Plan Review and Construction Project Fire Safety Considerations
Plan review tests whether you can read a construction set the way a fire marshal does: classify occupancy and construction type, verify allowable height and area, confirm egress, water supply, and fire protection systems, and check site access before approving.
Review sequence
- Site: fire apparatus access roads within 150 ft of all portions of the building (IFC 503.1.1), minimum 20 ft width and 13 ft 6 in clearance (503.2.1), turnaround for dead ends over 150 ft (503.2.5), and water supply/fire flow.
- Building: occupancy group (IBC Chapter 3), type of construction I–V (Chapter 6), fire-resistance ratings (Table 601), allowable height and area (Tables 504.3 and 506.2).
- Systems: sprinklers, standpipes, fire alarm, and smoke control-triggered by occupancy, area, height, or fire area.
- Egress: occupant load (Table 1004.5), number of exits, travel distance, and common path.
Worked example
A 12,000 ft² mercantile building is proposed with one exit and an access road 200 ft from the building. Reasoning: the mercantile occupant load factor is 60 gross, so 12,000 ÷ 60 = 200 occupants; more than 49 occupants requires at least two exits (IBC Table 1006.2.1). The access road exceeds the 150-ft limit of IFC 503.1.1. Both are plan-review comments, not field fixes-approval should be withheld until revised plans show a second remote exit and compliant access.
Traps
- Using net floor area when the table requires gross.
- Missing mezzanine occupant load and egress.
- Assuming sprinklers cure every egress deficiency.
- Reviewing the building sheet before the site plan.