Is the Hotel a High-Rise? Sloping Site and Fire Department Access
A seven-story hotel of Type III-A construction is proposed on a sloping site. The highest occupied floor is 74 feet 6 inches above the main entrance at the uphill side. The fire department access road is at the downhill side, 9 feet below the main entrance. The building has 120 guest rooms, an NFPA 13 sprinkler system, and a fire alarm system. The owner's architect states that because the highest occupied floor is less than 75 feet above grade, the building is not a high-rise and does not need standby power, a fire command center, or the high-rise life-safety provisions.
1. Is the building a high-rise? Apply the definition.
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Yes. The high-rise threshold is measured from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the highest occupied floor, not from the main entrance or from "grade" generally.
- Highest occupied floor above the main entrance: 74 feet 6 inches.
- Fire department access is 9 feet below the main entrance.
- Height above fire department access: 74.5 + 9 = 83.5 feet.
Because the highest occupied floor is more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access, the building is a high-rise. The architect's comparison to the main entrance is the wrong reference point.
2. What life-safety systems are triggered by the high-rise classification?
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Once the building is classified as a high-rise, the high-rise provisions apply in addition to the ordinary R-1 requirements. These include:
- An automatic sprinkler system throughout.
- A fire alarm system with the required notification and initiation.
- Emergency systems, including standby power for required life-safety equipment.
- A fire command center.
- Fire department communication and elevator recall/firefighter service features where applicable.
- Smoke control where the specific building features, such as an atrium or mall, require it.
The owner's list of omitted items is therefore largely required, not optional. The exact scope depends on the building's features, but the high-rise threshold is the trigger for the analysis.
3. If the site were regraded so that fire department access is at the main entrance, would the answer change? What other factors could affect the classification?
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If the fire department access were moved to the main entrance elevation, the highest occupied floor would be 74 feet 6 inches above access, which is less than 75 feet, and the building would not be a high-rise on that basis.
Other factors that could still matter:
- A different lowest level of fire department access, such as access at a lower basement or garage level, would change the measurement.
- An occupied floor higher than the one identified could push the building over the threshold.
- Local amendments or a registered design professional's height calculation could affect the result.
The lesson is that the high-rise determination is a site-specific measurement, not a label based on the number of stories or the main entrance alone.