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 CFS frame building. 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 CFS frame construction, the fire-safety requirements for use of foam plastics depend on the construction type used to govern fire code requirements. For example, a residential or commercial building can be designed and configured to comply with Type V (combustible) building fire safety requirements and limitations. This will reduce requirements affecting the use of FPIS ci or other combustible materials. Similarly, all buildings constructed per the IRC mimic the limits for Type V construction in the IBC. However, many CFS frame buildings are designed using the IBC and Type II (non-combustible) construction requirements and this will invoke some additional fire safety considerations for use of FPIS ci. These matters are addressed in STEP 2A and STEP 2B accordingly.