Appeal 10914

1018.3 - Corridor Obstructions

The required width of corridors shall be unobstructed.

The multipurpose space is considered to be a 1 hr exit corridor. There is a hi-low drinking fountain located on the north wall that projects more than 4" into the 'corridor'.

Two fire extinguishers project a couple inches into the width of the adjacent hallways (corridors). See attached plans.

The school proposes to leave the drinking fountain and fire extinghishers 'as is'.

The appeals board could not find the drinking fountain on the drawings submitted (it was shown on Sheet A3). For clarity, I have added the drinking fountain to the code plan that is atached to this appeal (shown clouded).

This is a temporary space for the school and they would like to leave the space as-is.

1. It is not financially feasible to relocate the drinking fountain. The cost of the relocation is disproportionate to the cost of construction work required under this permit.
2. The school only intends to occupy the facility for 1-3 years – at which time they will outgrow this location. The school would like to move in 'as is' with minimal upgrades or permanent changes to the facility.

Equivalent life safety:

1. Exiting is direct and obvious with emergency lighting with battery back up.
2. The school will not use the doors directly off the hallways to classroom 135, 139, and 143. Therefore, other than room 137, students will NOT use the hallways to enter or exit the classrooms. They will only use the back hallway to access the restrooms and/or for emergency exiting. If room 137 is used for offices, then all of the classrooms will be accessed off the multi-purpose space.
3. The 1-hr exit corridor (multipurpose room) has ample exiting capacity (without including the northern hallway). it has over 6x the required width, and exits are direct and obvious.
4. The drinking fountain projection does not interfere with exiting.
5. The southern hallway has 0 occupants that it serves.
6. The building exceeds E occupancy fire protection requirements since ALL ceilings, bearing and non bearing walls, floor, and roofs are at least 1 hr rated. There is also one additional fire extinguishers.

1014.2.1 - Multiple Tenant

Where more than one tenant occupies any one floor of a building or structure, each tenant space shall be provided with access to the required exits without passing through adjacent tenant spaces. This issue came up during the appeal. Connie said to add it to this reconsideration.

The church would like to share use of the school space which contains fire exits for the school. They propose to use it when school is not in session. They also would like to use a portion of the multipurpose room when school is in session, 2-3 times per month on average -a curtain will be used during these times that allows free and clear paths to both required exits, as shown in the attached floor plan. An illuminated exit sign will be installed if required by the code official at the north exit that is visible by all tenants for safe exiting.

The church and school will use the individual rooms in accordance with their occupancy classifications (E = classroom and A3 = multipurpose). The curtain will have a class B flame spread rating. The drinking fountain and bathrooms will be available to both tenants.

In an effort to be sustainable, the church would like to share the school's space as described above, using the school's fire exits.

This proposal provides equivalent life safety and fire protection to what the code requires for the following reasons:

1. The curtain will be in place when the space is shared. It defines a clear, discernible, well marked path within the exit corridor, that exceeds the required exit width required for each tenant. The multipurpose room reduces in size when the curtain is in use.
2. The exiting / life safety meets all other requirements (for both tenants) with the proposed shared uses, with no increase in occupant load.
3. The space had been used by the church previously.
4. The drinking fountain and bathrooms will be accessible to both tenants.
5. During our life safety meeting, Gary Boyles said he thought this facility could be considered single tenant.
6. When the church occupants are using the school's exits, life safety features meet or exceed the code for the church occupancy.