Agenda - Council - 05/25/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS (1306) The Ramsey Building and Fire Departments are proposing the adoption of Chapter 1306. This chapter provides a better level of long term safety for the growth of our community. Fire statistics repeatedly show that over 80% of all fire fatalities that occur in our country occur in a residence, and approximately 75% of all businesses that sustain a fire do not come back into business within that structure. This proposal is not about money; it is about the long term safety of our con~munity, fircfightcrs, and the economic stability of the city. Since the City of Ramsey has adopted the State Building (1974) and Fire Codes (1998), provisions have been in place for sprinklering buildings and residences. These provisions however are not consistent and allow designers to use separation walls, fire barriers, etc. to defeat the sprinkler requirements. Multi-family homes do not need to be sprinklered unless there are no openings in the basement. Chapter 1306 would allow us to require fire sprinklers in homes according to what code they are built to. Commercial structures would have a lower threshold they would be held to according to their occupancy. In return, some expensive code requirements are reduced or eliminated, saving the builder money. The new codes are pro-sprinkler and have added reductions in areas just to promote the use of sprinklers. Fire Sprinklers in homes is not new, they have been around since the early 80's. Coon Rapids adopted 1306 over 15 years ago. Many other cities around Minnesota have had it for years as well. This chapter focuses on multi-family homes. It does not affect the typical single family home unless it is over 8,500 Sq. Ft. (total gross area including the floors, garage, and basement). Single family does not kick in until the 8,500 Sq. Ft. is exceeded. No matter how high it is. As Ramsey grows and developers make neighborhoods more dense with high buildings made of common combustible materials, fighting fires in these residences is very time consuming and risky. Chapter 1306 will greatly reduce or eliminate the need for common firefighting tactics in these structures. Fire sprinklers save lives, property, and time! Fire and water damage is greatly reduced and the homeowner has the opportunity to escape with a great chance they will see their belongings again. l,ct mc try to explain how Chapter 1306 will affect commercial and residential occupancies. The threshold for commercial structures (B, F, M, and E) would be lowered in many cases to 2000 sq. ft. All assembly occupancies would be required to be sprinkled. This is due to the large number of occupants within the building. The Rhode Island disaster is another prime example for the need to have sprinklers. For rcsideutial, we would have to select between Option 1 OR Option 2. We choose option 1 for NEW construction only. Option 1 requires sprinklers in all residential occupancies (R-l, R-2, and R-3) that are greater than 8,500 sq. ft. This 8,500 sq. ft. is the gross area of the residence including all l]oors, basements, and garages. It would NOT affect unattached one and two family homes tmlex.¥ il was over 8,500 sq. ft. The actual code reads this: