Stairway during construction, IBC 2021 3310.1
A temporary or permanent stairway is required once construction exceeds 40 ft above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access. As the building rises, it is extended to within one floor of the highest point of construction having secured decking or flooring.
The traps:
- A 50 ft or four-story trigger is the older pre-2018 wording.
- Measuring from the lowest adjacent grade is wrong here; grade is the fire watch reference in 3314.1.
- Two floors is the wrong extension; a 75 ft trigger or extension to the roof is not in the section.
Standpipe during construction, IBC 2021 3311.1
In a building that Section 905.3.1 requires to have standpipes, not fewer than one standpipe must be provided for use during construction. It is installed before construction exceeds 40 ft above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access, and extended as construction progresses to within one floor of the highest point of construction having secured decking or flooring.
The traps:
- Measuring the 40 ft from the lowest adjacent grade is a listed error; that is the fire watch measure.
- Waiting for the building to be enclosed or for a permanent pump ignores the 40 ft installation deadline.
- A 500 gpm at 50 psi figure is a Houston local provision, not model IBC 2021 text.
Stairway and standpipe share the same trigger and extension rule.
Keeping egress open, IBC 2021 3310.2
Required means of egress and required accessible means of egress must be maintained at all times during construction, demolition, remodeling, alterations and additions. The only way out of that is where approved temporary means of egress are provided.
The only exit stair of an occupied floor cannot be blocked for two weeks unless an approved temporary means of egress replaces it.
- A fire watch is a separate Section 3314 requirement and does not substitute for egress.
- Remodeling is expressly covered, not only new construction.
- There is no 30-day notice allowance in the section.