LUBA RET. EX 076/077 RE-E - Laserfiche WebLink

One resolution to the dilemma of charged hose lines keeping stair doors open is to place hose con- nections just outside the stair door instead of inside the stair enclosure (Figure 4.4). However, this is not recommended because such a design forces the fire attack to begin without the protection of the stair enclosure and eliminates the lifeline concept. A better solution is to place additional hose valves just outside the stair door to give firefighters the option of connecting hose lines to these or to the connections within the stair enclosure. The con- nection outside the stair can be 1'/2 inches in size to facilitate initial fire attack with smaller size hose lines during occupant evacuation. This should suffice for most fire situations in buildings with a complete operable sprinkler system. However, some fire departments do not use small sized hose lines for standpipe operations. In those cases, any additional hose connections would also need to be 2'/z inches in size. Another approach to maintaining the integrity of stair enclosures during fire suppression operations is to place hose connections in a fire-rated vesti- bule between the stairs and the building interior. Although such vestibules require a little more room, they can double as refuge areas for individu- als with mobility impairments. If the vestibules are open to the exterior, any smoke that does migrate into them will dissipate easily (Figure 4.5). If the location of stairs precludes hose lines from reaching the farthest points of a particular floor, the designer should include remote (or supplemental) hose connections. NFPA 14 limits travel distance to 150 feet in buildings that do not have complete sprinkler protection, and to 200 feet in fully sprin- klered buildings. In buildings with a corridorsys- tem feeding multiple rooms, tenants, or agencies, designers should locate remote hose stations with- in the corridor. Often a corridor's walls, ceilings, doors, and other openings will be rated for fire or smoke resistance. If so, they provide some degree of protection for firefighters, although it is usually less than that provided by a stairway enclosure. In any case, the least desirable place for remote hose connections is within suites or tenant spaces. FI?RE SERVICE FEATURES OF BUILDINGS 'AND FIRE PROTECTION SNS'TEMS 35 151 I I I (Fig. 4.4) Hose connection on the corridor side of the stair door. (Fig. 4.5) Exterior view of open air vestibules between the stair and the interior of a building.