"I insist on having Summit Fire Consulting on our development team. Their critical review in predevelopment always improves our design and execution. Their credibility with local code officials assures us that we are providing excellent life safety design at the best possible price."
Steve Minn, Principal
Lupe Development Partners
Building and Fire Code Consulting and Interpretation
Description:
- Perform building and fire code review services for both specific issues and general requirements.
- Examples: allowable height and area, construction type, means of egress, occupancy classification, fire protection requirements, fire-rated separations, structural fire protection, etc.
- Example: review building or fire code requirements for a specific component of the proposed or existing building design.
- Example: review Chapters 1-10 of the International Building Code to compile all applicable requirements for a proposed or existing building design.
- Review building codes for existing buildings [i.e. Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings (GREB), Existing Building Code, etc.] to determine applicability of current code requirements based on the scope of work proposed.
- Review supplemental standards published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which are commonly referenced throughout most model building and fire codes.
- Provide documentation in the form of Building Code Reports and/or Fire Code Reports, Code Interpretation letters, etc. Documentation can be either submitted directly to the Authority Having Jurisdiction or attached to Architectural drawings as supplemental code information.
- Review Architectural drawings with respect to general or specific building and fire code requirements and provide comments/red-lined drawings.
- Perform surveys of existing buildings to determine compliance with current building and/or fire code requirements.
- Perform and document Life Safety Evaluations, in accordance with the requirements of NFPA 101 Life Safety Code.
- Review/approval by Professional Engineer (PE) in fire protection engineering.
Level of Involvement
Can vary, depending on project. Typically, Summit Fire Consulting is hired by the Architect of Record or the Owner to address a select building/fire code issue or perform general building/fire code consulting services. For general code consulting services, documentation provided by Summit Fire Consulting is typically utilized to supplement information provided by the Architect of Record. Summit Fire Consulting can be involved during Schematic Design and Design Development only, providing cursory design guidance, preliminary site surveys (existing buildings), review of architectural drawings; or, we can be involved during the entire project: Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents, and Construction Administration.
Sample Project
Summit Fire Consulting is currently involved with the Arts Union project on the Carleton College campus in Northfield, Minnesota. Summit Fire Consulting is working as a sub-consultant to the Architect of Record for the project. Summit Fire Consulting’s scope included a full review of the applicable codes and standards and development of code-compliance strategies for the Design and Documentation phases of the project. The project includes the renovation of and addition to a complex of three existing buildings constructed between the years 1910 and 1954 and comprised of various construction types. The intent is for the entire to complex to function as an integrated facility upon completion of all phases of the project. As such, the renovations and additions are facility-wide and include mechanical systems, fire protection systems, means of egress components, etc. Further the primary use of two of the three existing buildings is changing from educational to assembly. Given the scope of the project and the existing conditions, the applicability of the current Minnesota State Building Code (MSBC) and the Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings (GREB) were not straightforward. Summit Fire Consulting assisted in the development of both prescriptive and alternative code-compliance strategies for presentation to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
