Chicago Comparison to NFPA

Chicago Comparison to NFPA

I am often asked, “When is a building in Chicago required or non-required?”

There are a couple of Chicago Building Code Chapters to be familiar with,13-76*, 15-16-110. Though there are other chapters to be considered, these are the primaries.

Type of Occupancies: “Required” Statusdowntown chicago highrise

    • High Rise Building, any Building or Occupancy
      • 80 Feet or greater
      • Building with atrium open to multiple floors
    • Class I Fire Alarm, General Alarm
      • Any school two stories or greater
      • Daycares greater than 100 kids
      • Hotel equal or greater than two stories
      • Dormitory two stories or greater
      • Non-Sprinklered SROT
      • elecommunication building
    • Class II Fire Alarm, Coded PreSignal
      • Institutional buildings
      • Hospitals and nursing homes
      • Daycares with infants greater then 30
      • Incarceration facilities, jails, prisons and similar
    • Large Places of Assembly greater than 1000 people
      • 1 Master City Tie Box within 100 feet of main entrance
    • NFPA101 or 72 Systems
      • Daycares less than 100 kids
    • Elevator Recall Systems:
      • Enforced by the Elevator Code or Inspector
    • Stairwell Door Unlocking Systems
      • Must be designed and installed in a fail-safe mode, all stairwell doors open
    • Voluntary or “Non-Required” Buildings, Sample Buildingsrestaurant
      • Residential less than 80 feet
      • Standalone restaurant
      • Warehouses or factories
      • Small to large retail, strip mall or covered malls
      • Small to midsize movie theaters
      • Out-patient treatment facilities
      • Professional use office buildings
      • Gymnasiums
      • Small to midsize churches
      • Car dealerships
      • Automotive repair shops
      • Home for the elderly, “Independent Living”
      • Adult education under 100 students
      • Library
      • Fire House

General System Configurations: Protection and Notification

      Elevator

    • City of Chicago Sprinkler System takes precedence
    • Sprinkler System 100% supervised with external monitoring
    • Fire panels shall be in a secure and protected room
    • There shall be a front door zone annunciator display within 20 feet, visible upon entry
    • Daycares require 100% smoke detection
    • Schools require heat detection in all electrical mechanical rooms, closets, and storage rooms, when not sprinklered
    • Smoke doors with hold open devices require smoke detection left and right
    • Any space without a sprinkler head requires a smoke detector or heat detector depending on room use
    • Elevator lobbies (recall), smoke detection or sprinkler head
    • Manual pull stations within five feet of all exits and stairwell doors, except high rise
    • Smoke Duct Detectors on air handing units greater than 2000 CFM
    • Audible sounding devices is the code, visual devices are ancillary, with exception to Chapter 11 “Accessibility”
    • High rises, speakers 75 feet on centers, elevator lobbies, five feet stairwell doors, elevator cars, space greater than 5000 SF, and every 5th floor stairwell landing
    • 2-way fireman communication every 5th landing in stairwells

Difference Between City of Chicago and NFPA 72

    • High rise systems are based on a manual system, no automatic audio operation
    • No pull stations in high rise buildings, with exception to school occupancy
    • 100% coverage may not be required
    • No decibel minimum required, similar to NFPA 18.4.3.5.1 or 18.4.5.1
    • Wireless radio is not an approved monitoring method
    • Required fire alarm to be installed in full conduit, no open cable
    • Class I and II systems require backlit incandescent annunciator, trouble bells
    • Residential smoke detector 15 feet from bedroom door, not every bedroom

New Trends: Special Codes, Applications, and Design Considerationman sleeping

    • Low frequency sounders
    • Sleeping room requirements
    • ADA residential units and strobe requirements
    • Smoke and fire partitions
    • Smoke and fire dampers, standalone to system applications
    • Mass notification, dual use systems
    • Carbon Monoxide detection and interfacing

This is a two-page summary of a 1,033-page code document. For more details, see the Chicago Building Code or call High Rise Security Systems at 630-920-0100 for expert consultation.

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