Helpful Hints: Top 10 Life Safety Compliance Deficiencies of 2011 - Part 10

I hope you found the last blog entry covering #9 on the Top Ten List of List Safety Code Deficiencies on K56, Sprinkler System Installations helpful.

This is the last entry for my blog series on the Top Ten Life Safety Deficiencies for 2011 and #10 on the list is K12, Construction Types. I will also include a summary of the Top Ten list for your reference.

K12 -Construction Type

Tables are broken down into five construction types.

Type I and II -non-combustible
Types III, IV, and V -combustible

K 12-2

K12 takes construction materials, fire ratings, sprinkler coverage, and number of stories into consideration. All nursing homes, regardless of construction type, must be completely sprinkled by Aug. 13, 2013.

Common Citation Scenarios:

Holes in the gypsum board ceiling.
Unprotected ventilation grills.
Recessed light fixtures and speakers not protected with UL fire rated enclosures.
Air registers are not equipped with fire dampers.
Missing ceiling tiles.
Unsealed holes and electrical conduit, metal pipe,
PVC pipe, and low-voltage wiring penetrations through the room floor/ceiling assemblies.
PVC pipe penetrations through floor/ceiling assembly not sealed with fire rated material.
Suspended ceiling systems not one-hour fire resistive rated assemblies.
No documentation provided by the facility to indicate the ceiling tile and grid system has a fire resistance rating.

K 12-1