Life Safety Code, NFPA #101

Description

Life Safety Code

For nearly a century, people have relied on NFPA 101®: Life Safety Code to prevent loss of life from fire, smoke, and panic. When tragedies do occur, investigations invariably reveal serious Life Safety Code violations. That’s why today’s lawmakers and fire officials rely on the up-to-date Code as the cornerstone of their public safety programs.

Life Safety Code, NFPA #101

Make sure building features operate smoothly and minimize
life-threatening hazards in any occupancy.

By: NFPA

From sprinklers, alarms, and egress to emergency lighting, smoke barriers, and special hazard protection, today’s NFPA 101®: Life Safety Code® is your blueprint for safety! The 2018 edition incorporates the latest technologies, advances, and safety strategies to help you meet today’s challenges and achieve higher levels of protection for building occupants than ever before.

To reduce fire injuries and deaths, this latest LSC edition mandates that the following occupancy types must be sprinklered:

• All new 1- and 2-family dwellings
• All existing nursing homes
• Existing nightclub assembly occupancies where occupant load exceeds 100 people
• New nightclub assembly occupancies regardless of occupant load

A new chapter on existing building rehabilitation provides greater flexibility to encourage adaptive reuse without sacrificing life safety.

In previous Code editions, modifications to existing buildings had to comply with provisions for new construction. The 2012 Life Safety Code’s Chapter 43 introduces specific requirements for:

• Repairs
• Renovations
• Additions
• Reconstruction
• Change of use or occupancy classification
• Historic buildings

Other important changes affect:

• Health care occupancy suites
• Alcohol-based hand-rub solution dispensers in corridors of health care occupancies
• Smoke control systems in new malls
• Crowd managers in assembly occupancies
• Stair descent devices for people with disabilities
• Stair width in certain new buildings to improve counterflow between occupants and first responders.