Any existing, fully alarmed apartment building, shall be deemed in compliance with the provisions of this Chapter 31, upon meeting the following fifteen requirements:
(1) The building maintains a fire alarm system that complies with the provisions of Section 9.6 of this code and Chapter 13, as amended, of the Rhode Island Fire Prevention Code, along with subsections 31.3.4.1.2 through 31.3.4.1.5 to the satisfaction of the state fire marshal, deputy state fire marshal and/or the assistant deputy state fire marshal (hereinafter the “AHJ”); and
(2) The building maintains an approved system of either hardwired or wireless smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed in accordance with NFPA 72 and NFPA 720, 2033 edition, or shall provide this detection, to the satisfaction of the AHJ, on or before July 1, 2005; and
(3) The building maintains emergency lighting approved by the AHJ; and
(4) The building maintains approved exit signage, if so required by the AHJ; and
(5) The building shall have at least two means of egress of which one may be a properly maintained existing metal fire escape or platform and ladder system, approved by the AHJ.
(6) The walls of the internal means of egress are made of plaster and/or sheetrock, are in good repair, and maintain an approximate fire rating of twenty (20) minutes as determined by the AHJ; and
(7) All combustible covering materials, within the approved egress systems, such as existing paneling or wainscoting, mounted on approved plaster or sheetrock walls or ceilings, shall be rendered flame resistant by the application of a approved Class A flame-spread rated material to the satisfaction of the AHJ; and
(8) The existing dimensions of the egress system appear to adequately support the rapid evacuation of the building, in the opinion of the AHJ.
(9) The internal means of egress may contain winding stairs approved by the AHJ.
(10) Approved solid core or steel doors, maintaining an approximate fire rating of twenty (20) minutes, have been installed in the existing egress system door jambs to the satisfaction of the AHJ; and
(11) Exiting metal fire escapes platform and ladder systems, maintained in good repair, may be utilized as a second means of egress, as approved by the AHJ. The above existing fire escape systems may be accessed through windows providing a clear opening of at least 5.7 square feet, as approved by the AHJ. All locks and locking devices shall be permanently removed from the doors to the rooms providing access to the fire escape system; and
(12) Any furnace or boiler in the building shall be equipped with an approved remote shutoff switch approved by the AHJ.
(13) Any furnace, boiler or comparable central heating plant above 160,000 BTU input and all floor mounted units requiring a non-combustible floor by their listing, shall be either segregated from the remainder of the building by a one hour rated enclosure or protected by domestically-supplied sprinkler head(s) to the satisfaction of the AHJ.
(14) Portable fire extinguishers shall be provided in accordance with section 9.7.4.1 of this Code. As an alternative to the location requirements for portable fire extinguishers outlined in section 9.7.4.1 of this Code, the owner or management of the apartment building may provide each apartment unit with an approved fire extinguisher installed at the direction and to the satisfaction of the AHJ.
(15) Every existing apartment building, containing more than six (6) living units between approved fire barriers (see Section 8.3) having a fire resistance rating of not less than two (2) hours, build, or converted to this occupancy, on or after June 29, 1990, and all existing apartment buildings constructed wholly or in part of combustible materials, which have sleeping accommodations for guests or employees above the third story, shall, at a minimum, maintain an approved, engineered system of domestically supplied sprinkler heads covering the entire internal egress system with at least one additional head located inside the exit access door of each apartment. The above domestically supplied sprinkler coverage shall be installed to the satisfaction of the AHJ. The engineering of this limited coverage domestically supplied system of sprinkler heads shall comply with either section 9.7.1.2 of this Code or standards outline in BOCA Standard 100 Life Safety Fire Sprinkler Code.
(The above alternative requirements are primarily designed to address the structural issues facing the owners of existing apartment buildings that were previously converted, to this occupancy, from older existing one, two and three family dwellings.)
