Vertical transportation and service facilities (3.5, 3.6)

Elevators and hoistways

Scope (3.5.1.1.OBC Div. B 3.5.1.1. Scope(1) This Section applies to vertical transportation facilities installed in a building, including elevators, escalators and dumbwaiters. (2) Elevators in a building within the scope of Subsection 3.2.6. shall conform to Articles 3.2.6.4. and 3.2.6.5.). Section 3.5. covers elevators, escalators and dumbwaiters. In a building under Subsection 3.2.6., elevators also follow 3.2.6.4. (emergency recall) and 3.2.6.5. (firefighter elevator).

Care occupancies (3.5.2.1.OBC Div. B 3.5.2.1. Required Elevator(1) Except as provided in Sentence (2), in a Group B, Division 2 or 3 occupancy, if sleeping rooms or patient or resident services are provided on more than one floor level and the floor levels are not connected by ramps conforming to Article 3.8.3.4., such floor levels shall be served by at least one elevator that is…). In Group B, Division 2 or 3, if sleeping rooms or patient or resident services are on more than one level, and the levels are not linked by barrier-free ramps, at least one elevator must carry a stretcher lying flat. Small Division 3 homes (up to 10 sleeping, up to six needing help) are exempt.

Stretcher size (3.5.4.1.OBC Div. B 3.5.4.1. Elevator Car Dimensions(1) Except as provided in Sentence (2), if an elevator is installed to conform to the requirements of Article 3.3.1.7., or if one or more elevators are provided in a building more than three storeys in building height, each storey having elevator service shall be served by at least one elevator that has inside…). In any building over 3 storeys with elevators, or where an elevator serves the 3.3.1.7. protection, each storey with elevator service has at least one car that fits a 2,010 mm by 610 mm stretcher. That car is identified at the main entrance level. Limited-use/limited-application elevators are exempt.

Hoistway ratings (3.5.3.1.OBC Div. B 3.5.3.1. Fire Separations for Elevator Hoistways(1) Except as permitted by Sentence (2), a vertical service space used as an elevator hoistway shall be separated from all other portions of each adjacent storey by a fire separation having a fire-resistance rating conforming to Table 3.5.3.1. for the fire-resistance rating required by Subsection 3.2.2. for (a) the…) come from Table 3.5.3.1.OBC Div. B Table 3.5.3.1. Fire Separation for Vertical Transportation SpaceTable 3.5.3.1 — Fire Separation for Vertical Transportation Space Forming Part of Sentences 3.5.3.1.(1) and 3.5.3.2.(1) Fire-Resistance Rating of Fire Separation Required for Floor Assembly | Minimum Fire-Resistance Rating of Vertical Service Space for Elevator Hoistway | Minimum Fire-Resistance Rating of Vertical…, keyed to the floor assembly rating required by 3.2.2. Read the table by finding the floor assembly rating in the first column, then reading across to the hoistway or dumbwaiter column. Two values worth remembering: a hoistway never drops below 45 min, and where the floors need 2 h or more the hoistway needs only 1.5 h, not 2 h. Dumbwaiter shafts are rated the same as or lighter than hoistways and top out at 1 h.

Passenger elevators (not firefighter elevators) may run unenclosed inside an interconnected floor space if the machine room is separated at the hoistway rating. A machine room is separated like its hoistway, or may share an enclosure with it (3.5.3.3.OBC Div. B 3.5.3.3. Fire Separations for Elevator Machine Rooms(1) Except as permitted by Sentence (2), a room containing elevator machinery shall be separated from all other parts of the building by a fire separation having a fire-resistance rating not less than that required for the vertical service space containing the elevator hoistway. (2) A room containing elevator…).

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Service rooms

3.6.2.1.OBC Div. B 3.6.2.1. Fire Separations Around Service Rooms(1) Except as permitted by Sentences (2), (8), (9) and (10), fuel-fired appliances shall be installed in service rooms separated from the remainder of the building by fire separations having a fire-resistance rating not less than 1 h. (See Note A-3.6.2.1.(1)) (2) Except as required by Sentence (3), a fuel-fired… sets the default: fuel-fired appliances go in a service room with a 1 h fire separation. Exceptions and variations:

A service room with equipment that could explode, such as a boiler over 100 kPa gauge, may not be directly under a required exit (3.6.2.2.OBC Div. B 3.6.2.2. Service Rooms Under Exits(1) A service room containing service equipment subject to possible explosion, such as boilers operating in excess of 100 kPa (gauge) and some types of refrigerating machinery and transformers, shall not be located directly under a required exit.). Boiler and incinerator room doors swing out, except inward when they open onto a corridor or assembly room (3.6.2.6.OBC Div. B 3.6.2.6. Door Swing for Service Rooms(1) A swing-type door from a service room containing a boiler or incinerator shall swing outward from the room, except that the door shall swing inward if the door opens onto a corridor or any room used for an assembly occupancy. (See also Sentence 3.4.4.4.(7))). Service spaces may not be designed for later use as storage (3.6.1.4.OBC Div. B 3.6.1.4. Storage Use Prohibition(1) Service spaces shall not be designed to facilitate subsequent use as storage space.).

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Service spaces, ducts and plenums

Vertical service spaces (3.6.3.1.OBC Div. B 3.6.3.1. Fire Separations for Vertical Service Spaces(1) Except as provided in Articles 3.6.3.3. and 3.6.3.5. and Section 3.5., a vertical service space shall be separated from all other portions of each adjacent storey by a fire separation having a fire-resistance rating conforming to Table 3.6.3.1. for the fire-resistance rating required by Subsection 3.2.2. for (a)…, Table 3.6.3.1.OBC Div. B Table 3.6.3.1. Fire Separations for Vertical Service SpaceTable 3.6.3.1 — Fire Separations for Vertical Service Space Forming Part of Sentence 3.6.3.1.(1) Fire-Resistance Rating of Fire Separation Required for Floor Assembly | Minimum Fire-Resistance Rating of Vertical Service Space less than 45 min | N/A 45 min | 45 min 1 h | 45 min 1.5 h | 1 h 2 h or more | 1 h) use their own table, which is never heavier than the hoistway table. The difference shows at 1 h floors, where a service shaft needs 45 min (a hoistway needs 1 h), and at 2 h floors, where a service shaft needs 1 h (a hoistway needs 1.5 h). The top value for a vertical service space is 1 h.

A shaft that stops short of the roof or the bottom is capped with construction of the same rating.

Linen and refuse chutes (3.6.3.3.OBC Div. B 3.6.3.3. Linen and Refuse Chutes(1) A linen chute or refuse chute shall (a) be impervious to moisture, (b) have a smooth internal surface, (c) be corrosion-resistant, (d) be constructed of noncombustible material, and (e) be located in a shaft in which there are no services other than noncombustible drain, waste and vent piping or noncombustible…):

• noncombustible, in a shaft of at least 1 h (with a fusible-link closure at the discharge) or 2 h (no closure);
• extend 1 m above the roof with a vent;
• intake openings no more than 60% of the chute cross-section, in rooms separated at 45 min;
• sprinklers at the top, at alternate floors and in the discharge room;
• linen discharge rooms at 1 h, refuse discharge rooms at 2 h.

Horizontal service spaces (3.6.4.2.OBC Div. B 3.6.4.2. Fire Separations for Horizontal Service Spaces(1) Except as provided in Article 3.6.3.5., a horizontal service space that penetrates a required vertical fire separation shall be separated from the remainder of the building it serves in conformance with Sentence (2). (2) If a horizontal service space or other concealed space is located above a required vertical…). A ceiling space above a vertical fire separation need not be divided if the ceiling below it is rated like the separation. It can be 30 min where the wall needs no more than 45 min.

Plenums (3.6.4.3.OBC Div. B 3.6.4.3. Plenum Requirements(1) A concealed space used as a plenum within a floor assembly or within a roof assembly need not conform to Sentence 3.1.5.18.(1) and Article 3.6.5.1. provided (a) all materials within the concealed space have a flame-spread rating not more than 25 and a smoke developed classification not more than 50, except for (i)…). A floor or roof space used as a plenum may hold only materials with flame-spread 25 and smoke developed 50 or less, apart from listed exceptions such as pneumatic control tubing and certain communication cables and raceways. The ceiling membrane supports are noncombustible with a melting point of at least 760°C. Return-air plenums with rated membranes need fire stop flaps.

Ducts (3.6.5.1.OBC Div. B 3.6.5.1. Duct Materials(1) Except as permitted by Sentences (2) to (5) and Article 3.6.4.3., all ducts, duct connectors, associated fittings and plenums used in air duct systems shall be constructed of steel, aluminum alloy, copper, clay or other noncombustible material. (2) Except as permitted by Sentence (3), ducts, associated fittings…) are steel, aluminum, copper, clay or other noncombustible material. Class 1 combustible ducts are allowed only within limits:

• horizontal runs only in noncombustible or EMTC buildings;
• no vertical runs over 2 storeys in combustible buildings;
• no air over 120°C.

Combustible duct connectors are at most 4 m long and may not pierce a fire separation. Duct sealants are limited to flame-spread 25 and smoke developed 50, and return ducts to flame-spread 150 (3.6.5.8.OBC Div. B 3.6.5.8. Return-Air System(1) Except as required by Sentences (2) and (3), return ducts shall be constructed of material having a flame-spread rating not more than 150. (2) If any part of a return duct will be exposed to radiation from the furnace heat exchanger or other radiating part within the furnace, that part of a return duct directly…).

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