If you are working on a project in Prince George's County, MD or in Rockville, MD, you may have had a last minute scare on a project, where you learned that a Fire Protection Engineering Design Evaluation Report (FPEDE) was required. 

In this article, we'll discuss what and FPEDE is, when it is required, and how you can obtain one for your project.

If you already know you need an FPEDE for your project, our friends at Campbell Code Consulting can help you. Click here to contact them directly.

According to the Building Code of the City of Rockville, Section 107.2.10, an FPEDE is required for the following buildings or fire protection systems for which a building permit application is made: 

1. Use Group "A", Assembly, with an occupant load of One Thousand (1,000) persons or more; 
2. Use Group "E", Educational; 
3. Use Group "H", High Hazard; 
4. Use Groups "I-2 and I-3", Institutional; 
5. Use Group "M": all malls of Type I construction;  
6. All Use Groups with an estimated construction cost of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) or more;  

Exception: The Chief of Inspection Services may waive the FPEDE requirements for minor construction projects such as, but not limited to, projects where required life safety systems are not affected.  ​

Our friends at Campbell Code Consulting are qualified and ready to help! In addition, Campbell Code Consulting specializes in helping design teams navigate the building code and fire/life safety portions of the permit review process. Click here to contact them directly.

Update: Now includes cheatcheets for the 2021 and 2024 IBC

After way too many hours of work, I'm excited to share this huge fire and smoke damper cheatsheet that goes through EVERY instance where the 2018 IBC requires a fire and smoke damper due to a wall/floor/ceiling penetration.

**Updated 2/9/2023 with IBC 2021 Code References and new images!
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​About twice a year, I receive a question from an architect regarding safety glazing. Where is it required? Can I provide a different type of glass? Is this manufacturer/model acceptable? Without fail, I always end up revisiting the International Building Code (IBC) to review the requirements before answering the question. So in an effort to save me (and hopefully you) time in the future, I have compiled a quick reference guide for safety glazing. All references are to the 2021 IBC.

A stairway is a key part of the means of egress for any multi-story building or structure. Also known as a stair or staircase, stairways provide a path for occupants to traverse from one level to another within a building or space. In this post, we’ll review some of the key requirements for stairways from both the International Residential Code (IRC) and the The International Building Code (IBC). All references are to the 2021 editions of these codes.

If you are working on a residential design or construction project, an important design consideration is the requirement for egress windows. While most people in the design community understand what you are referring to with this term, “egress windows” is not actually defined in the code. The International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC) both refer instead to Emergency Escape and Rescue Openings (EEROs).
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In this article, we’ll refer to egress windows and EEROs interchangeably, but remember that the code only defines EEROs. A window can be used to meet the EERO requirements, but doors and other openings are also an option. All references are to the 2021 IBC and IRC.

**Updated 11/11/2022 with final ICC results and an updated cheatsheet.

This week, the ICC Committee Action Hearings (CAH) kicked off, where proposed code changes for the 2024 ICC Codes are heard by the various ICC committees. In yestereday's session, the IBC General committee heard several proposed changes related to occupied roofs and the classification of high-rise buildings. In recent code cycles, there have been several key changes to occupied roof requirements, but none of these have addressed whether an occupied roof over 75' would trigger classification of a high-rise building.

As a quick reminder, the 2021 IBC currently defines a high-rise building as "A building with an occupied floor located more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access."

​I work on a variety of multi-family housing projects, including residential apartment buildings and senior living facilities, where each dwelling unit has its own washer and dryer. In the past, I have always seen the dryer exhaust duct routed through a wall and then into the cavity of a floor-ceiling assembly, but on a recent project, the local AHJ questioned the validity of this approach. 

As I have spent time in existing buildings over the years, whether surveying a building for potential renovations, reviewing existing conditions or doing inspections, the concept of the building “meeting code” often comes up. Building owners, building maintenance staff, or anyone that is concerned with the operation or maintenance of a building wants to know if their building is up to code. Unfortunately, “meeting code” can mean several different things, and it is easy to lose track of which codes actually apply to an existing building. Does the International Building Code apply? Or is the International Existing Building Code? Or both?
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In this post, we’ll explore the various building and fire codes that could apply to your existing building. There are many other codes (e.g. electrical, elevator) that we won’t specifically address, but the general thought process for those is similar. All references will be to the 2021 ICC codes, but many states and local jurisdictions modify these requirements, so be sure to verify the specific requirements for your area.

Note: If your building is a one or two family dwelling or a townhouse, the International Residential Code (IRC) is likely the applicable code. The IBC and IEBC typically do not apply to such buildings.