Michele Farley President & Senior Code Consultant FCS Fire Consulting Services Ltd.
Safety First
Condo Lobbies and Fire Rated Furniture Requirements When you enter a Condo Building the first area that greets you is the lobby. For residents, this is the area that welcomes them home. For visitors, this is their first impression of the building, and where people make their first assumptions about the building. “Wow, this is a high- end building”. “Ooo, this is a very modern building”. “Hmm, why is this lobby empty?”
What are the challenges? Well, as we mentioned, the lobby is the area that welcomes you to the building. Owners want warm, comfortable furniture to welcome them home, welcome their guests, and be the first impression of their building to visitors. Often times the types of furniture they are hoping for, big cushy leather chairs, are not made of fire rated materials.
The Lobby Furniture conundrum started in early 2018 and is a topic we still get questions about from our clients regularly. But why is lobby furniture such an issue? Like many requirements of the Fire Code, this gained increased attention after a tragic fire in 2016, that claimed 4 lives, in which furniture in the means of egress was made of extremely flammable materials and significantly hindered Fire Fighters abilities. Following the investigation of this fire, furniture in common areas of buildings such as hallways and lobbies, began to receive increased scrutiny from the Fire Department. The goal? To save lives!
Does this mean you cannot have furniture in your Condo’s Lobby? No, it does not! What it does mean, is that furniture in any common area of a Condo building must be made of approved, Fire Rated materials. Fire Rated materials can withstand a higher degree of heat, and if they do catch fire, they do not produce the thick, black smoke that non-fire rated materials can cause that is extremely hard to see through, can cause smoke inhalation, and is often toxic. What are the Fire Code Requirements your furniture has to comply with? Section 2.4.1.1.(2) of Division B of the
Ontario Fire Code, states “Combustible materials shall not be accumulated in any part of an elevator shaft, ventilation shaft, means of egress, service room or service space, unless the location, room or space is designed for those materials.” This is one section we often see noted on Inspection Orders or Notice of Violations in regard to lobby furniture. Section 2.3.2.1. (1) of Division B of the Ontario Fire Code states “Drapes, curtains, netting, and other similar or decorative materials, including textiles and films used in buildings, shall meet the requirements of CAN/ULCS109, “Flame Tests of Flame-Resistant Fabrics and Films”, when these materials are used in any… (b) lobby or exit…” Furniture that meets the CAN/ULC-S109 standard will usually have labelling stating it meets the requirement. You can also ask for a certificate or document from the manufacturer or your designer that states it meets the standard. There is good news! In 2018 as this standard began to be more CONDOVOICE SPRING 2022
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ILLUSTRATION BY MAURICE VELLEKOOP
“Wow, this is a high- end building”. “Ooo, this is a very modern building”. “Hmm, why is this lobby empty?”
