Rule 24. Sections
15.1.2.2,
15.1.6,
15.2.6.2,
15.2.6.3, 15.2.11.1.1, 15.2.11.1.2, 15.2.11.2, 15.3.2.1, 15.3.4.1.2,
15.3.4.2.1, 15.3.6, 15.3.7.2, and 15.7.2.1 are amended, sections
15.1.2.1.1,
15.1.2.2.1,
15.2.11.1.3,
15.3.4.3.1.7, 15.7.4.2.1, and 15.7.4.4 are added and sections 15.2.2.2.3.1,
15.3.4.2.3, 15.3.4.2.3.1, 15.3.4.2.3.2, 15.7.2.2, 15.7.2.3, and 15.7.3.3 are
deleted, to read as follows:
15.1.2.1.1. Educational occupancies shall include child
care operations established and operated by an intermediate school board, the
board of a local school district, the board or governing body of a
state-approved nonpublic school, or by a person or entity with whom a school
contracts for services, if the child care center in located in a school that is
approved by the state fire marshal.
15.1.2.2. Unless otherwise permitted by section 15.1.4.1.1;
educational occupancies shall not include any of the following:
(e) A
building that houses a combination of day care and kindergarten.
15.1.2.2.1. A program specifically tailored for special
needs children, special needs adults, or both, who range from 17 to 26 years of
age, that is located in a community in a facility such as a shopping mall or
business building, where the students will gain specific job experience and
learn life studies, shall not be defined as a school.
15.1.6. For minimum construction requirements, refer to the
Michigan rehabilitation code,
R
408.30551 to
R
408.30577.
15.2.2.2.3.1. Deleted.
15.2.6.2. Travel distances to an exit shall not exceed 200
feet (61 meters) from any point in the building unless otherwise permitted by
section 15.2.6.3 or 15.2.6.4 (see also section 7.6).
15.2.6.3. Travel distance shall not exceed 250 feet (76.2
meters) in educational occupancies protected throughout with an approved
automatic sprinkler system pursuant to section 9.7.
15.2.11.1.1.
The school or designated representative shall ensure every room or space that
is more than 250 square feet (23.2 square meters) and is used for classroom or
other educational purposes or is normally subject to student occupancy shall
have not less than 1 outside window for emergency rescue or ventilation that
complies with the following unless otherwise permitted by section
15.2.11.1.2:
(1) The windows shall be openable from the
inside without the use of tools, only held closed by a single operation lock,
and provide a clear opening of not less than 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) in
width, 24 inches (61 centimeters) in height, and 5.7 square feet (0.5 square
meters) in area. A screen on the window shall be readily removable without any
special knowledge or tools.
(2) The
bottom of the opening shall be not more than 44 inches (112 centimeters) above
the floor and any latching device shall be capable of being operated from not
more than 54 inches (137 centimeters) above the finished floor.
(3) The clear opening shall allow a
rectangular solid with a width and height that provides not less than the
required 5.7 square foot opening and a depth of 20 inches to pass fully through
the opening.
(4) The windows shall
be accessible by the fire department and shall open into an area that has
access to a public way. Windows opening onto an open court, as defined in the
code, are acceptable.
(5) The
windows shall be identified by a permanent, durable, and legible sign having
letters not less than 5/8 of an inch high and 1/8 of an inch wide.
15.2.11.1.2. The requirements of section 15.2.11.1.1 shall
not apply to any of the following:
(1)
Buildings protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system in
compliance with section 9.7.
(2)
Where the room or space has a door leading directly to the outside of the
building.
(3) Rooms located 4 or
more stories above the finished ground level.
(4) Where awning type or hopper-type windows
that are hinged or subdivided to provide a clear opening of not less than 4
square feet (0.38 square meters) or any dimension of not less than 22 inches
(560 millimeters) meet the following criteria:
(a) The windows shall be permitted to
continue in use.
(b) Screen walls
or devices located in front of required windows shall not interfere with rescue
requirements.
(5) Where
a room or space complies with the following:
(a) Doors shall exist that allow travel
between adjacent classrooms.
(b)
Doors used to travel from classroom to classroom shall provide either of the
following:
(i) Direct access to exits in both
directions.
(ii) Direct access to
an exit in 1 direction and to a separate smoke compartment that provides access
to another exit in the other direction.
(c) The corridor shall be separated from the
classrooms by a wall that restricts the passage of smoke, and all doors between
the classrooms and corridor shall be self-closing or automatic-closing pursuant
to section 7.2.1.8.
(d) The length
of travel to exits along such paths shall not exceed 150 feet (46
meters).
(e) Each communicating
door shall be marked in accordance with section 7.10.
(f) No locking device shall be permitted on
the communicating doors.
(6) If a window retrofit project is
undertaken, then compliance with the window clear opening dimensions is not
required. Unless the existing sill construction is being modified, the existing
sill height can be maintained. All other requirements of section
15.2.11.1.1
shall apply.
(7) A school building
constructed before August 1, 1989, that is in compliance with both of the
following provisions:
(a) The windowless
section of the story is not more than 25% of the total area of the story,
excluding corridors.
(b) All
windowless rooms, spaces, and public assembly places have 50% of their required
exits visible directly to the exterior of the building and within 20 feet from
the door of the occupied room.
15.2.11.1.3.
Windowless student occupied rooms in additions to existing buildings or
renovated buildings shall be permitted where it is impractical to comply with
section 15.2.11.1.1 where all of the following:
(1) A minimum of 50% of the required exits
pass into a separate atmosphere created by a minimum 2-hour fire rated barrier
with labeled 90-minute fire rated door assemblies in all openings. Glazing,
other than permitted in the door by NFPA 80, shall be permitted only if the
glazing has been tested for a 2-hour rating as well. Such construction shall
completely separate the building from exterior wall to exterior wall.
(2) Each separate area shall have approved
exiting pursuant to the code.
(3) A
maximum of 25% of the total area of the student occupied rooms in the building
shall be permitted to be windowless.
15.2.11.2. Lockups. Locking devices for designated "quiet
rooms" shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The locking mechanism shall be a spring
operated latch, which is manually depressed to keep it in the latched position.
Upon manual release, the latch shall automatically return to the unlatched
position.
(2) A viewing window
shall be required for observation of the student.
(3) There shall be constant supervision by a
teacher or responsible adult at all times a student is in the room.
15.3.2.1.
Rooms or spaces for the storage, processing, or use of materials specified in
section 15.3.2.1(1) to (4) shall be protected pursuant to the following:
(1) The rooms or spaces shall be separated
from the remainder of the building by fire barriers having a minimum 1-hour
fire resistive rating or protected by automatic extinguishing systems as
specified in section
8.7in
the following areas:
(a) Boiler and furnace
rooms, unless such rooms enclose only air-handling equipment.
(b) Rooms or spaces greater than 100 square
feet used for storage of combustible supplies.
(c) Rooms or spaces used for the storage of
hazardous materials or flammable or combustible liquids in quantities deemed
hazardous by recognized standards.
(d) Janitor closets [see also
15.3.2.1(4)].
(2) The
rooms or spaces shall be separated from the remainder of the building by fire
barriers having a minimum 1-hour fire resistance rating and protected by
automatic extinguishing systems as specified in section
8.7in
the following areas:
(a) Laundries.
(b) Maintenance shops, including wood working
and painting areas.
(c) Rooms or
spaces used for the processing or use of combustible supplies deemed hazardous
by recognized standards.
(d)
Industrial arts and crafts rooms.
(3) Where automatic extinguishing is used to
meet the requirements of section
15.3.2(1)
or (2), the protection shall be permitted pursuant to section
9.7.1.2.
(4) Where janitor closets
addressed in section
15.3.2.1(1)(d)
are protected pursuant to the sprinkler option of section
15.3.2.1(1),
the janitor closet doors shall be permitted to have ventilating louvers.
15.3.4.1.2.
The requirements of section 15.3.4.1.1 shall not apply to buildings meeting all
of the following criteria:
(1)
Buildings having an area not exceeding 1,000 square feet.
(2) Buildings containing a single
classroom.
(3) Building located not
less than 10 feet from another building.
15.3.4.2.1. Initiation of the required fire alarm system
shall be by manual means in accordance with section 9.6.2.1(1). Manual fire
alarm pull stations shall be provided pursuant to sections 9.6.2.2 to 9.6.2.5
of the code and at all exterior doors in the natural path of escape whether or
not the path of escape is designated a required exit by these rules.
15.3.4.2.3. Deleted.
15.3.4.2.3.1. Deleted.
15.3.4.2.3.2. Deleted.
15.3.4.3.1.7. A presignal system pursuant to section
9.6.3.3 shall be permitted.
15.3.6. Corridors shall be separated from other parts of
the story by walls having a minimum 1-hour-fire-resistance rating pursuant to
section
8.3unless
otherwise permitted by the following:
(1) Corridor protection shall not be required
where all spaces normally subject to student occupancy have at least 1 door
opening directly to the outside or to an exterior exit access balcony or
corridor pursuant to section 7.5.3.
(2) The following shall apply to buildings
protected throughout by an approved automatic sprinkler system with valve
supervision pursuant to section 9.7:
(a)
Corridor walls shall not be required to be rated, provided that the walls form
smoke partitions pursuant to section
8.4.
(b) The provisions of section
8.4.3.5
shall not apply to normally occupied classrooms.
(3) Where the corridor ceiling is an assembly
having a 1-hour-fire-resistance rating where tested as a wall, the corridor
wall shall terminate at the corridor ceiling.
(4) Lavatories shall not be required to be
separated from corridors, provided they are separated from all other spaces by
walls having a 1-hour-fire-resistance rating pursuant to section
8.3.
(5) Lavatories shall not be required to be
separated from corridors, provided that the building is protected throughout by
an approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system pursuant to section
9.7.
(6) In school buildings
constructed before August 1, 1989, every interior corridor, including corridors
in flexible plan buildings, shall be constructed to be reasonably
smoke-tight.
(7) In a school
building constructed before August 1, 1989, and which is protected throughout
by an approved automatic sprinkler system installed pursuant to section 9.7 of
the code, corridor walls are not required.
15.3.7.2.
The requirements of section 15.3.7.1 shall not apply to any of the
following:
(1) Where all classrooms
have exterior exit access pursuant to section 7.5.3.
(2) Buildings protected throughout by an
approved automatic sprinkler system pursuant to section 9.7.
15.7.2.1. Emergency egress drills shall be conducted
pursuant to the act.
15.7.2.2. Deleted.
15.7.2.3. Deleted.
15.7.3.3. Deleted.
15.7.4.2.1. Items permitted to be located in exit
corridors, provided the required clear width of the corridor is not obstructed,
shall be limited to include fixed benches or hardwood or non-combustible
material, trophy cases which are not used for excessive amounts of combustible
materials, drinking fountains, telephones, vending machines, and other fixtures
or items as approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
15.7.4.4. Desks and other instructional equipment shall be
prohibited in required egress corridors.
