The use of streets or public property and vehicular traffic during construction or demolition is normally controlled by regulations of authorities other than the building department (e.g., police department).

Certain waste materials are banned or prohibited from disposal at a garbage or landfill site. The Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Bylaw No. 258, 2010 and the City of Vancouver Solid Waste By-law No. 8417 lists materials that are restricted or prohibited from disposal at a garbage or landfill sites. Sorted material means the separation of waste materials into like type materials at the construction site prior to disposal. Diverted material means the reuse, recycle or recovery of sorted waste material to avoid disposal at a garbage, landfill or incinerator facility.

The degree of application should be determined in advance in conjunction with the Chief Building Official. Each operation should be determined in advance, as part of the fire safety plan for the operation, taking into consideration such issues as the size of the operation, exposure of adjacent buildings or facilities to hazards and the site conditions. Operations can range from large multi-storey buildings to small single-storey residences and may include additions or alterations to existing buildings. Where the work does not pose an exposure hazard to other buildings or to occupants, the application of Subsection 8.2.6. may be minimal.

Methods and materials used to protect adjacent buildings and facilities can range from active to passive systems such as spatial separation, installing water curtains, using construction methods and materials that include gypsum sheathing or erecting a temporary fire barrier such as a fire tarpaulin.

The control of fire hazards in and around buildings under construction, renovation or demolition includes fire protection for combustible material construction and combustible refuse on the site. The size of material and refuse piles and the location of these piles in relation to adjacent buildings are factors that should be taken into consideration in determining which fire protection measures to implement. The selection of fire protection measures for demolition operations will also depend on the demolition procedure being used, the specific conditions existing on the site and the firefighting capabilities of the responding fire department.

Not all aspects of Subsection 3.2.5. of Division B of the Building By-law are applicable to unoccupied areas of buildings, parts of buildings, facilities and associated areas undergoing construction, alteration or demolition operations.

Minimum clearances shown on certified heating equipment or as described in Part 6 of Division B of the Building By-law should be provided between combustible materials and temporary heating equipment, including flues such as exhaust discharges from internal combustion engines.

Guidance on methods of rendering inert tanks, piping and machinery reservoirs is available in NFPA 326, “Safeguarding of Tanks and Containers for Entry, Cleaning, or Repair.”