Codes and Construction/Design Requirements

New Construction and Remodels

All new construction and remodel construction must abide by the following rules:

Submitting Plans to Fire Marshal

All projects shall have construction documents drawn up and reviewed by USU Campus Planning and/or the USU Fire Marshal's office before construction begins.

Learn more about submitting plans

Other Design and Installation Requirements

In case of conflicting code requirements, the most restrictive code shall apply. NFPA standards shall be enforced when not addressed by the IFC or the IBC. 

Additional Requirements:

  1. High-Rise Buildings: Building of B-rated occupancies exceeding 75 feet in height from the lowest fire apparatus access as specified in the IBC, or those not meeting access as necessary for Aerial Fire Apparatus are classified as high-rise buildings, and must meet the requirements IBC 509,907.2.12.
  2. Fire extinguishers have been standardized to Amerex 456B. Fire extinguisher cabinets shall be recessed or semi-flush mounting with no locking mechanism.
  3. Back up generators serving fire and life safety features shall be listed to UL 2200.

Fire Apparatus Access Roads:

  1. Exterior walls and any portion of said walls, which are more than 150 feet from the curb line of the public street, shall be served by a fire apparatus access road which shall be totally unobstructed. This distance shall be measured by an approved route around the exterior of the building or facility. Access ways may be required on 2 sides, three sides, and the distance from the fire engine to any access point on a wall shall not exceed 150 feet.
  2. All access roads shall be of an all weather surface, defined as concrete or asphalt, capable of supporting the imposed loads of fire apparatus. Fire apparatus roads shall have an unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet, and are subject to required signs and/or road striping and curb painting to maintain this width where parking or turning radius may pose a problem. View a schematic of the recommended turning radius.
  3. The minimum acceptable vertical clearance shall be 13 feet, 6 inches.
  4. The maximum grade permissible shall be 6 percent.
  5. Any building over 30 feet in height, measured from the lowest level of fire apparatus access, shall have an access road with a minimum unobstructed width of 26 feet, in a zone parallel to the building, no nearer than 15 feet nor further than 30 feet from the building.
  6. Any dead end access road in excess of 150 feet shall be provided with an approved turnaround. The approved turnaround may be configured as a circle, tee, hammerhead, or other functional design.
USU Fire Marshal Approval Required
Construction documents for proposed fire apparatus access and locations of fire lanes shall be submitted to the Fire Marshal office for review and approval prior to construction. Required fire apparatus access roads shall be constructed and in service prior to and maintained during construction.

Water Supply:

  1. A water supply analysis shall be performed by a qualified engineer and fire flows shall be verified by an engineer, and a report shall be provided by the architect.
  2. Fire flow requirements for proposed construction shall be based upon Appendix B of the latest adopted edition of the International Fire Code.
  3. Fire hydrants shall be provided along the required fire apparatus access roads and adjacent public streets.
  4. The minimum number of fire hydrants required, spacing, and maximum distance street to hydrant shall be based on Appendix C of the International Fire Code.
  5. Fire hydrant mains shall be no smaller than 8 inches, and shall avoid dead end situations so that the required fire flow is not compromised.
  6. Hydrants shall be approved dry barrel type having two 2 1/2 inch outlets and one 4 1/2 inch steamer connection, all outlets having NST (National Standard Threads).
  7. The Fire Marshal is permitted to allow a 50 percent reduction in the required fire flow for all buildings that are fully equipped with sprinklers.
  8. Where fire hydrants are subject to impact by motor vehicles, they shall be protected by guard posts, as specified in section 312 of the International Fire Code.
USU Fire Marshal Approval Required
Construction documents and hydraulic calculations for fire hydrant systems shall be submitted to the Fire Marshal office for review and approval prior to construction. Any and all hydrants required for the proposed construction shall be installed and in service prior to construction, and shall be maintained during the construction phase.

Fire Sprinkler Systems:

  1. Automatic sprinkler systems shall be designed to meet the latest adopted edition of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems.
  2. The sprinkler system demand for water supply shall not be greater than 80% of the available water supply at peak demand.
  3. The fire protection main shall be at least 6 inches, and shall not be smaller than the sprinkler riser.
  4. All sprinkler systems shall be hydraulically calculated.
  5. Fire sprinkler plan submittals shall be accompanied by cut sheets.

View the USU Campus Standard for Fire sprinkler systems and back flow preventer.

USU Fire Marshal Approval Required
All documents required must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the USU Fire Marshal's office. After changes are made and approved, submit fire sprinkler plans to the Utah State Fire Marshal's Office for review prior to starting the installation process.

Fire Alarm Systems:

  1. Fire alarm systems shall be designed to meet the requirements of the latest edition of NFPA 72.
  2. The requirements of NFPA 72 are deemed sufficient to meet the requirements of the ADA.
  3. Alarm shop drawing submittals shall be accompanied by cut sheets on all devices proposed.
  4. All devices used shall be UL listed, or listed by a nationally recognized testing lab, and compatible with Notifier panels.
  5. All fire alarm panels shall be Notifier panels.
  6. All stairway doors in protected stair enclosures shall be equipped with a magnetic door holder which is tied into the fire alarm system in buildings equipped with a fire alarm system.

View the USU Campus Standard for fire alarms. 

USU Fire Marshal Approval Required
All documents required must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the USU Fire Marshal's office. After changes are made and approved, submit fire alarm plans to the Utah State Fire Marshal's Office for review prior to starting the installation process.