BILL ANALYSIS AB 1281 Date of Hearing: April 21, 1993 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Dan Hauser, Chair AB 1281 (Archie-Hudson) - As Introduced: March 3, 1993 SUMMARY Requires the State Fire Marshal to draft and the Building Standards šCommission to publish in the State Building Code building standards that šrequire fire sprinklers to be installed in all commercial occupancies of š3,000 or more square feet. DIGEST Existing law: 1) Requires the State Fire Marshal to approve building standards relating š to fire and panic safety. Building standards approved by the State Fire Marshal are submitted to the California Building Standards Commission for review, codification, and publication in the California Building Standards Code. 2) Requires the installation of fire sprinkler systems in: a) All retail sales rooms over 12,000 square feet (B-2 occupancies, which include strip malls). b) All high-rise buildings built after July 1, 1974 which are more than 75-feet high. c) Basements of certain commercial and other buildings over 1,500 square feet which do not contain adequate access for fire rescue, as defined. d) Drinking establishments with areas exceeding 5,000 square feet without separated rooms which contain one-hour fire separation walls. e) All multi-theater buildings and amusement buildings with certain exceptions. f) Any hospital or residential care facility for non-ambulatory persons, such as the elderly, licensed to care for six or more persons. g) Hotels, apartment buildings, and congregate residences of three or more stories, with occupancy levels as defined. - continued - AB 1281 Page 1 AB 1281 h) Stairwells in certain occupancies. 3) Authorizes local governments to adopt building standards related to š fire and panic safety that are more stringent than those adopted by the State Fire Marshal and contained in the California Building Standards Code, including the ability to mandate the installation of a fire sprinkler system in any new or existing dwelling. This bill requires the State Fire Marshal to draft and the Building šStandards Commission to publish in the State Building Code building šstandards that require fire sprinklers to be installed in all commercial šoccupancies of 3,000 or more square feet. In addition, this bill: 1) Requires two-hour fire separation walls for every 3,000 square foot š increment of commercial space. 2) Requires mansards (nearly vertical roofs which can also be described as š "facades") to be constructed so that they are an integral part of their structures. 3) Requires the improvement of the fire safety characteristics of the š following: a) Gang nails in gusset plate construction. b) Metal plate connectors in lightweight wood trusses. FISCAL EFFECT Allows for local cost reimbursement by the State Mandates Claim Fund. COMMENTS 1) The Sponsor: According to the sponsor, the California State Firefighters' Association, this bill is in response to several incidents in California where firefighters have died or have been severely injured while fighting fires in commercial buildings. The sponsor cites one incident in which a firefighter was killed when a facade in a "mini-mall," which was held together with only gusset plates gang nailed into the load bearing portions of the building, gave way and collapsed upon him. 2) 3,000 Foot Increments? The 3,000 square foot trigger in this š bill raises a few questions. For instance, in the case of a "mini mall" or "strip mall," depending on the configuration of the buildings and whether or not they share a common attic, could the regulations require two-hour fire separation walls and sprinklers for the larger stores but exempt the smaller shops? Would a strip mall consisting of a row of shops each less than 3,000 square feet and separated by a two- hour fire separation wall be entirely exempted? In strip malls, - continued - AB 1281 Page 2 AB 1281 businesses often expand into the adjoining shops. Would the installation of two-hour fire separation šwalls--which extend all the way through the attic to the roof--complicate šor prohibit such expansions? 3) Mansards Roofs and Facades: It is presumed that these often š cosmetic additions to commercial buildings meet the structural provisions required by the California Building Standards Code, including seismic safety requirements and adequate supports. Should these aspects of building construction be revised solely based on their performance in a fire? 4) Sprinkler Costs: According to an article published in the Fire š Sprinkler Advisor, a trade publication, the cost of installing a sprinkler system begins at 90 cents per square foot ($2,700 for 3,000 square feet). The State Fire Marshal, however, uses $1.50 per square foot ($4,500 for 3,000 square feet) when estimating sprinkler installation costs. 5) State Fire Marshal's Report: According to the 1988 State š Fire Marshal's Report based on all 43,640 building fires reported within the state, 75 prcent of the fires occurred in single-family homes, apartments, and other residences. Fires in all other buildings occurred in the following percentages: Stores/Offices 6 percent Storage 5 percent Manufacture/Industry 4 percent Public Assembly 4 percent Schools 2 percent Health Care 2 percent Outdoor Construction 2 percent Fire Deaths: In 1988, a total of 284 people died in fires: 159 in residential fires and 125 in nonresidential fires. 6) Policy Question: Do the costs of installing sprinkler systems š and two-hour fire separation walls in certain commercial structures as required by this bill balance with the benefits received? 7) Sixty-Six Local Jurisdictions Require Sprinklers š Installed: According to the sponsor, 66 local jurisdictions in California require the installation of fire sprinklers in all occupancies. Among those local jurisdictions which currently require sprinklers in all new occupancies are Culver City, Glendale, San Clemente, and West Hollywood. 8) Author's Amendments: Staff understands that the author plans to š offer amendments in Committee which: a) Exempt residential occupancies. - continued - AB 1281 Page 3 AB 1281 b) Allow for the option of either fire sprinklers or two-hour fire separation walls for every 3,000 square foot increment of commercial space. c) Allow for the investigation of the fire safety characteristics of gusset-plate construction methods and metal plate connectors in lightweight wood trusses. 9) Technical Amendments: a) Clarify that the bill concerns new commercial occupancies. (Staff understands this is the intent of the sponsor.) b) Provide for the Building Standards Commission to review and adopt the regulations drafted by the State Fire Marshal (to be consistent with existing law). c) By requiring fire sprinklers in all commercial occupancies over 3,000 square feet, is it the intent of the author to pre-empt existing law regarding sprinkler requirements for building less than 75-feet high (see Existing Law Comment Number 6)? If not, then should the bill be limited to apply to strip malls (B-2) occupancies only? SUPPORT California State Firefighters' Association (Sponsor) OPPOSE None received. - continued - AB 1281 Page 4