Life safety code

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), NFPA 101. Life Safety Code. NFPA, Quincy, MA, 1994. 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) NFPA is non-profit organization that publishes the National Electrical Code , the Life Safety Code , the Fire Prevention Code , the National Fuel Gas Code , and the National Fire Alarm Code . The mission of NFPA is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA is developing a fuel cell specific code, NFPA 853, which will cover the installation of stationary fuel cells of at least 50 kW output. Publication is expected to occur in 2000. 

Life safety addresses construction, protection and occupancy features in buildings necessary to minimize danger to life from fire, including smoke, fumes, or panic. NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code, has been adopted by many jurisdictions. The requirements of NFPA 101 are not intended for property protection, but are designed for life safety. There may be some life safety benefits that are achieved from the property protection features provided, or vice versa. 

Where water will create a serious fire or personnel hazard, a suitable nonwater automatic extinguishing system should be considered. Penetrations through fire-rated floor, ceiling, and wall assemblies by pipes, conduits, bus ducts, cables, wires, air ducts, pneumatic tubes and ducts, and similar building service equipment should be protected in accordance with NFPA 101 , Life Safety Code. All floor openings should be sealed or curbed to prevent liquid leakage to lower floors. Door assemblies in 1 -hour rated fire barriers should be y4-hour rated. Door assemblies in 2-hour rated fire barriers should be 1 V2-hour rated. 

Each year, statistics on causes and occupancies of fires and deaths resulting from fire are compiled and published. NFPA sponsors seminars on the Life Safety Codes, National Electrical Code, industrial fire protection, hazardous materials, transportation emergencies, and other related topics. NFPA also conducts research programs on delivery systems for public fire protection, arson, residential fire sprinkler systems, and other subjects. NFPA publications include National Fire Codes Annual, Fire Protection Handbook, Fire Journal and Fire Technology. 

As far as NFPA codes are concerned, as stated earlier, there are two key codes of relevance to fire safety that have no ICC equivalent. They are the National Electrical Code (NEC, NFPA 70), which has been adopted by virtually every state in the United States, and the National Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), which has been adopted by the majority of the states, as shown in Figure 21.2 (issued by NFPA). 

FIGU RE 21.2 (See color insert following page 530.) Adoption of the life safety code in the United States Early 2008. 

The 2009 edition of the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) consists of 43 chapters, along with a few appendices, which are not a mandatory portion of the code and can be adopted (or not) separately by individual AHJs. The key chapters are the following ... 

Chapter 20 addresses the occupancy fire safety and this is where most requirements for reaction-to-fire testing are included, usually by extraction of the requirements from the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), for interior finish, furnishings, and decorations. 

The NFPA Building Construction and Safety Code or NFPA 5000125 is the alternate building code to the IBC. In structure, it is similar to the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101), in that it starts with general requirements and then includes chapters on occupancies. It is also similar to the NFPA 1 and the UBC in that, after Chapter 40, it has specific chapters on individual materials, such as plastics, wood, glass, and gypsum board. It also contains a performance option alternative in Chapter 5. 

Chapter 10 of NFPA 5000 is virtually identical to the corresponding chapter of NFPA 101, except that it does not address, of course, furniture, mattresses, or decorations. It also has a similar table in the appendix describing the requirements for each type of interior finish. In fact, the same technical committee is responsible for the Life Safety Code and Building Code chapters. 

NFPA 99137 governs all health care occupancies, in conjunction with the Life Safety Code and the National Electrical Code. In fact virtually all hospitals, and the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which regulates hospitals, use the combination mentioned earlier almost without any other consideration. 

NFPA 101, Life Safety Code Blue = statewide adoption... 

What and why significant changes have been made to NFPA Life Safety Codes, inside view of code-making process, and specific examples of code applications. 

In addition to the organizations and codes listed in Table 6-1, the National Fire Protection Association promulgates standards and codes that address fire protection and life safety in building construction. Two of the NFPA s most frequently adopted codes are NFPA 70, National Electrical Code and NFPA 101, Code for Safety to Life from Fire in Buildings and Structures, more commonly known as the Life Safety Code. Both of these codes are adopted as standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 

Specific criteria and requirements for means of egress design can be found in local and national building codes as well as in the NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. The Life Safety Code is one of the most widely used standards for means of egress design in the U.S. Means of egress requirements typically entail the following elements ... 

Lathrop, James K., Life Safety Code Key to Industrial Fire Safety. NFPA Journal, 88(4), 36, July/August 1994. 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) produces an entire text to address the complex issues of life safety in the Life Safety Code (NFPA 101) that should be read for detailed information. The following are general items to ensure that laboratory workers can safely evacuate the laboratory in an emergency ... 

Engineering Assessment of Medical Device Failures Fire Protection/Safety (Life Safety Code)... 

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