Fire Safety Maintenance Requirements - Calgary

1 fire Safety Maintenance Requirements See for most recent version fire Safety Maintenance Requirements fire Code Requirements for the Who is an Owner? Maintenance of Buildings and Life The Safety Codes Act under which NFC(AE) is applied, defines Safety Systems an owner to include a lessee, a person in charge, a person who has care and control and a person who holds out that Calgary fire Department Inspections has prepared this the person has the powers and authority of ownership or reference document listing common fire Safety Maintenance who for the time being exercises powers and authority of Requirements as found in the National fire Code 2019. ownership. Alberta Edition. With some exceptions, these Requirements apply to all buildings in the City of Calgary . For a complete list of Requirements see the National fire Code 2019 Alberta Who is Qualified? Edition also referred to as NFC(AE).

2 Persons who install, inspect, test and maintain life Safety systems must be qualified for the specific system . This typically means that the person will either be a Contents journeyperson electrician, certified fire alarm technician, Responsibilities .. 3. journeyperson sprinkler system installer or other qualified 3. person as per provincial or Calgary fire Department On-Site Retention of Records .. 4 Requirements . Accordingly, owners are responsible for General Requirements .. 5 ensuring that the persons they hire are qualified. Commercial Cooking Operations .. 6. For additional information on who is qualified to install and Emergency Lighting, Exit Lighting & Exit Signs .. 7 maintain life Safety equipment in Calgary , visit Electromagnetic Locks .. 8 or contact Calgary fire Inspections Emergency Generator Systems .. 10 through 311. fire Alarm & Voice Communication Systems .. 11.

3 Hazardous Processes and Operations .. 12. Consequences for Failing to Comply Health Care Facilities .. 13 As per the Safety Codes Act, Section 68(1), owners failing to High Buildings .. 13. comply with Maintenance Requirements as identified in the NFC(AE) may be subject to fines of not more than $100,000. Integrated Systems 14. and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months for Portable fire Extinguishers .. 15 the first offence. Second and subsequent offences may be Water-Based fire Protection Systems .. 16 subject to a fine of not more than $500,000 and/or Emergency Planning .. 18 imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months. Appendix A: On-Site Records Checklist .. 22. Revision History .. 23. 2. fire Safety Maintenance Requirements Responsibilities Definitions AUTHORITY HAVING JURISDICTION (AHJ) means a Safety If any fire Safety equipment is discovered to be codes officer in the fire discipline exercising authority inoperative or defective through Maintenance , pursuant to designation of power and terms of employment CORRECTIVE ACTION must be taken in accordance with the Safety Codes Act.

4 IMMEDIATELY by the owner or owner's authorized agent . CHECK means a visual observation to ensure the device or system is in place and is not obviously damaged or Failure to take CORRECTIVE ACTION in a timely obstructed. manner may be deemed to be a violation of the Safety Codes Act, and may result in actions being INSPECT means physical examination to determine that the taken against the owner(s) in care and control. device or system will apparently perform in accordance with its intended function. Responsible Parties ITM means Inspection, Testing & Maintenance . Unless otherwise specified, the owner or the owner's Maintenance means work performed to keep equipment authorized agent shall be responsible for carrying out the operable. provisions of this Code. NFC(AE) Div. C (1) NBC(AE) means the National Building Code 2019 Alberta Edition, previously known as the Alberta Building Code.

5 Shutdown of fire Alarm Systems (ABC). If a fire alarm and detection system , or part thereof, is NFC(AE) means the National fire Code 2019 Alberta inoperative for more than 2 hours for any reason, the owner Edition, previously known as the Alberta fire Code (AFC). shall notify the fire department via 311, and when directed, provide acceptable surveillance within the building OWNER means a lessee, a person in charge, a person who continuously until the fire alarm and detection system is has care and control and a person who holds out that the restored to operating condition. person has the powers and authority of ownership or who, NFC(AE) Div. B (1) for the time being, exercises the powers and authority of ownership. Repairs or Alterations to Life Safety Systems Before repairs or alterations are made to fire protection SUPERVISORY STAFF means those occupants of a building installations, including but not limited to fire extinguishing who have some delegated responsibility for the fire Safety of systems and fire alarm and detection systems, a procedure of other occupants under the fire Safety plan.

6 Notification acceptable to the fire department shall be TEST means operation of device or system to ensure that it established, and the procedure may include the notification will perform in accordance with its intended function. of the fire department and the building occupants. NFC(AE) Div. B (1) WATER-BASED fire PROTECTION SYSTEMS include sprinkler systems, standpipes, private hydrants, hose systems, water Notification of Uncorrected Defects spray fixed systems, foam-water sprinkler systems, foam- If a person who carries out the Maintenance of fire water spray systems, and fire pumps. protection installations discovers that a device or system is inoperative or defective and the owner or their authorized agent is unwilling or unable to correct the defect, the person carrying out the Maintenance shall (within 10 days) notify the fire department and the owner/authorized agent . NFC(AE) Div.

7 B (2). 3. fire Safety Maintenance Requirements On-Site Retention of Records Records to be Retained The following is a list of records that are frequently examined Owners or their authorized agents who are unable to by fire Safety Codes Officers. Exact records required for your produce records in a timely manner will be subject to building are determined by the life Safety systems, processes actions under the Alberta Safety Codes Act. and activities in your building. For clarification on what is To comply with these Requirements , the Calgary fire required in your building, contact Calgary fire Department Department recommends maintaining a printed copy of Inspections via 311. these records organized in an easy-to-find physical binder See Appendix A Records Checklist for an insert that may labeled Life Safety Records. These records are essential for be used to ensure all required records are present in the Life successful inspections and ongoing Maintenance of building Safety Records binder.

8 Life Safety systems. Record Type Frequency This binder must be located in one of the following locations: Commercial Cooking Exhaust and fire - Protection Systems, Initial, 6 Month 1. fire Safety Plan box found near the main entrance Other Special fire Suppression Systems 2. Central Alarm and Control Facilities (CACF) Room, if Doors with Electromagnetic Locks Test your building is equipped with one. as per Calgary fire Department Annual 3. On-site central records keeping room, for Requirements institutions that manage multiple buildings located Emergency Generator Systems in one physical area ( : hospital complexes, large This specific record type may be kept in Initial, Monthly, 6. educational institutions, large industrial sites). In the generator room or with all other Month, Annual, 5 Year these instances, one binder per building is required. records in the Life Safety Records.

9 Binder. Emergency Lighting Annual Requirements fire Alarm &. 1. The original or a copy of records required by the NFC(AE) Initial, Annual Voice Communication Systems shall be retained at the premises for examination. fire Drills As required NFC(AE) Div. C (1) fire Safety Plan see Emergency Reviewed Annually by Planning owner or owner's agent 2. Records of fire evacuations and fire Safety drills shall be Integrated Systems Testing Report As required retained at the premises for examination. Make-up Air Systems and CO/N20. Annual NFC(AE) Div. C (2) detectors in enclosed parkades ULC Monitoring Certificate Current certificate where 3. The initial verification or test reports for each system (Protective Signaling system only) applicable shall be retained throughout the life of the systems. Water-Based fire Protection Systems including but not limited to: NFC(AE) Div. C (3) Initial, Annual, 3-year fire Pumps and 5-year records Private Hydrants where applicable 4.

10 Records of tests, inspections, Maintenance or Sprinklers operational procedures undertaken after the initial tests Standpipes referred to in #3 shall be retained so that at least the current and previous record is available. NFC(AE) Div. C (4) Proof of Deficiency Resolution Where deficiencies are noted on reports, subsequently issued 5. No record shall be destroyed within two years of having letters and/or updated reports from qualified person(s) that been prepared. speak to these deficiencies must be retained with the NFC(AE) Div. C (5) originally issued report as proof of resolution. 4. fire Safety Maintenance Requirements Ongoing Requirements NFC(AE). General Requirements Access Panels and Windows MAINTAIN free In addition to the Requirements outlined elsewhere in this of obstruction where provided to facilitate document ( , emergency generators, fire alarms, water- access for firefighting operations based fire protection systems), the following general Chimneys, Flues and Flue Pipes MAINTAIN.