Appeal 13738

3002.4

Where elevators are provided in buildings four or more stories above grade, at least one elevator shall be provided for fire department emergency access to all floors. The elevator car shall be of such a size and arrangement to accommodate an ambulance stretcher 24” x 84” with not less than 5” radius corners.

The proposed building is a 4-story apartment building. However, the elevator only travels up to the 3rd floor. The 4th floor is only reached by private stairways within dwelling units accessed from the 3rd floor. There is no building common area, corridors or amenity space on the 4th floor. Appellant requests that the elevator need not be sized for a stretcher cab, since it does not service a true 4 story apartment building, but rather a 3 story apartment building with multi-level units on the 3rd floor.

While this is technically a 4-story building, the elevator only serves the 1st through 3rd floors (See Drawing 4). The 4th floor is only accessed through private stairways within dwelling units. The code refers to 4 story buildings where elevators are provided, but this is a 4 story building where the elevator is only providing service up to the 3rd floor. Therefore, the appellant believes that the stretcher cab requirement does not apply to this building.

1014.2.4

Egress shall not pass through...storage rooms or spaces used for similar purposes.

Appellant has designed the residential lobby so that the path of egress from the residential units above does not pass through the lobby. The elevator is not a part of the means of egress in the proposed design. The fire stair that is adjacent to the elevator is provided with a separate means of egress to the north. The only occupant load which egresses through the lobby is from the residential storage units. Therefore, the appellant requests that bike parking be allowed in the residential lobby. A minimum 44” egress path will be maintained between the edge of the clear space for the bike parking and the adjacent wall. See Drawing 1.

The only occupant load which is proposed to pass through the lobby is storage use. The apartments above do not egress through the lobby. Therefore, it is reasonable to locate bike parking in the lobby, since this is effectively a storage use exiting through a storage use, and there is no additional egress occupant load from elsewhere in the building. The egress occupant load in the lobby will be very low, with approximately 390 SF of storage and 469 SF of lobby area, adding up to approximately 5 occupants.

510.2 Item 4

Shaft and Stairway enclosures through the (3-hour) horizontal assembly shall have not less than a 2-hour fire-resistance rating with opening protectives in accordance with Section 716.5

The proposed building is a “podium” design, with Type IA construction at the 1st floor and Type VB on floors 2-4. The 2nd floor is proposed to be a PT concrete slab, acting as a 3-hour horizontal assembly. The West stair is an exterior exit stair, which penetrates the podium at the west property line. The stair is open-air, and open to the West property line, which is along N. Vancouver Ave. There is no enclosed building area above the location where the podium is penetrated. Appellant proposes to rate the adjacent building wall to the exterior stair, located to the north. This wall will be 2-hour rated at the 1st floor, and 1-hour rated at floors 2-3. At the 1st floor, appellant proposes that the adjacent wall to the east will be 1-hour rated along the length of the stair. The storefront windows which face out towards the exit stair will be further protected with additional sprinkler heads. The sprinklers will be located directly above the window openings and spaced 4 inches to 24 inches from the glass surface at 6’-0” on center or as required by the Fire Marshal. See Drawing 1.

In effect, the West exterior exit stair is forming a notch in the podium, rather than a penetration. Since the stair is open to the right-of-way along the property line, the same restrictions on podium penetrations are not applicable. By designing the building walls which are adjacent to the exit stair to be 1-hour and 2-hour rated, with additional sprinkler heads at windows, an equal level of protection is provided.

1027.4.2

Where an egress court serving a building or portion thereof is less than 10 feet in width, the egress court walls shall have not less than 1-hour fire-resistance-rated construction for a distance of 10 feet above the floor of the court. Openings within such walls shall be protected by opening protectives having a fire protection rating of not less than ¾ hour.

The walls at the egress courts shall have the required 1-hour fire-resistance-rated construction as required. Appellant proposes to install sprinklers at the interior side of the non-protected opening at the first floor studio unit in lieu of the fire protection rating of 3/4 hour. The sprinkler will be located directly above the window opening and spaced 4 inches to 24 inches from the glass surface at 6’-0” on center or as required by the Fire Marshal. See Drawing 1. There will be no more than 25% unprotected openings on the North Elevation, and the transom window in the bedroom area is will be operable.

Dedicated Sprinkler heads in this application provide an equivalent level of protection to ¾ hour rated openings. Dedicated sprinkler heads have also been approved in prior projects through appeal, establishing a precedent for this design. Proposed design provides acceptable equivalent protection for egress court openings.

Oregon Fire Code, 307.1 and 308.4

307.1. Provisions for open flame appliances. A person shall not kindle or maintain or authorize to be kindled or maintained any open burning unless conducted and approved in accordance with this section.
308.4. Open flame, fire and burning in Group R occupancies shall comply with the requirements of Sections 308.1 through 308.1.6.2 and 308.4.1.

The proposed building is a new multi-family residential project with ground floor retail. The building is to be fully sprinkled, Type 13. The ground floor is Type IA construction, and floors 2-4 are Type VB construction. The ceiling of the ground floor is a PT concrete slab, separating the two construction types with a 3-hour rating. A portion of the slab will serve as a common patio for the apartments. Appellant proposes to install a gas fire pit on the patio. Gas will be internally piped to the appliance. See Drawing 2.

The fire table will be CSA certified or UL listed.
The fire pit will be secured to the patio structure to prevent tipping.
The patio at the fire pit is to be either Ipe wood approved for decking, or non-combustible pavers, on a pedestal system over non-combustible roofing. Ipe is not readily flammable and has been approved for this application by approval of Appeal 9783.
A portable fire extinguisher is to be installed on the same level and within 75 feet of the gas burning appliance.
A timer will be connected to the valve of the gas burning appliance and allows gas to flow to the appliance for periods of up to 60 minutes.
A fuel shutoff valve will be connected to the fire alarm system that will interrupt the flow of gas when the fire alarm is activated anywhere in the building.
A metal mesh screen or equivalent protection will be fixed in place over the fire pit to prevent combustibles from contacting or being ignited by the flames.

The patio is the primary amenity shared by the residents, and the design of the building is such that most of the apartments will have a view of the patio. The fire pit is being installed in order to make the patio usable in colder weather and in the evenings. A similar appeal was recently approved, ID# 13334.

1009.16

In buildings four or more stories above grade plane, one stairway shall extend to the roof surface...In buildings without an occupied roof, access to the roof from the top story shall be permitted to be by an alternating tread device, a ship stair or ladder that is constructed of steel and is a minimum of 30 inches between handrails; has a rise and run of the stair or ladder of 12 inches maximum and 4 inches minimum, respectively, and has handrails provided on both sides of the stair or ladder.

The building has a ground floor podium of Type IA construction, with two towers above that rise to the 4-story level. The building stairs and elevator only go up to the 3rd floor level. The 4th floor is only accessible by using stairwells within the multi-story units, and there is no building common area or corridor area on the 4th floor. Appellant proposes to provide a ships ladder for access to the roof of the stair enclosure, which will open onto the roof of the stair enclosure by way of a hatch. The roof of the stair enclosure is approximately the same level as the 4th floor level.

Access to the two upper roofs is to be provided by steel vertical ladders, one at each end of the stair enclosure roof. The ladders will have 30 inches clear between handrails. Stair rungs are to be spaced a maximum of 12” vertically, and the entire ladder would be protected by a “cage” of steel rungs for fall protection.

The right-of-way in North Vancouver Avenue, directly adjacent to both roof areas, has a clear width of 38'-5” between the curbs. This exceeds the minimum requirements for Fire Bureau Aerial Access, so the stairs to the roof are not required for firefighter access. Appellant is proposing to provide roof access via a vertical ladder from the stair enclosure roof to the upper roof levels in lieu of a stair, ship's ladder or alternating tread device. See Drawings 3, 4.

The building is a 4-story building in terms of built area. However, the stairs only extend to the 3rd story, because the 4th story is only accessible through internal stairs within the multi-story units that are on levels 3 and 4. The 4th floor is not an accessible level, and does not have any common building area. The flat roofs that are over the 4th floor area will be reached by vertical ladders with a cage for fall protection. This provides an equal level of protection for maintenance access, compared to a ships ladder or alternating tread device. By not providing a ships ladder or alternating trad device, it will allow more light into the common shared courtyard of the building. In addition, it will reduce the perceived bulk of the volume of the structure from the street, which is one of the primary goals of the design of the building. In reducing the volume of the building, it becomes possible to defer to the residential scale of the neighborhood across the street.