ICC Code Technology Committee
Areas of Study and Investigation
(Approved by the ICC Board, May/2004)
In accordance with Section 3.1 of CP
#5, the ICC Board assigns the areas of study for the Code
Technology Committee (CTC) to investigate. Based on the assigned
areas of study, the CTC will establish an agenda and further
define the effort.
BALANCED FIRE PROTECTION. The study of balanced fire protection
includes an assessment of the appropriate amount of active
(ie fire sprinkler) versus passive (ie rated compartments)
requirements to be required by the code. In this regard, many
proposals have been considered in past cycles to revise the
height and area provisions as well as the level of fire sprinkler
trade-offs. The scope of this activity would be an investigation
of the requirements in the code and the establishment of a
clearly defined scope of work for the CTC to consider. Depending
on the scope of work, the effort may result in a long term
activity.
DAY CARE/ADULT CARE/ASSISTED LIVING. Key issues have been
debated in recent cycles, including: Identification of the
appropriate occupancies (R-4, I-4, I-1, I-2): thresholds in
terms of number of occupants versus supervision; coordination
with state laws; the necessary types of fire protection; and
small group homes for both ambulatory and nonambulatory care
in a residential environment. This is a significant societal
issue that warrants investigation.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION WITH ELEVATORS. A symposium on elevator
usage during emergencies was held in Atlanta from March 2
through 4, 2004, sponsored by ASME and co-sponsored by ICC,
NIST, NFPA and IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters).
Papers were presented by international experts on two topics:
1) fire fighter use of elevators during emergencies for staging
and assisted evacuation; and 2) evacuation of the general
population of a high rise building during an emergency situation.
As a result of this effort, recommendations were made for
improvements on both topics. Concerns for the special evacuation
needs in high rise buildings, especially in dealing with persons
with disabilities, is quickly becoming and issue that the
codes need to address. These recommendations would serve as
a starting point to continue the investigation under the CTC.
IBC COORDINATION WITH THE NEW ADAAG. The new edition of ADAAG
was released by the Access Board to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) in February, 2004. OMB recently completed
their review and the new ADAAG is scheduled to be released
to the public in late July/2004. The Department of Justice
(DOJ) will determine when these guidelines will become law.
As this effort progresses, code changes will need to be proposed
to the ICC documents to address coordination issues. Coordination
with the ADAAG has been a priority with ICC since the inception
of the IBC. This activity is similar to the efforts of BCMC
in the early 1990's which coordinated the legacy codes with
the first requirements of the ADA.
CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS. Code changes submitted on the
subject of carbon monoxide detectors received considered debate
in the 2003/2004 Code Development Cycle. Some of the changes
were approved by the IRC B/E committee, with assembly motions
subsequently passing to disapprove the changes. As a result,
the IRC B/E committee passed a motion for a committee to be
established to study this issue.
CLIMBABLE GUARDS. Code changes submitted on the subject of
climbable guards received considerable debate during recent
cycles. In the 2003/2004 Code Development Cycle, the IRC B/E
Code Committee passed a motion for a committee to be established
to study this issue. This issue is also becoming an issue
at local adoption levels as well.
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