Citation

Secur. Life Saf. Syst. 2009; 2009(online): online.

Affiliation

Hughes Associates Inc.,Warwick, R.I., USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Matrix Group International)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Most fire protection designers and authorities having jurisdiction place historic buildings in a special class. Goals and objectives must reflect the maximum level of loss and service interruption those responsible for the cultural resource property are willing to accept as a result of a fire. Fulfilling the continuity of operations goal will provide a reasonable level of protection that is consistent with fire safety goals.

NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code (LSC), provides criteria for existing buildings, thereby establishing a safety level that recognizes existing structures require special consideration. In addition, allowances in both the LSC and the building codes permit historic buildings to use performance alternatives to meet the code requirements.

In addition, NFPA 909, Code for the Protection of Cultural Resources, provides guidance for renovations of historic structures. And, NFPA 914, Code for Fire Protection in Historic Structures, also provides a performance-based approach for renovations of historic structures.