Building Laws

Instructor: Pedro M. Santos Jr.

JPT Review Center

Module 07
Topic RA 9514 (Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008)
Lecture Video lecture by instructor
Quiz 20 items + Answer key
Student’s Read the 2019 IRR of RA 9514, focusing on Rules 3 and 10.
Assignment No. 7 Compare the requirements of Rule 10 of the Fire Code
(For self-study) against the requirements of Rule 12 of the Building Code,
particularly as regards the following:
1. Occupant load factors
2. Design requirements for stairways and exits
3. Maximum travel distances to exit

RA 9514 (Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008)

Repealing Clause and IRR
- RA 9514 repeals PD 1185 (the old Fire Code of the Philippines)
- The latest IRR of the Fire Code is the 2019 IRR
Outline of RA 9514
- Interpretation
- Coverage
- Definition of Terms
- Authority of the BFP Chief
- Fire Code Technical Staff
- Fire Brigades, Volunteers Orgs Safety Practitioners
- Assistance and Support to the BFP
FOCUS ON THREE RULES!!!!
- Rule 3: Definition of Terms
- Rule 9: Enforcement of Fire Safety Measures
o Inspections
o FSCR, FSCCR, FSMR
o FSEC and FSIC
- Rule 10: Fire Safety Measures
o Various design requirements

RULE 3 – DEFINITION OF TERMS

*Read nlng sa file kay daghan*
RULE 8 – FIRE SAFETY ENFORCERS
Fire Safety Enforcers
- Fire Safety Inspectors
o Tasked with the inspection of buildings assess/ensure compliance with the fire
code and it’s fire safety requirements and other related laws and ordinances
o After inspection they will provide recommendation of corrective actions for
violations and defects.
o Preparation of documents.
- Plan Evaluators
o Review of plans and specifications including the Fire Protection system to
determine compliance with the fire code, building code and other life and
safety standards.
o Inspection of building during construction to determine compliance with
approved plans and specs.
- Chief of Fire Safety Enforcement Section/Unit
o Review reports of fire safety enforcers and recommend approval to fire
Marshall.
o Assist the fire marshall in fire code implementation.
o Supervise fire safety inspectors
o Recommend to fire Marshall filing of appropriate charges against violators
RULE 9 – ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF FIRE SAFETY MEASURES
General
- All buildings must be inspected.
- Fire safety inspection is required for:
o Certificate of occupancy or occupancy permit:
o Business permit
o Permit to operate
- Evaluation of plan is required for:
o Building
Fire Safety Evaluation and Inspection
1. Building Plan Review
2. Inspection During Construction (To check compliance in Fire Code)
3. Inspection After Completion of Construction
4. Business Inspection and Routine/Annual Inspection
Building Plan Review (Applying for Building Permit)
- The building plans and specifications are endorsed the fire department. The plan
evaluator will review these plans to determine compliance with the requirements of
the fire code.
- Based on the findings an FSEC (Fire Safety Evaluation Clearance) or a notice of
disapproval will be issued.
- Important notes:
 o The FSEC is a requirement for the issuance of the building permit
o No building plan will be evaluated without the FSCR.
Inspection During Construction (After Building Permit approval)
- During construction, renovation, modification, or alteration, the fire marshal shall
inspect project to determine whether the plans and specifications are being followed
and fire safety precautions are being observed
Inspection After Completion of Construction (Applying for Occupancy Permit)
- After the completion of construction and prior to the occupancy of the building, a fire
safety inspector must inspect the building to determine conformance with the fire
code and the approved plans.
- Based on the findings an FSIC (Fire Safety Inspection Certificate) or a notice of
disapproval will be issued.
- Important notes:
o The FSIC is required for the issuance of the certificate of occupancy
o The FSCCR is required for the issuance of the FSIC.
o Testing and commissioning of the fire protective and warning system must be
witnessed by the FSI.
Business Inspection and Routine/Annual Inspection
-
- Business Inspection (Only Applicable to Industrial, commercial, and business
operations)
o FSIC is required for the issuance of the business permit, mayor’s permit,
PEZA certificate of annual inspection
o Inspection will be conducted, after which either an FSIC or an NTC (Notice to
Comply) will be issued.
o Note: FSMR is required for issuance of FSIC
- Routine/Annual Inspection (Not for Business Permit Purposes)
o For buildings not classified as industrial, commercial, or business operations,
routine inspection will be conducted to determine compliance with the IRR.

FSCR, FSCCR FSMR

Applicability of FSCR, FSCCR, FSMR

 The
three

reports
FSCR (Fire Safety Compliance Report)
- A detailed design analysis of the fire safety features to be installed in the building.
(design)
FSCCR (Fire Safety and Compliance and Commissioning Report)
- A certification that the approved plans and specifications were duly Implemented.
(construction)
FSMR (Fire Safety Maintenance Report)
- A report on conducted annual maintenance on fire safety and protection systems.
(maintenance)

FSCR (Fire Safety Compliance Report)

- Report submitted by the engineer-of-record or the architect-of-record containing a
detailed design analysis of all fire safety features to be installed and certifying that the
design complies with the fire code.
- Required for the FSEC for building permit
Anong laman ni FSCR? (Content Samples)
- The FSCR includes, but is not limited to:
o Codes and standards used in the design.
o Project description, building classification, occupancy, hazards of contents
o Descriptions of exits, travel distances, fire suppressions, FDAS, evacuation
systems, smoke control management, emergency power supply, emergency
lighting, fire department access.
o Basis of design, calculations, design criteria, etc.
FSCCR (Fire Safety and Compliance and Commissioning Report)
- Report submitted by the contractor or construction manager certifying that:
o The plans and specifications prescribe in the FSCR were duly implemented
o All Fire Protection and life safety features were properly installed
 o The complete building complies with the requirements of the fire code.
- Required for the FSIC for occupancy
Anong laman ni FSCCR? (Content Samples)
- The FSCCR includes, but is not limited to:
o Certification that the fire safety features in the FSCR were implemented and
that the completed building complies with the fire code.
o As-built plans
o Testing and commissioning certificates
o Description of changes made in the design, if any. Standards used for these
changes, if any.
FSMR (Fire Safety Maintenance Report)
- Report submitted by the building owner or his authorized representative on the
conducted annual mix of fire safety and Fire Protection systems, certifying that all
fire safety systems are installed and maintained in operational condition.
- Required for the FSIC for building permits
Anong laman ni FSMR? (Content Samples)
- The FSMR includes, but is not limited to:
o Building classification, occupancy, hazards of contents, number of active
exits.
o Maintenance and testing records for fire pumps, sprinkler system, portable
extinguishers, standpipes, FDAS, smoke management system pressurization
fans, emergency power supply.
o Results of annual fire pump flow test, annual main drain test, standpipe water
flow test

FSEC+FSIC
FSEC (Fire Safety Evaluation Clearance)
- Prerequisite for the building permit
- Require Sir view of the plants by the plan evaluator issued by the fire marshall upon
determination that the design and plans are in accordance with the fire code.
FSIC (Fire Safety Inspection Certificate)
- Prerequisite for certificate of occupancy, business permit, permit to operate, etc.
- Requires inspection of the building by the fire safety inspector issued by the fire
Marshall based on the findings from the inspection.
Putting things together (Step by step scenarios)
RULE 10 – SAFETY MEASURES (Most important Chapter) (Contains Design Safety
Features)
 Outline of Rule 10 (Fire Safety Measures)
1. Coverage
2. Fire Safety in Buildings (more important)
a. General Requirements
b. Classification of Occupancy
c. Hazar of Buildings
d. Means of Egress
e. Features of Fire Protection
f. … (More detailed specifications for corresponding occupancy)
3. Fire safety of hazardous materials
4. Fire safety for hazardous operations (car-wrecking, explosives, fireworks)
5. Miscellaneous safety measures
FIRE SAFETY IN BUILDINGS
General Requirements
- Provide sufficient exits for all buildings
- Protect escaping occupants from fires, smoke, vapour, and fumes,
- Exits must provide free and unobstructed egress from all parts of the building.
o General rule: no lock our fastening device (subject to certain exceptions, like
penal institutions)
- Exits should be clearly visible and the route to an exit should be conspicuously
marked to make the direction of escape obvious.
- Provide adequate illumination
- Vertical openings like stairs and elevators between floors should be suitably enclosed
or protected
- For buildings of such size or occupancy such that the reasonable safety of a number
of occupants may be endangered by blocking off only one means of egress due to fire
or smoke: provide at least two means of egress (default na ni)
Classification of Occupancy
The 13 occupancy classifications in the fire code
1. Assembly
a. buildings used for gathering 50 or more persons
b. buildings used as special amusement buildings
2. Educational
a. Buildings used for gathering of six or more persons for the purpose of
education or instruction
3. Daycare
a. Buildings in which four or more clients receive care, maintenance, and
supervision by people who are not their relatives or guardians for less than 24
hours a day.
b. One example is a child daycare centre
4. Health care
 a. Buildings used for purposes of medical or other treatment or care of persons
who are mostly incapable of self-preservation because of age physical or
mental disability.
i. Hospitals
ii. Nursing homes
iii. Birth centres
5. Residential board and care
a. Buildings used for lodging in boarding of four or more residents, not related
by blood or marriage to the owners, for the purpose of providing personal care
services (no nursing care)
i. Group housing for physically or mentally handicapped persons who
attend school in the community
ii. Group housing for the elderly providing personal care services but not
providing nursing care
iii. Assisted living facilities
iv. Rehabilitation facilities for alcoholism and drug abuse
6. Detention and correctional
a. Buildings used to house one or more persons under varying degrees of
restraint or security. Occupants are more incapable of self-preservation
because of security measures not under their control
i. prison
7. Residential
a. Occupancies in which sleeping accommodations are provided for normal
residential purposes and include building design to provide sleeping
accommodation.
i. Single and two-family dwellings, and the like
ii. Apartments, lodging houses, and dormitories
iii. Condominiums
iv. Hotels, motels, apartelles, pension houses, inns
8. Mercantile
a. Stores, markets, and other buildings used for the display and sale of
merchandise
i. Malls, supermarkets, department stores, shopping centres.
ii. Dry and wet markets, flea markets
iii. Restaurants with capacity of less than 50 persons (otherwise assembly)
iv. Office, storage, in service facilities incidental to the sale of
merchandise. (Within the store naay office)
9. Business
a. Buildings used for the transaction of business other than that covered under
mercantile.
i. General offices, offices for professionals
ii. City and municipal halls
iii. Call centres, BPO, Internet shops
iv. Massage parlours, beauty parlours, barber shops (less then 50)
10. Industrial
 a. Factories of all kinds, dry cleaning plants, power plants, pumping stations,
smokehouses, gas plants, sawmills, laundries.
11. Storage
a. Buildings used primarily for storage of goods, merchandise, products,
vehicles, and animals.
i. Where houses
ii. Cold storage
iii. Truck and marine terminals
iv. Bulk oil storage
v. Parking garage
vi. Hangar
vii. Barn and stables
12. Mixed Occupancies
a. Two or more classes of occupancies occurring in the same building so
intermingled that separate safeguards are impracticable. (nagkabuhol buhol na
occupancies)
13. Special structures
a. Building’s which cannot be properly classified in any of the preceding
occupancy groups.
HAZARD OF BUILDINGS
Classification of hazard of contents
The hazard of contents of any buildings shall be classified as:
1. Low hazard
- Contents of such low combustability that no self-propagating fire can occur in the
building.
2. Moderate hazard
- Contents which are liable to burn with moderate rapidity or to give off a
considerable volume of smoke, but in any case:
o No poisonous fumes
o No explosions
3. High hazard
- Contents which are liable to burn with extreme rapidity
- Contents from which poisonous gases or explosions are to be expected in the event of
a fire.
MEANS OF EGRESS
Means of Egress
- A continuous, unobstructed route of exit from any point in the building to a public
way.
- Composed of three parts:
o Exit access: the part leading to the exit
 o Exit: the part separated from the rest of the buildings to provide a protected
way of travel to the exit discharge. (Separated from the building meaning
enclosed sya na part of the building. Example is fire exit stairs.)
o Exit discharge: the part between the end of the exit and a public way
Permissible Exit Components
- Doors
- Stairs
- Outside stairs
- Horizontal exits
- Ramps
- Exit passageways
- Escalators and moving walks
- Fire escape stairs, ladders, and slide escapes
- Illumination
- Exit markings
Protective Enclosure of Exit
- Intended to separate the exit from the other parts of the building
- Fire assistance rating of the exit enclosure
o 1 hour if the exit it connects three stories or less
o 2 hours if the exit connect four or more storeys
o But never less than required for the stairway inside the enclosure
- All openings within the enclosure: self-closing fire resistive door.
o But limit openings to those necessary for exit access.
Occupant load
- The maximum number of persons that may occupy any space at any time.
- Computed by dividing the floor area by the occupant load factor indicated for
occupancy type in division 8-20 of rule 10 chapter 2
- Where exits serve more than one floor, only the occupant load of that floor needs to
be used in computing the capacity of the exits of that floor, but the exit capacity shall
not be decreased in the direction of exit travel. (One fire exit. Multiple exit per
floors. The fire exit shall not be decreased in terms of occupant load per floor. If 100
ang max occupant load sa isa ka floor, 100 dapat sa tanan floors)
Number of Exits
- For any storey, mezzanine, balcony, etc.:
o 1-500 occupant load: 2 exits minimum
o 501-999 occupant load: 3 exits minimum
o 1000 or more: 4 exits minimum
Arrangements of Exits
- Exit must be readily accessible at all times
- Corridors shall provide exit access without passing through intervening rooms
- When two exits are required, they shall be located at a distance from one another not
less than ½ of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the
building or area to be served. (Measured in a straight line between the inner edges of
the two exit doors)
- Four buildings with an automatic sprinkler system, the minimum distance between
two exits should not be less than 1/3 of the length of the maximum overall diagonal
dimension of the building or area to be served (measured in a straight line between
the inner edges of the two exit doors)
Dead End Limits
- 6 meters maximum (similar to NBC)
Measurement of Travel Distance to Exits *study travel distance per occupancy!!!*
- General rule: measured along the natural path, from the most remote point subject
for occupancy, ending at the centre of the doorway or the point at which the exit
begins.
Access to Exits
- Doors from a room to an exit or two away of exit access shall swing with exit travel
(swing-out doors)
- General rule: the access to exit cannot be through a bathroom, bedroom or any other
room subject to locking.
- Exit access shall be configured in such a way that it will not be necessary to travel
toward any of high hazard occupancy to reach the nearest exit.
Discharge from exits
- General rule: all exits shell terminate directly at a public way or at an exterior exit
discharge (yards, court, open space that lead the a public way)
Travel Distance to Exits *study travel distance per occupancy!!!**different from
building code*
- Depends on occupancy
- For individual rooms with max. occupant load of 6:
o 15 meters from any point in the room
Headroom
- Minimum of 2.00 meters
Doors (used in fire exits)
- Provide a self-closing mechanism for exit doors
- Must swing in the direction of exit travel (AKA swing out):
o When serving a room or area with an occupant load of 50 or more persons
o When used in an exit enclosure
o When serving a high hazard contents area
- Clear opening: at least 710MM wide
- Maximum door leaf width: 1220 MM wide
Stairs
- Austere ease designated as a means of egress should be continuous from the
uppermost floor level to the ground floor
- Two sets of requirements
o New stairs
o Existing stairs

Dimensions of Existing Stairs

Dimensions of New Stairs

Minimum Width of New Stairs

Dimensional Criteria for New Ramps

 Handrails (for Stairways)
- Mounting height is 760mm – 865mm from upper surface of tread
Illumination
- Minimum 10.7 lux
Ladders
- Not allowed as fire escapes or means of egress

FEATURES OF FIRE PROTECTION

Fire alarms
- Notifies occupants of the building, and when, required emergency forces
- Automatic fire department notification is required for:
o High rise buildings
o Hospitals
o Schools, hotels, apartments 4 storeys or taller
o Malls
Wet standpipes
- Wet standpipes required for the following:
o Assembly occupancies with at least 1000 occupant load
o Schools, hospitals businesses hotels etc. with four storeys or taller
o Hazardous occupancies exceeding 1860 SQM per floor
- Exceptions:
o Buildings with an approved sprinkler system
- All portions of the building must be within 6 metres of a nozzle attached to a 22
metre long hose.(it will indicate how will you locate the fire hose. Dapat abot sa 22
m long hose tanan parts sa building with 6 meters na buga sa tubig from hose)
- Minimum of 64MM diameter

OCCUPANCY-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS *self-study, lisod studyhan. Lisod I retain sa

exam because daghan kayo. READ ALL AND TAKE OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS.*
Items to pick out from each occupancy
- General requirements
- Occupant load factors *important daw for pedro ew*
- Maximum travel distances to exits
- Exit details
- Unique requirements applicable to each occupancy
Occupant Load Factors *recommend to memorize*
‘
Prioritize fire code than number sa NBC. But memorize both
Memorize Occupant load factors kay mas recent.
SELF STUDY EVERYTHING!