Code Changes

hose that participate in the ICC’s code hearings may have noticed subtle changes in the past few years. Changes that have fire officials in the building code committees and vice versa. I see great cooperation between the two in the national code arena. However, locally we still see the division between the two. In the world of building and fire officials, there has been a long silence between the two parties. Or shall I say, turf battle, to clear this up. Building officials will say this is mine and fire will say no that is ours, whether it is fire alarms, fire sprinklers, dampers, etc. These latter items are both in the building and fire code, so why the battle? Why can’t both departments put forth a joint effort to benefit the community? Worst of all, contractors are stuck in the middle while the turf wars are settled. To answer the quote above, cooperation between the two isn’t being said or preached enough.