Thread: Fire safety for existing commercial buildings

Does anyone know some of the fire safety and egress concerns to inspect for in a existing 1950's commercial office building. Thank you

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That is a very vague question.

What type of construction?

How big is the building? Egress requirements are based on size (occupancy).

Does it currently have sprinklers?

You best bet is to go to the construction office and talk to the AHJ.

Originally Posted by Darren Miller

That is a very vague question.

What type of construction?

How big is the building? Egress requirements are based on size (occupancy).

Does it currently have sprinklers?

You best bet is to go to the construction office and talk to the AHJ.

The buliding is a 10,000 sq ft brick 2 story office building

Originally Posted by Sam Morris

The buliding is a 10,000 sq ft brick 2 story office building

Hi Sam,

This is complicated subject and cannot be easily answered with a few bullet points. For starters, is your client looking for a Life Satey / Fire Inspection? I guess my question is, what is your client looking for and why? What is the scope?

Unless you are familiarwith NFPA 1, NFPA 101, IBC and others (or whatever local resourse is being used), you could have problems.

There is more to it than just "junk in the halls and are the exit signes burned out". Are they looking for travel distances, ADA stuff, area of resuce, panic hardware, sprinklers, alarms, fire doors, fire walls, fire / smoke dampers, etc. etc.

Will the use of the building be changing?

If you are going to take on such an assignment, I would recommend you consult (team up with) an individual with NFPA Fire Inspector credentials, NFPA CFPS credentials or perhaps seek out a fire inspector from a neighboring municipality that is interested in moonlighting.

Just some thoughts off the top of my head. Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Corey Friedman