FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY CORNER W RI TT E N B Y M IC H A E L T. R EA R D O N, P.E. F L OO R P L A N CO U RT E S Y O F D RY HILLS DISTILLERY
UPSIZING FIRE PROTECTION W
hen you design and construct your first distillery, whether it’s a new facility or a renovation, you have very strict code requirements to meet in order to obtain the necessary permits and approvals, with your local authority having jurisdiction. Your facility is compliant with how you originally designed it, but now it’s time to adjust. This adjustment may be due to operational changes, expanding the operations, or as a means to simply grow your business. Changes to your originally approved facility may impact the original code compliance or may require you to meet current code requirements that could be more stringent than originally required. Changes such as expanding your production area, creating or increasing your spirits storage, and even increasing your tasting room size may trigger code changes that you may not have originally anticipated. While the model building codes have various requirements that may play a factor in your expansion or change in operation, this article touches on two of the significant impacts with regards to fire protection and fire separations. It is best to work with an architect or design professional with regards to other building code requirements, such as height and area limitation, construction type, change in use and occupancy, and property lot line
distances, as they all could impact your facility. If you are looking to expand the size of your facility, then it’s important to look at any required fire-resistance rating separations. Depending on the type of construction and the size and height of your current facility, you may need to add a firewall in order to stay within the size limitations noted in the building code. The International Building Code (IBC) is often the most commonly adopted model building code in the majority of jurisdictions within the United States. A fire wall is defined as: A fire-resistance-rated wall having protected openings, which restricts the spread of fire and extends continuously from the foundation to or through the roof, with sufficient structural stability under fire conditions to allow collapse of construction on either side without collapse of the wall. The IBC notes height and area limitations based on the type of construction. If you exceed this size limit, installing a fire wall between the existing side and expansion will allow you to treat the building as two separate buildings and maintain within the size limits for each building. However, the construction of a firewall can be challenging and costly as
Changes such as expanding your production area, creating or increasing your spirits storage, and even increasing your tasting room size may trigger code changes that you may not have originally anticipated. 100
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