A building’s structural material together with the Building Occupancy Classification and Use Designation provide the foundation for determining fire safety requirements in the applicable building code. These include matters such as provision of fire sprinklers, building area and height limitations, building separation distances, assembly and material requirements, alarm systems, egress, and many other factors to provide a comprehensive approach to fire safety and code compliance. This step focuses only on fire-safety matters related to the use of FPIS ci, a combustible material, on the exterior walls of a wood frame building (which itself is combustible construction). IT is the user's responsibility to ensure code compliance has been achieved in all respects for overall fire safety and code compliance.
The first decision is to determine what building code applies based on the use and occupancy and size of the building. There are two choices:
- One- and Two-family dwellings, including townhouses, of 3 stories or less in height above grade typically comply with the IRC; go to STEP 2A.
- All other building applications must comply with the IBC fire-safety provisions; go to STEP 2B.
NOTE: For wood frame construction, the fire-safety requirements for use of foam plastics are very similar.