Appendix A — Division A
Explanatory Material
A-1.1.1.1.(1) Application of this Code
This Code applies to buildings and facilities, whether occupied or vacant. For the
purposes of Sentence 1.1.1.1.(1), the term “facilities” is used in its broadest sense to include all premises that are not included in the
definition of “building” in this Code, such as outdoor and underground areas,
structures and equipment. Such “facilities” are often associated with storage,
distribution and manufacturing activities.
The British Columbia Fire Code contains references to the British Columbia Building
Code 2012 (BCBC) for
the design, construction and installation of many fire protection features. Some BCBC
requirements are most readily applied to new buildings and their retroactive
application to existing situations as prescribed by this Code could result in some
difficulty in achieving compliance. It is the intent of the BCFC that an equivalent
level of safety be achieved rather than necessarily achieving strict conformance to
the BCBC. The application of this Code to the upgrading of existing facilities should
be based on the judgment of the enforcement authority, who must deal with each case
on its own merits.
The BCFC states that the owner or the owner's authorized agent is responsible for
carrying out the provisions of the Code (see Article 2.2.1.1. of Division C). However, the owner is expected to communicate with the authority having jurisdiction, who is in a position to assess the relative
significance of variances from the BCBC requirements. Such authority may then
determine that upgrading measures are not necessary, on the basis that the existing
arrangement represents an equivalent level of fire and life safety. The BCFC presumes
that the adopting legislation provides for the exercise of the necessary
discretionary judgment on the part of the enforcing officials, along with
appropriate rights to appeal (see Appendix Note A-2.2.1.3. of Division C). See also Appendix Note A-2.1.3.1.(1) of Division B and Appendix Note A-1.1.1.1.(1) of Division A of the BCBC.
A-1.2.1.1.(1)(a) Code Compliance via Acceptable Solutions
If a building design (e.g. material, component,
assembly or system) can be shown to meet all provisions of the applicable
acceptable solutions in Division B (e.g. it complies with the applicable
provisions of a referenced standard), it is deemed to have satisfied
the objectives and functional statements linked to those provisions
and thus to have complied with that part of the Code. In fact, if
it can be determined that a design meets all the applicable acceptable
solutions in Division B, there is no need to consult the objectives
and functional statements in Division A to determine its compliance.
A-1.2.1.1.(1)(b) Code Compliance via Alternative Solutions
Where a design differs from the acceptable solutions in Division B, then it should
be treated as an “alternative solution.” A proponent of an alternative solution must
demonstrate that the alternative solution addresses the same issues as the
applicable acceptable solutions in Division B and their attributed objectives and
functional statements. However, because the objectives and functional statements are
entirely qualitative, demonstrating compliance with them in isolation is not
possible. Therefore, Clause 1.2.1.1.(1)(b) identifies the principle that Division B establishes the quantitative performance targets that alternative
solutions must meet. In many cases, these targets are not defined very precisely by
the acceptable solutions—certainly far less precisely than would be the case with
a
true performance code, which would have quantitative performance targets and
prescribed methods of performance measurement for all aspects of building
performance. Nevertheless, Clause 1.2.1.1.(1)(b) makes it clear that an effort must be made to demonstrate that an alternative solution will perform as well as a design that would satisfy the
applicable acceptable solutions in Division B—not “well enough” but “as well
as.”
In this sense, it is Division B that defines the boundaries between acceptable
risks and the “unacceptable” risks referred to in the statements of the Code's
objectives, i.e. the risk remaining once the applicable acceptable solutions in
Division B have been implemented represents the residual level of risk deemed to be
acceptable by the broad base of Canadians who have taken part in the consensus
process used to develop the Code.
Level of Performance
Where Division B offers a choice between several possible designs, it is likely
that these designs may not all provide exactly the same level of performance. Among
a number of possible designs satisfying acceptable solutions in Division B, the
design providing the lowest level of performance should generally be considered to
establish the minimum acceptable level of performance to be used in evaluating
alternative solutions for compliance with the Code.
Sometimes a single design will be used as an alternative solution to several sets
of acceptable solutions in Division B. In this case, the level of performance
required of the alternative solution should be at least equivalent to the overall
level of performance established by all the applicable sets of acceptable solutions
taken as a whole.
Each provision in Division B has been analyzed to determine to what it applies and
what it is intended to achieve. The resultant application and intent statements
clarify what undesirable results each provision seeks to preclude. These statements
are not a legal component of the Code, but are advisory in nature, and can help Code
users establish performance targets for alternative solutions. They are published
in
the electronic version of the Code and as a separate document entitled “Supplement
to the NFC 2010: Application and Intent Statements,” which is available on-line at
www.nationalcodes.ca.
Areas of Performance
A subset of the acceptable solutions in Division B may establish criteria for
particular types of designs (e.g. certain types of materials, components,
assemblies, or systems). Often such subsets of acceptable solutions are all
attributed to the same objective: Fire Safety for example. In some cases, the
designs that are normally used to satisfy this subset of acceptable solutions might
also provide some benefits that could be related to some other objective: Fire
Protection of the Building or Facility for example. However, if none of the
applicable acceptable solutions are linked to Objective OP1, Fire Protection of the
Building or Facility, it is not necessary that alternative solutions proposed to
replace these acceptable solutions provide a similar benefit related to Fire
Protection of the Building or Facility. In other words, the acceptable solutions in
Division B establish acceptable levels of performance for compliance with the Code
only in those areas defined by the objectives and functional statements attributed
to the acceptable solutions.
Applicable Acceptable Solutions
In demonstrating that an alternative solution will perform as well as a design
that would satisfy the applicable acceptable solutions in Division B, its evaluation
should not be limited to comparison with the acceptable solutions to which an
alternative is proposed. It is possible that acceptable solutions elsewhere in the
Code also apply. The proposed alternative solution may be shown to perform as well
as the most apparent acceptable solution, which it is replacing, but may not perform
as well as other relevant acceptable solutions. For example, the use of sprinklers
to protect the exterior wall of a building may permit combustible materials to be
stored closer to that wall than otherwise permitted by the Code, but the proximity
of the stored materials to the wall may contravene firefighter access provisions
elsewhere in the Code. All applicable acceptable solutions should be taken into
consideration in demonstrating the compliance of an alternative solution.
A-1.4.1.2.(1) Defined Terms
Care Occupancy Support services rendered by or through care facility management refer to
services provided by the organization that is responsible for the care for a
period exceeding 24 consecutive hours. They do not refer to services provided by
residents of dwelling units or suites, or to services arranged directly by
residents of dwelling units or suites with outside agencies.
In the context of care occupancies, these services may include a daily
assessment of the resident’s functioning, awareness of their whereabouts, the
making of appointments for residents and reminding them of those appointments,
the ability and readiness to intervene if a crisis arises for a resident,
supervision in areas of nutrition or medication, and provision of transient
medical services. Services may also include activities of daily living such as
bathing, dressing, feeding, and assistance in the use of washroom facilities,
etc. No actual treatment is provided by or through care facility
management.
Exit
Exits include doors or doorways leading directly into an exit stair or
directly to the outside. In the case of an exit leading to a separate building,
exits also include vestibules, walkways, bridges or balconies.
Fire-resistance Rating
Since it is not practicable to measure the fire resistance of constructions in
situ, they must be evaluated under some agreed test conditions. A specified
fire-resistance rating is not necessarily the actual time that the assembly
would endure in situ in a building fire, but is that which the particular
construction must meet under the specified methods of test.
Fire Separation
A fire separation may or may not have a fire-resistance rating.
Grade Localized depressions that need not be considered in the determination of the
elevation of grade include such features as vehicle and pedestrian entrances and
other minor depressions that do not affect accessibility for firefighting or
evacuation.
Individual Storage Area
The width of subsidiary aisles providing access to stored products within an
individual storage area may be determined by material handling methods, or other
criteria such as minimum width for access to exits or fire protection
equipment.
Public Corridor
A covered mall is considered to be a public corridor and, as such, is subject
to the same requirements as a public corridor.
Service Room
Typical examples of service rooms include boiler rooms, furnace rooms,
incinerator rooms, garbage handling rooms and rooms to accommodate
air-conditioning or heating appliances, pumps, compressors and electrical
equipment. Rooms such as elevator machine rooms and common laundry rooms are not
considered to be service rooms.
Suite
Tenancy in the context of the term “suite” applies to both rental and
ownership tenure. In a condominium arrangement, for example, dwelling units are
considered separate suites even though they are individually owned. In order to
be of complementary use, a series of rooms that constitute a suite are in
reasonably close proximity to each other and have access to each other either
directly by means of a common doorway or indirectly by a corridor, vestibule or
other similar arrangement.
The term “suite” does not apply to rooms such as service rooms, common laundry
rooms and common recreational rooms that are not leased or under a separate
tenure in the context of the Code. Similarly, the term “suite” is not normally
applied in the context of buildings such as schools and hospitals, since the
entire building is under a single tenure. A rented room in a nursing home could be
considered as a suite if the room was
under a separate tenure. A hospital bedroom on the other hand is not considered
to be under a separate tenure, since the patient has little control of that
space, even though he pays the hospital a per diem rate for the privilege of
using the hospital facilities, which include the sleeping areas.
For certain requirements in the British Columbia Building Code the expression “room
or suite” is used
(e.g., travel distance). This means that the requirement applies within the
rooms of suites as well as to the suite itself and to rooms that may be located
outside the suite. In other places the expression “suite, and rooms not located
within a suite” is used (e.g., for the installation of smoke and heat
detectors). This means that the requirement applies to individual suites as
defined, but not to each room within the suite. The rooms “not within a suite”
would include common laundry rooms, common recreational rooms and service rooms
that are not considered as tenant-occupied space.
Treatment The ability to evacuate unassisted implies that a person is capable of
recognizing and responding to an emergency given their physical, cognitive and
behavioural abilities, and able to move to a safe location without the
assistance of another person. For example, such persons must be able to arise
and walk, or transfer from a bed or chair to a means of mobility, and leave the
building or move to a safe location on their own.
Treatment Occupancy
“Treatments” may include such things as surgery, intensive care, and emergency
medical intervention. Treatment services differ from the services provided by
care occupancies like personal care assistance or the administration of
medication, and from those provided by business and personal services
occupancies like dentistry or day procedures.
A-1.5.1.1.(1) Application of Referenced Documents
Documents referenced in the BCFC may contain provisions covering a wide range of
issues, including issues that are unrelated to the objectives and functional
statements stated in Parts 2 and 3 of Division A respectively; e.g. protection of
stored products against damage or loss due to fire. Sentence 1.5.1.1.(1) is intended to make it clear that, whereas referencing a document in the BCFC generally has the effect of making the provisions of that
document part of the Code, provisions that are unrelated to buildings and facilities
or to the objectives and functional statements attributed to the provisions in
Division B where the document is referenced are excluded.
Furthermore, many documents referenced in the BCFC contain references to other
documents, which may also, in turn, refer to other documents. These secondary and
tertiary referenced documents may contain provisions that are unrelated to buildings
and facilities or to the objectives and functional statements of the BCFC: such
provisions—no matter how far down the chain of references they occur—are not
included in the intent of Sentence 1.5.1.1.(1) of Division A.
A-2.2.1.1.(1) Objectives
Listing of objectives
Any gaps in the numbering sequence of the objectives are due to the fact that
there is a master list of objectives covering the three principal British Columbia
Code
Documents—the British Columbia Building Code, the British Columbia Fire Code and the
British Columbia
Plumbing Code—but not all objectives are pertinent to all Codes.
The building or facility
Where the term “the building or facility” is used in the wording of the
objectives, it refers to the building or facility for which compliance with the
British Columbia Fire Code is being assessed.
Emergency
The term “emergency”—in the context of safety in buildings or
facilities—is often equated to the term “fire emergency;” however,
the wording of objective OS3.7 makes it clear that the Code addresses
any type of emergency that would require the rapid evacuation of the
building or facility, such as a bomb threat or the presence of intruders.
A-3.2.1.1.(1) Functional Statements
Listing of functional statements
The numbered functional statements are grouped according to functions that deal
with closely related subjects. For example, the first group deals with fire risks,
the second group deals with emergency egress and response, etc. There may be gaps
in
the numbering sequence for the following reasons:
- Each group has unused numbers which allows for the possible future creation of additional functional statements within any one group.
- There is a master list of functional statements covering the three principal British Columbia Code Documents—the British Columbia Building Code, the British Columbia Fire Code and the British Columbia Plumbing Code—but not all functional statements are pertinent to all Codes.