The building code in many cities and counties impose stringent requirements on high rise condominiums to promote safe building practices and ensure safe conditions in the building. The building’s conditions need to be in keeping with standards by which the building is prepared to withstand an event such as a fire or a power outage with relatively little damage and minimal impact on its residents. If you’re managing or serving on the board of a condominium, there are a few things that you should know about compliance with local building and fire code.
Stairways Must Remain Empty
Many cities’ fire codes provide that fire departments and first responders have an unconditional right to unobstructed access through a building’s stairwells. Therefore, no items of any kind can ever be stored in a stairwell. It’s a serious fire safety hazard, and it could cause your building to fail an inspection such as an occupancy certificate walk-through.
Locked Egress Needs to Be Accessible
Precision panic hardware like push-bar door openers needs to be installed on any locked doors that serve as a means of egress. If a door isn’t ordinarily open or residents would need to use a key or biometric access to evacuate, it creates an extremely unsafe condition if they need to evacuate. Panic hardware enables residents to evacuate safely, and alarms discourage unauthorized use.
Unit Doors Need to Close Completely
Every residential unit in a larger building needs to be equipped with a door closer that will cause the door to shut automatically, without needing to be pulled shut. This is to prevent smoke from entering or exiting individual units in the event of a fire. A door needs to be heavy enough to close all the way when activated by the door closer, and some cities’ codes require that unit doors or stairwell doors to be fire-rated. This means that the doors must be able to withstand intensely hot temperatures for a certain period of time. Fire ratings vary, but it’s preferable to have doors that are fire-rated for at least two hours. Stairwell doors should be fitted with lever handles rather than knob handles so they can be used quickly in the event of an emergency.
Taking every necessary step to ensure your building’s safety in the event of an emergency may be the most important part of operating a condominium. You and your building’s board should prioritize identifying and correcting any deficiencies that could be putting your residents at risk.
