A quick google search of the principles of life safety or 7 principles of life safety does not return too many results. I found this surprising. The 7 principles of life safety were engrained in us in college. As a fire inspector these 7 principles form the basis of which I think about and discuss all things inspection and code related. The one thing that I have been contemplating is, within the 7 principles are we missing an element? Or maybe more? Let me know your thoughts. This post outlines the 7 principles as well as one area I think is missing.
I like to think of the 7 Principles of Life Safety in terms of how I would need to evacuate a building. As I envision myself evacuating, what are some of the things that would keep me safe? How would I know to evacuate?
These principles are also the considerations for fire inspections, plan reviews and occupant training. Each one of the 7 principles may seem basic, but once you delve into each with respect to the individual code requirements, the applicable standards, and how these come together, they become quite complex and integrated. Note that none of these should be considered individually, but rather as an overall system with each one contributing to the safety of the occupants of a building. Therefore, failure of one weakens the entire system.
The 7 Principles of Life Safety
- Building Construction
- Building Services
- Compartmentation
- Fire Alarm & Detection System
- Fire Protection Systems
- Interior Finish
- Means of Egress
- A Missing Piece?
1. Building Construction
Is the building constructed of combustible, non-combustible, heavy timber, or encapsulated mass timber construction? What are the fire resistance ratings of the structural members? Will the building materials contribute fuel load to a fire? Building construction is governed by a variety of factors including the use of the building, the building area, the building height, and fire department access.
2. Building Services
Building services are the systems in the building that help keep the building functioning. Building services are the boilers, furnaces, plumbing, piping, and electrical systems, etc.
Why are building services important? They are important for a few reasons. One is that they may transport hazardous materials into or throughout a building (such as natural gas piping) or they provide an ignition source such as the electrical system. They may also provide a path for the movement of the products of combustion throughout a building such as ductwork. One of the other important aspect of building services is that they penetrate fire rated assemblies, ie. walls, floor and ceiling assemblies. These penetrations may allow products of combustion to spread beyond a fire compartment (check out a previous Kilo Lima post on firestopping between compartments here)
3. Compartmentation
Compartmentation refers to the fire rated assemblies used to create smaller areas or isolate areas. These may be walls, floor or ceiling assemblies used to create rooms, shafts, floor areas, etc. Some things to consider are: what is the intention of the fire rated assembly; is the fire-rated assembly used to contain a specific hazard, such as an electrical room or is the fire-rated assembly used to protect the means of egress, such as a corridor or exit enclosure. Compartmentation also includes the provisions for closing openings in fire-rated assemblies, such as fire doors, shutters or dampers, as well as the provisions for sealing penetrations and joints (fire stopping) and fire blocking.
4. Fire Alarm and Detection Systems
Fire alarm and detection systems are designed to detect a fire condition and notify the building occupants of a fire condition so that they can evacuate to an area of safety. This also includes the provisions for the notification of the fire department.
5. Fire Protection Systems
Fire protection systems are the active systems designed to limit fire damage. These systems either extinguish, control or limit the movement of the fire or products of combustion. Fire protection systems include sprinkler systems, standpipe systems, special extinguishing systems, smoke control and smoke management systems.
6. Interior Finish
Interior finish are the materials that form part of the interior surfaces of floor, wall or ceilings. Interior finish materials have contributed to some of the deadliest fires in history. Is the material an interior finish? Are there exemptions for this specific interior finish based on location, or limited amount?
7. Means of Egress
Means of egress includes all provisions that allow an occupant to evacuate a building safely. This includes everything from the number and location of exits, to the widths of corridors & doors, and door swings, as well as signage and lighting.
8. A Missing Piece?
The 7 principles of life safety are concerned with protecting occupants and yet there is no mention of education of the occupants on the overall systems that are protecting them. There is no mention of the training of building maintenance staff and occupants in their roles in maintaining the systems and what to do in the event of an emergency. There is no mention of fire drills. In my opinion education and training of building occupants is a fundamental component of life safety.
In my opinion education and training of building occupants is a fundamental component of life safety.
The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) conducted a research project titled Project Fail-Safe. “The project is designed to study the impacts on fire & life safety in structures equipped with multiple layers of both active and passive fire protection features.” One of the key findings was that the, “single largest impact on occupant egress survivability is compartmentation of smoke and multiple egress routes.” Both of these elements require education and training of staff. Education of building staff so that the integrity of fire compartments are maintained and training of all staff in their role in evacuating the building.
It’s been my experience that using the 7 principles of life safety is extremely valuable in training building staff and occupants. It provides them with an overall view of the building and systems and how they are related. It reinforces the importance of maintaining all aspects of the building. It provides all staff with an understanding of the building they are in, along with their roles and responsibilities in the event of a fire emergency.
Without training and education, building occupants are unaware of the systems that are protecting them nor are they familiar with the available exits. This is also an opportunity to communicate the importance of basic fire safety. This is knowledge that they can take home to keep their families safe. This is also a chance to help dispel the myth of the Hollywood Sprinkler System.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code when writing about life safety. NFPA 101 provides a wealth of information with respect to specific code requirements and encompasses an exceptional amount of material. But in my opinion NFPA 101 does not provide the same succinct conceptual framework as the 7 principles of life safety. And in all honesty, while I am familiar with some aspects of NFPA 101, it is not part of my everyday work. If I am missing something, please let me know.
6 Responses
I enjoyed reading the 7 principles that you were taught and I admire your conviction for a ” 8. A Missing Piece?” I agree with your perspective from the point of view that more needs to be done beyond just the built environment.
All the missing points described in item #8, I understand exist in the Fire Code under Section 2.8. Emergency Planning. That is where we learn that it is the responsibility of the supervisory staff (a defined term) to educate the building occupants, conduct drills, create and enforce a safety plan. Perhaps I misunderstood your points in #8?
Hey Elektra,
Thank you for taking the time to read the blog and respond. That is exactly what this website is for; to generate discussion and see things from different perspectives. For some reason I always remember this quote, “everything is perceptually modified by proximity and perspective.” This website has brought together people from not only across the country, but from various educational and experiential backgrounds.
My intention with the blog post was an introduction to the general concepts that can be put into practice. In all honesty every one of the 7 principles of life safety correspond with specific code requirements. In my opinion the concept of the 7 principles of life safety is to provide a clear and concise framework for fire inspectors to conduct their work whether that be inspections, plan review or training. The hope is that maybe others can take the concepts and utilize them in their own way, or maybe expand them to include others.
You are correct regarding supervisory staff; it was an intentional editorial judgement on my part. There are many facets of the NBCC and NFCC. Based on my experience I’ve found that some building code practitioners aren’t as familiar with the NFCC requirements. The term supervisory staff is only defined in the fire code, not in the building code. Therefore, I left it out to be inclusive for all potential readers. I also wanted to stay away from definitions in this post. When I conduct training and I say the term supervisory staff, people often believe I’m referring to managerial staff.
I will point out that, in my opinion, there is not enough education for building owners and property managers. This was also a part of the missing 8th principle. Maybe I did not articulate that well enough. We all assume that the owners and property managers are in the business, so they must know the business. And this is exactly what I have heard in court, that the owner is responsible for knowing the business. But the reality is that some building owners, and property managers have no idea how to maintain their buildings. Extend that out to others as well. Self-managed condos for example. There are many condos that believe they can manage the condo through their board of directors. “The ignorant are ignorant of their ignorance.” That’s not meant to be derogatory, it’s meant to say that without understanding at least the very basic concepts of fire and life safety, they are putting lives in jeopardy.
I hope that helps is providing some clarity and context for my opinions.
I wholeheartedly agree. In our experience, people tend not to understand the buildings they live in, or how their actions or inaction can adversely affect the building that is their home or workplace, to the detriment of their own health and safety and funds.
We have occasionally put on educational sessions (for example, for new homeowners) and it is thrilling to see the lights of understanding turn on in people’s eyes.
People just don’t know these things, but they want to know!
Principle Number 8 has my vote!
Hey Neil! The Code School has launched and the goal of it is to be a hub to foster education in an easy to learn way with the ability to reach those who need to hear it! And you’re completely right…people just don’t know what they don’t know. I am on the hunt for passionate professionals who want to share their knowledge with Canada. Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you’d like to collaborate on turning your session for homeowners into an online session!
Hi Neil,
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. I totally agree. People want to know. I love seeing the reaction in people when they connect the dots. One of the tricks is getting the information to the people in the way they will pay attention and implement the information.
Not sure if you’ve reviewed the fire prevention week blog. I provided a number of resources for both fire departments and public.