Consulting-Specifying Engineer - January 2009 - (Page 19) Codes & Standards ICC code changes Here are some key changes that will appear in the 2009 editions of the IBC and IFC. BY RAY GRILL, PE, FSFPE, Arup Fire, Washington, D.C. The membership of the International Code Council (ICC) met in Minneapolis Sept. 17-23, 2008, to consider and act on changes to the various codes developed by the ICC. Code changes that were approved during the meeting will be incorporated with the code changes that were approved during the supplement cycle into the 2009 edition of the ICC codes. Following are some of the key changes that will appear in the 2009 editions of the International the 07/08 code development cycle. (G71-06/07) Occupant evacuation elevators: Provisions for design and use of elevators for evacuation have been added to the code. For buildings more than 420 ft in height, occupant evacuation elevators also will be allowed to take the place of the third redundant stairway. A number of design features addressing reliability and communication are required to be incorporated in order to use elevators for evacuation. (E14) Travel distance through atriums: Arup Fire submitted a code change that was approved to clarify that the atrium travel distance limitations are applicable only to travel distance within the atrium space, and not to travel distance in spaces that may be open to the atrium but that don’t require travel through the atrium to exit. (G75) Dead end limits: Dead end limits for Group E, I-1, and U occupancies have been increased from 20 ft to 50 ft when sprinkler protected. (F209) Single exit buildings: The code language and table allowing single exit buildings have been revised to clarify that the allowances apply to mixed occupancy buildings and that the criteria can be applied on a story-by-story basis. (E127) Areas of refuge: The exceptions to the requirements for areas of refuge in fully sprinklered buildings were reinstated. The exceptions had been in the legacy codes to the IBC and were removed during the development of the 2006 edition of the IBC without any technical justification. (E25, E27, and E28-06/07) Changes impacting high-rise building design Remoteness of stair enclosures: A requirement was added to the code requiring that stair enclosures be a minimum of 30 ft or one-fourth the maximum diagonal dimension of the building or area served. This requirement is applicable only to high-rise buildings. (G61) Fire service access elevator: During the 2007 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • JANUARY 2009 Code changes that were approved during the meeting will be incorporated with the code changes that were approved during the supplement cycle into the 2009 edition of the ICC codes. Building Code (IBC) and International Fire Code (IFC). The designation in parentheses indicates the code change number from the 2007-2008 (07/08) code change cycle. Key changes acted on during the supplement cycle include 06/07 in the code change reference in parentheses. Changes impacting egress Egress width factors: The reduction in egress width determination for sprinklered buildings was eliminated. Egress width calculations will be the same for sprinklered and unsprinklered buildings. There was no substantiation for this change. This change will have a significant impact on egress requirements, particularly in high occupant load buildings. (E19) Additional exit stairway: During the 06/07 code development cycle, a requirement for a third stairway was added for buildings of other than R-2 occupancy that are more than 420 ft in height. The stairway is required to be redundant and cannot be used to accommodate any occupant load. The requirement was added in response to the World Trade Center disaster. This was a controversial change, and there were numerous proposals to eliminate the requirement during AT A GLANCE The ICC codes are on an 18-month code development cycle. The deadline for submission of proposals for the 2009/2010 code development cycle is April 24, 2009. Proposals acted on in that cycle will be published as a supplement to the 2009 ICC Codes. 19
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