Fire Protection Design Manual - Office of Construction and Facilities ...

September-2011
C. For code interpretation and enforcement, the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for all VA
projects is ultimately the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management
(10N), with the Safety and Fire Protection Engineer (10NA8) acting as the VA Fire Marshal.
At the Medical Center and Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) level, the respective
Network Safety Manager or Network Safety and Fire Protection Engineer (SFPE) has the
option to act as the AHJ representative on behalf of 10NA8 and make local AHJ decisions in
areas where they are competent.
1.3 Fire Protection Codes and Standards:
A. The Public Buildings Amendment Act (PL 100-678) requires all federal agencies to follow
the latest editions of nationally recognized fire and life safety codes. It also requires federal
agencies to give local fire protection officials the opportunity to review and comment on
projects for compliance with local regulations and compatibility with local fire fighting
practices. All reviews by local fire protection officials shall be at no cost to the Government.
Designers should meet with local fire authorities during early stages of design to incorporate
local requirements to the extent practical; however, recommendations made by local officials
should be reviewed for adequacy, cost, and nationally accepted practice before being
incorporated into project design.
B. VA has adopted the National Fire Codes (NFC) published by the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA), which establish a minimum acceptable level of life safety and property
protection. Life safety requirements are specifically addressed in the Life Safety Code,
NFPA 101. Where conflicts exist between codes, the designer shall follow the code
specified in the text under the subject section of this manual. Fire Protection design shall be
based on the latest editions of the NFC at the Date of Award of the contract to the
Architectural/Engineering (A/E) firm (or Design/Build firm). Under special circumstances,
the VA will require compliance with a more recent code edition when significant changes to
the code have occurred between the Date of Award to the A/E and the Date of Award to the
prime contractor for construction.
Note: Special circumstances would include a situation where a designed project sat “on the
shelf” for an extended period of time, or where a significant change to the code was made
and where incorporating that change would improve safety in the opinion of the AHJ.
C. Fire protection features not addressed by the NFC or otherwise addressed by this document
shall be designed to comply with the requirements of the latest edition of the International
Building Code (IBC). Other references are listed in Appendix B.
D. For design features that are addressed by both the IBC as well as by NFPA 101 or a
document referenced by NFPA 101, the requirements of NFPA 101 or the document
referenced by NFPA 101 shall be used exclusively (this applies even if the IBC requirements
are different).
Note: VA buildings must meet the requirements of NFPA 101 and documents referenced by
NFPA 101 in order to comply with the accreditation requirements of the Joint Commission.
It is intended that life safety and fire protection features will be designed in accordance with
the requirements of NFPA 101 and documents referenced by NFPA 101. Other building
features (including, but not limited to, structural strength, stability, sanitation, adequate
light and ventilation, and energy conservation) will be designed in accordance with the IBC
and documents referenced by the IBC or as identified in VHA Program Guide PG-18-3,
Topic 1 – Codes, Standards, and Executive Orders.
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