NFPA 101: Life Safety Code Module 4: Residential / Detention

Residential Occupancies

Residential occupancy is defined as an occupancy that provides sleeping accommodations for purposes
other than health care or correctional. This includes four categories: one- or two-family dwellings,
lodging or rooming houses, hotels or motels or dormitories, and apartments. Each category has its own
chapter.

One- or Two- Family Dwellings

Chapter 24 covers one- or two-family dwellings, including new, existing, and modified buildings.

80% of all fire fatalities occur at home.

Key unique component addressed in Section 24.2

is Means of Escape, focusing on providing a
primary and secondary way out of an occupied
room or space.

3 types of secondary means of escape permitted:

Door, stairway, passageway, or hall that

is independent of and remote from
primary means of escape
Passage though adjacent nonlockable
space
Operable window of minimum
dimensions

Smoke alarms are required in all sleeping rooms, outside of each sleeping area, and on each level
including basements. The smoke alarms must be hard wired in new constructions, but may be battery
powered in existing.

Carbon monoxide alarms are required in all new one- and two-family dwellings with an attached garage,
fuel burning appliance, or fuel burning fireplace. CO alarms are required to be positioned in the
immediate vicinity of sleeping rooms and on each occupiable level including basements.

Automatic sprinklers are required in all new dwellings.

 Lodging and Rooming

Lodging and rooming occupancies provide sleeping accommodations for <=16 occupants, excluding
residential one- or two-family dwellings. Main difference compared to hotels and to board and care are
in the number of occupants, the nature of personal care provided, and duration of accommodation.

Main differences between lodging and rooming compared to one- and two-family units is requirements
for protecting stairs providing the primary means of escape, through the protection of vertical openings.

Stairs Open to Street Floor:

To qualify, Stairs A and B connect only two floors and

are separated from the rest of the first floor. Stair A
does not extend to 2nd floor protecting first and 2nd
floor from fire/smoke, Stair B does not extend into
basement protecting first and basement floor from
fire/smoke.

Primary escape route separated from vertical opening:

To qualify, an outside stair is used as the primary means

of escape. Compliant windows in each bedroom
provide secondary means of escape. The
interior stair in this arrangement is a
convenience stair independent of the required
means of escape. If no sprinkler system, then
the stairs must be enclosed.

Open Stair:

In a building protected with automatic sprinklers, stairs

serving as the primary means of escape are permitted
to be unenclosed on both levels, per 26.3.1.1.3. However, while generally sprinklering removes the
requirement for a second means of escape per 24.2.2.1.2, if sprinklering is used to protect vertical
openings instead of enclosing them, then a secondary means of escape must still be provided, such as
compliant windows in sleeping rooms.
In lodging and rooming occupancies, a fire alarm system is required in addition to the smoke alarms
required for one- and two-family dwellings. Carbon monoxide alarm and detector requirements are the
same as those for one- and two-family dwellings. New lodging and rooming houses must be sprinklered.

Per Chapter 43 requirement that change of occupancy meets sprinkler and alarm requirements for new
construction, converting a one- or two-family dwelling to a lodging and rooming bed and breakfast
requires adding sprinklers and fire alarms.

Hotels, Motels, Dormitories

Hotels and Dormitories, covered in Ch28/29, address residential occupancies involving transient or short
duration stays, like hotels and motels, as well as dormitories which are typically occupied during the 9-
month academic year.

Means of escape from guest rooms and suites must comply with Section 24.2 for one- and two-family
dwellings, where by analogy guest room:guest suite::dwelling unit:living unit

The difference between common paths of travel

and dead-end corridor is less pronounced for
hotels/dormitories than other occupancies due to
modifications by Ch28/29 in defining common
path of travel starting point. In general, common
path of travel is measured from the most remote
point subject to occupancy to the point where
occupants have a choice of traveling in
independent direction. In hotels, the travel
distance within the guest room is not included as
common path of travel, since path of travel in a
guest room is considered a means of escape rather
than means of egress.

Travel distance limitations for all sleeping occupancies consist of (1) travel within a room or suite of
rooms to the room door, and (2) travel from the corridor door to the nearest exit

For new and existing hotels: If no automatic sprinklers, travel distance within a guest room must be
<=75ft, and travel distance from corridor door to exit must be <=100 ft. If there are automatic sprinklers,
travel distance within a guest room must be <=125ft, and travel distance from corridor door to exit must
be <=200 ft.
Fire alarm system is required in hotels and dorms and must initiated by each of the following:

 Manual fire alarm boxes per 9.6.2

 Additional centrally located manual fire alarm box under continuous supervision by responsible
employees, such as at the registration desk
 By waterflow of any required automatic sprinkler system
 By fire detection of any required automatic system other than sleeping room smoke detectors

Smoke alarms are required in all sleeping/living areas in new and existing buildings.

Carbon monoxide alarms are required where guest rooms or guest suites communicate with attached
garages or contain a permanently installed fuel burning appliance.

All new buildings must have supervised automatic sprinklers throughout. Existing high-rise buildings
must have automatic sprinklers unless each guest room or guest suite has exterior exit access

Doors that open into exit access corridors must be self-closing and self-latching.

Transoms, louvers, transfer grilles are banned in walls or doors of exit access corridors of new buildings.

Apartments

Requirements, outlined Ch30/31, are similar to hotels and dorms, due to shared configuration of interior
corridor connecting various dwelling units.

Automatic sprinklers are required in all new apartment buildings.

Requirements for existing apartment buildings vary based on present protection options from among:
(1) no suppression or detection system, (2) complete automatic detection system, (3) automatic
sprinklers in defined areas lie corridors, (4) total automatic sprinkler protection

Apartment buildings have several exceptions permitted a single exit, unlike hotels and dorms.

Exception 1: A single exit is permitted if any of the conditions are met:

 The living unit has an exit leading directly to the street or yard at ground level
 The apartment has direct access to an outside stair serving a maximum of two apartments, both
of which are on the same floor
 The single exit is a private stairways serving one apartment only and is separated from all
abutting apartment units, including those on lower floors, by 1 hour rated construction
Exception 2: A single exit is permitted if all these conditions are met:

Total number of stories <= 4

Dwelling units per story <= 4
Exit stairway does not serve more than 1/2
story below the LED
 Building protected by automatic supervised
sprinklers
 Travel distance from entrance door of any
dwelling unit to an exit <= 35 ft
 Exit stairway completely enclosed or
separated from rest of building by 1 hour
minimum rated barriers
 All opening between exit stairway enclosure
and building are protedcted by self-closing
door assemblies with minimum 1 hour fire
rating
 All corridors serving as access to exits have a
minimum 1 hour fire rating
 Horizontal and vertical separations between
dwelling units having a minimum 1/2 hour fire rating

If fire alarm system is required in apartment building, new or existing, it must notify fire department
using auxiliary, central station, proprietary supervising station, or remote supervising station fire alarm
system. Sprinklers are required for all new apartment buildings.

Detention and Correctional Occupancies

Detention and correction occupancies are used to house one or more persons under varied degrees of
restraint or security, where such occupants are mostly incapable of self-preservation because of security
measures not under the occupants’ control
Detention and correction occupancies include adult/juvenile substance abuse centers, adult and juvenile
work camps, adult and juvenile community residential centers, adult correctional institutions, adult local
detention facilities, juvenile detention facilities, and juvenile training schools.

Use Condition I: Free Egress

No physical restrictions such as locks on means of egress. Occupants are capable of self preservation.
Example is work release center. Exempt from Ch22/23 if meet the requirements of some other
residential occupancy chapter, like Ch28/29 for dorms.

Use Condition II: Zoned Egress

Residents have ability to move freely within the building, such as from their room across smoke barriers
and into separate smoke compartments. Locked doors, that are permitted to be unlocked manually at
the door, impede movement through the exit door on the exterior wall to the outside.

Use Condition III: Zoned Impeded Egress

Residents have ability to move outside their rooms but are confined to the smoke compartments that
contain their room. Locked doors within the smoke barrier are equipped with remote control locks to
impede movement to adjoining smoke compartment. Locked doors, that are permitted to be unlocked
manually at the door, impede movement through the exit door on the exterior wall to the outside.

Use Condition IV: Impeded Egress

Residents are locked in their sleeping rooms. Locks on sleeping room doors are equipped with remote
control release. Locked doors within the smoke barrier are equipped with remote control locks to
impede movement to adjoining smoke compartment. Locked doors, that are permitted to be unlocked
manually at the door, impede movement through the exit door on the exterior wall to the outside

Use Condition V: Contained

All locks are manually operated at the individual door. The unlocking process places a heavy demand on
staff to open doors in an emergency, severely restricting the movement of residents, necessitating
stringent life safety requirements.

22/23.2.2.5.2 permit horizontal exits to comprise 100% of the exits from any fire compartment provided
the compartment is not dead ended (i.e. it is not necessary to move through a compartment where fire
could originate to reach a door to the outside). In example below, A and C are compliant with a least
two exits (one outside, one to adjoining compartment), B is compliant with 100% of exits being
horizontal exits to other compartments, but C is not compliant since 100% of exit is a horizontal exit to C
which may be dead ended if fire originates there.
Travel distance in detention occupancies is measured to the closest exit only, along the natural path of
travel. The travel distance between any point in sleeping room to door in that room must be <= 50 ft.

The maximum travel distance limitation, such as from X2 to C2, may be increased to 100 ft in open
dorms provided that the enclosing walls of the dormitory are smoke-tight construction AND also that
>=2 exit access doors remotely located from each other are provided where travel distance to the exit
access from any point within the dorm exceeds 50 ft.

The travel distance between any room door required as an exit access and an exit (C1 -> E1, or C2 -> E2)
must be <=150 ft. The travel distance between any point in a room and an exit (X1 -> E1, or X2 -> E2)
must be <=250 ft.
In occupancies other than detention, up to 50% of required exits in either number or capacity can
discharge through the LED and remaining must discharge directly outside. At detention occupancies, due
to security concerns, up to 100% of exits can discharge through the LED if a minimum 1-hour fire rated
separation that creates at least two fire compartments is provided on the LED. The number or capacity
of exits discharging into any one fire compartment must be <=50% of total number or capacity of exits.

Smoke barrier may be used instead of a fire barrier in an existing facility if the travel route along the LED
is sprinklered and the route is separated from nonsprinklered portions of the LED by fire barriers
meeting the fire resistance rating requirements of exit enclosure.

Section 22.2.7.1 allows exits to

discharge into a fenced or walled
courtyard assuming that <=2 walls
surrounding the courtyard are that of
the building from which egress is
occurring. This can be accomplished by
separating a single building by 2-hour
fire resistance rating barriers to create
equivalent of two buildings. The yard
must be of sufficient size to
accommodate all occupants at a
distance >=50 ft from the building while
providing a net area of 15 sqft/person.

Doors in a means of egress are permitted to be horizontal sliding type, assuming that the force
necessary to slide the door to its fully open position be <=50 lb applied perpendicular to door.

Any remote-control release used in means of egress must have a reliable means of operation to releasee
locks on all doors and be remotely located from the resident living areas unless otherwise permitted.

Vertical openings must be protected per Section 8.6 Maximum 2-story unprotected conveinience
openings are permitted per 8.6.9.1.
In new residential housing smoke compartments, and existing residential housing smoke compartments
protected by automatic sprinklers, unprotected openings are permitted per 8.6.6. The maximum 3-story
limitation is exempted provided the height between lowest and highest finished floor levels does not
exceed 23 ft.

Multilevel housing: For existing non=sprinklered buildings, the vertical separation from the lowest floor
level and the uppermost floor level may not exceed 13 ft.

Multitiered Open Cell Block: can be considered a single story building in an existing building, assuming
that either the entire building is protected with automatic sprinklers OR smoke control is provided to
maintain the smoke level from potential cell fires >=60 inches above the highest occupied tier within the
cell block.
Subdivision of building spaces: per 22/23.3.7, smoke barriers must be provided to divide every story
used for sleeping by

 >=1 residents for new facilities

 by >=10 residents for existing facilities
 any other story having an occupant load of >=50 persons

into at least two compartments. This is exempted where protection si permitted to be accomplished
using horizontal exits, OR where the requirement for subdivision is permitted to be accomplished by

 smoke compartments having exit to public way, where exit serves only one area and has no
opening to other areas
 building is separated from the resident housing area by 2-hour fire resistance rating or 50 ft of
open space
 secured open area having a holding space located 50 ft from housing areda that provides 15 sqft
or more of refuge area for each occupant (staff, resident, visitor)

Based on use category, new or existing, and automatic sprinkler presence, there are requirements for
resident housing space subdivision listed in Table 22/23.3.8