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Updating the State’s Life Safety Code

Updating the State’s Life Safety Code. Updating the State’s Life Safety Code. OSFM appreciates the opportunity to attend and explain the proposed rule change and answer questions OSFM believes that there is a lot of misinformation being circulated regarding the proposed rule changes.

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Updating the State’s Life Safety Code

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  1. Updating the State’s Life Safety Code

  2. Updating the State’s Life Safety Code • OSFM appreciates the opportunity to attend and explain the proposed rule change and answer questions • OSFM believes that there is a lot of misinformation being circulated regarding the proposed rule changes

  3. So what exactly is the OSFM proposing? • The OSFM is attempting to update Illinois rules to adopt the 2012 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s “Life Safety Code” to replace the currently adopted 2000 edition of this same code •  The State has adopted the Life Safety Code since 1988 but the currently adopted edition has not been updated for 12 years

  4. Why is this Necessary? •  Illinois continues to average 120 fire deaths each year • Since 2007 property loss in Illinois residential occupancy fires has exceeded $1.4 billion with an average property loss per fire of over $13,500 • Since 2007, Illinois has experienced 549 citizen deaths, 18 line-of-duty firefighter deaths and 5,000 citizen and firefighter injuries due to fires

  5. Why is this Necessary? Important lessons have been learned by tragic fire and life safety incidents since the code was last updated: • World Trade Center • Station Nightclub Fire • MGM Grand Fire in Las Vegas • Meridian Plaza Fire in Philadelphia

  6. Why is this Necessary? • Chicago has had 21 high-rise fires in last 18 months resulting in 4 deaths, multiple injuries to civilians and firefighters, and millions of dollars in damage and relocation costs

  7. Why is this Necessary? Major incidents that have influenced code changes occurred in Illinois: • Cook County Administration Building Fire-69 W. Washington (6 deaths) • 260 E. Chestnut (1 death) • 3130 N. Lake Shore Drive (1 death) • 6730 S. South Shore Drive (3 deaths)

  8. What the OSFM is NOT attempting to do • The OSFM is not, attempting to preempt the home rule authority of the City of Chicago. The State and Chicago have concurrent jurisdiction • The prevailing statute (the Fire Investigation Act) already gives authority to the OSFM to adopt the minimum rules for the entire State of Illinois • Home Rule communities can be more stringent than the OSFM, but if adopting their own codes, must be at least equal to the OSFM’s rules. This is not changing

  9. What the OSFM is NOT attempting to do • The OSFM is not, trying to “sneak” this code in via the administrative rule process rather than going for a full vote of the General Assembly • Since 1909 the OSFM requirements related to life safety have always been adopted through the administrative code process and never through legislation.

  10. What the OSFM is NOT attempting to do • In 1977, the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules (JCAR) was established and the OSFM used it to adopt versions of the Life Safety Code in 1988, 1993 and 2000 • This is how all state agencies make rules

  11. Existing High Rise Apartment and Condominium Buildings • Although many existing high rise condo and apartment owners are objecting to the OSFM’s proposed code update, the requirements for sprinkler protection in existing high rise buildings is already present in the 2000 edition of the Life Safety Code which is in place now • This was voted into Rule by JCAR in 2001 and to the best of our knowledge there were no oppositions to the high-rise sprinkler requirements that the OSFM is now enforcing

  12. Existing High Rise Apartment and Condominium Buildings • The current rule proposal (for the 2012 edition) contains the identical sprinkler requirements for existing high-rise buildings as does the currently adopted 2000 edition of the Code, except… • The difference in the currently proposed rule is that the OSFM is offering a 12-year compliance schedule for the installation of sprinklers or the passing of an engineered evaluation.

  13. Existing High Rise Apartment and Condominium Buildings •  To comply with the State’s current and proposed Life Safety Code, existing high-rise apartment, condo and business (office) buildings must be protected by sprinklers, OR • Pass an engineered life safety survey conducted by professional engineer

  14. Existing High Rise Apartment and Condominium Buildings •  The engineered life safety survey may result in a building being acceptable without sprinklers or with sprinklers only installed in the corridors and common areas of the building

  15. Stand Pipe in High Rises • Vertical piping systems in high rises already exists called stand pipes, which were designed to hook up to a fire hose • These existing standpipes makes retrofitting a high rise a fairly simple process that can be installed in short amount of time

  16. Existing High Rise Apartment and Condominium Buildings •  It is the current position of the OSFM that the Chicago LSE (Life Safety Evaluation) is not acceptable because it was not designed to, and does not, prove equivalent safety to the requirements of the State’s Life Safety Code

  17. Sprinklers for Single Family Homes •  The rule proposal also includes a sprinkler requirement for newly constructed single family dwellings • No existing single family homes are affected. Single family homes that are putting on additions, remodeling, or in foreclosure will not be required to install sprinklers • Nothing will prohibit the homeowner from installing sprinklers if they choose

  18. Sprinklers for Single Family Homes •  80% of fire deaths occur in residential occupancies • Smoke Detectors reduce fire deaths by 31% • But Smoke Detectors + Sprinklers reduce the fire death rate by 83%

  19. On Sprinklers for Single Family Homes •  Real cost = $1.61/sq. ft. • Fire Protection Research Foundation •  Insurance savings of 10% to 15% for home/condo owners who have residential sprinklers •  Cost of system can be amortized over the life of the home’s mortgage • Allstate and State Farm offer 15% discounts and are proponents of sprinklers

  20. More Information •  OSFM website: www.sfm.illinois.gov • Rule language • Explanation of JCAR procedures • Fact Sheets • Specific code changes • How to comment on the proposal • Public Hearing information

  21. Procedure •  Our agency is currently in what is known as the “First Notice” period of the rulemaking • This first notice period lasts for 45 days. For this proposed rule the first notice period began on June 28 and runs through August 12 • The OSFM will also hold a public hearing on August 6th at the agency’s Springfield headquarters

  22. Procedure •  After the first notice period, the OSFM and JCAR staff will consider all comments submitted by the public and determine if any modifications to the proposed rules are necessary • The agency then moves to “Second Notice” where the rule proposal (a modified rule proposal if the OSFM and JCAR staff makes any changes from the originally proposed rule) will be voted upon by JCAR

  23. Questions ?

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