetrations Through Fire Separation requires F rating = rating of closures Through Firewall requires FT rating = rating of Firewall 35

Plenum Cables Buildings of Noncombustible Construction Plenum cables FT-6 rating Buildings of Combustible Construction Plenum Cables FT-4 rating 37

Plenum Cables Exceptions cables and wires used for: signals for fire alarm security radio television 38

Fire Protection Plenum Cables and Wires Proliferation of cables and wires Combustible construction: FT-4 rating Noncombustible construction: FT-6 rating, or FT-4 rating when enclosed in noncombustible raceways. Difference between FT-6 and FT-4: Limited smoke development for FT-6 39

Stairs, Ramps, Handrails and Guards General Rationale Resolve Differences Between Parts 3 and 9 Changes Clarify where to measure height over stairs tolerances Harmonize Rise and Run Dimensions 41

Fire losses on construction sites are 6 times greater than for completed buildings Expand scope of Code to require protection of adjacent buildings and facilities National Fire Code Construction and Demolition Sites Request active and/or passive fire protection systems for adjacent buildings and facilities exposed to fire originating from construction and demolition sites. e.g. water curtains, gypsum sheathing, temporary fire barrier, fire watch, etc. 43

National Fire Code Inside Building Storage Tanks for Combustible Liquids 2005 NFC does not apply to CSA-B139 appliances CSA-B139 limits maximum tank size to 2500 L (5000 L aggregate) refers to NFC Storage tanks inside buildings are now permitted in all occupancies where combustible liquids are stored and used as fuel for Oil-burning equipment, Emergency generators, and Fire pumps. 44

National Fire Code Inside Building Storage Tanks for Combustible Liquids Current Table applies to industrial occupancies only New table lists maximum quantity of combustible liquids allowed in a storage room for all occupancies. Storage room needs to be protected by a fire suppression system. Required storage tank construction varies based on their capacity: Double-walled construction ( 2500 L and 20 000 L), or Protected tank assembly in conformance with ULC-S655 standard (> 20 000 L). Monitoring of the secondary containment for leakage 45

Increased demand dictates increased capacity Facilitate delivery in remote areas Increased capacity at fuel-dispensing stations for aboveground storage tanks : Individual from 50 000 to 80 000 L, and Aggregate from 150 000 to 200 000 L. Compartmentalized storage tanks now treated as one tank to evaluate their capacity. National Fire Code Outside Storage Tanks flammable and combustible liquids 46

double-walled construction becoming good practice reduced costs (savings for leak detection) National Fire Code Outside Storage Tanks flammable and combustible liquids Underground storage tanks and piping now required to be double-walled construction. New requirements and new definition for: Dispenser sump, Turbine sump. Spill containment sump, and Transition sump. 47

National Fire Code Relocation and Cross-Referencing Relocate building design requirements from the NFC into the NBC, Introduce cross-references in the NFC to new NBC provisions to maintain their applicability to existing buildings, and Create new Sections in the NBC to accommodate requirements from the NFC that cannot be incorporated in the existing NBC structure. 48

2011 National Energy Code for Buildings Energy Codes July 2008 the Council of the Federation, comprised of Canada s 13 Premiers, issued a statement requesting an improvement of 25% over the levels set by the MNECB 1997 three methods of compliance Prescriptive Trade off Performance Farm buildings & greenhouses excluded [as in previous edition] in force by 2012

Energy Codes 2012 National Energy Code for Houses and Small Buildings Current requirements found in the NS Building Code replaced with updated National Code in force by 2012-13 seamless with NR Can EnerGuide Rating System

Task Groups CAM (Component Additive Method) Security Systems that Affect Egress Fire Alarms Way Guidance Systems Stairs, Guards and Railings Farm Building Code Smoke Tightness of Closures Use and Protection of Foamed Plastics Relocation and Cross-Referencing (Technical Issues) Next Code Cycle Address outstanding issues Outlook for 2015 52

www.national codes.ca Additional Information Information on significant Code Changes National Building Code of Canada 2010 National Fire Code of Canada 2010 National Plumbing Code of Canada 2010 Frequently Asked Questions Significant technical changes to the 2010 Codes [every change] Important Code Changes for 2010 Coming in late February 13 webinars on major changes 20 to 30 minute Canadian Code Centre staff

Code Change Seminars Labour and Advanced Education preparing Building, Fire, & Plumbing code change seminars April 12, 13, 14 Halifax details to be announced additional dates locations to be announced

Questions? 55