Berkeley Municipal Code Art. 7 Construction Requirements for Existing Buildings

Chapter 11 of the California Fire Code is partially adopted with adopted sections below. (Sections adopted by the State Fire Marshal remain unless modified below.)

CHAPTER 11 – CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS

SECTION 1103 – FIRE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS

1103.5 Sprinkler systems. An automatic sprinkler system shall be provided in existing buildings in accordance with Section 1103.5.1 through 1103.5.~~5.~~6.3

SECTION 1103.5.6 AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING HOTELS

1103.5.6.1 Definitions. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

1. "Hotel" shall mean any building, including motels, dormitories, rooming houses, Greek houses and congregate residences, which contain six or more rooms which were intended or designed to be used, or which are used, for the purposes of renting, hiring or letting (with monetary or non-monetary means of payment or permission) to residential occupants for sleeping purposes but shall not include apartment buildings as defined in this code.

2. "Story" is as defined in the Berkeley Building Code.

3. "First Story" is as defined in the Berkeley Building Code.

4. "Basement" is as defined in the Berkeley Building Code.

5. "Balcony, Exterior Exit" shall mean a landing or porch projecting from the wall of a building which serves as a required exit. The long side shall be at least 50 percent directly open to the exterior, and the open area above the guardrail shall be so configured as to prevent the accumulation of smoke or toxic gases.

Application: This section shall apply to every hotel in which the rooms used for sleeping are located above the ground floor, if the hotel was built prior to 1992, and also meets one of the following two conditions:

The height of the hotel is three or more stories or two stories plus an inhabited basement, which is used for purposes other than exclusively servicing the maintenance and other needs of the building; or the hotel contains 20 or more rooms, or regularly accommodates 20 or more residential occupants.

Exception: No hotel in which the exits from sleeping rooms lead either to the outside of the building either directly or via approved exit balconies with approved exterior stairways(s) in accordance with the requirements of the Berkeley Building Code is required to comply with this section.

1103.5.6.2 Types of Fire Sprinklers. In the sleeping units of the building, only residential or quick response sprinkler heads shall be used.

1103.5.6.3 Supervision of fire sprinkler systems. All automatic sprinkler systems installed under this subsection shall be monitored for supervision and alarms in accordance with Section 903.4.

1103.7 Fire Alarm Systems. An approved fire alarm system shall be installed in existing buildings and structures in accordance with Sections 1103.7.1 through 1103.7.6 and provide occupant notification in accordance with Section 907.5 unless other requirements are provided by other sections of this code. Existing high-rise buildings shall comply with Section 1103.7.9. Where an automatic and manual or a manual fire alarm system is required by this code or Berkeley local ordinance, elimination of fire alarm boxes in buildings equipped with an approved sprinkler system is prohibited.

Exception: Occupancies with an existing, previously approved fire alarm system.

1103.7.5.1 Group R-1 hotels, and motels, and congregate residences manual and automatic fire alarm system. A manual and automatic fire alarm system that activates the occupant notification system in accordance with Section 907.5 shall be installed in existing Group R-1 hotels, and motels, and congregate residences more than one story in heightwith three or more stories or with more than 20 or more dwelling units or sleeping units in aggregate.

Exceptions:

1. A manual fire alarm system is not required in buildings less than two stories in height where all dwelling units, sleeping units, attics and crawl spaces are separated by 1-hour fire-resistance-rated construction and each sleeping unit has direct access to a public way, egress court or yard.

2. A manual fire alarm system is not required in buildings not more than three stories in height with not more than 20 dwelling units or sleeping units in aggregate and equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Sections 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2.

3. Manual fire alarm boxes are not required throughout the building where the following conditions are met:

3.1. The building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2.

3.2. The notification appliances will activate upon sprinkler water flow.

3.3. Not less than one manual fire alarm box is installed at an approved location.

1103.7.6 Group R-2. A manual and automatic fire alarm system that activates the occupant notification system in accordance with Section 907.5 shall be installed in existing Group R-2 occupancies three or more than three stories in height or with 16 or more dwelling or sleeping units. Congregate residences shall retrofit existing manual-only fire alarm systems with manual and automatic fire detection. Other types of R-2 occupancies (such as apartment buildings) shall retrofit existing manual-only fire alarm systems with manual and automatic fire detection when the existing fire alarm control unit is replaced for any reason. Automatic detection shall be accomplished by use of a smoke detector (or heat detector as approved), which is system connected and electronically supervised. Detectors shall be installed in all interior corridors and common areas.

Exceptions:

1. Where each living unit is separated from other contiguous living units by fire barriers having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 3/4 hour, and where each living unit has either its own independent exit or its own independent stairway or ramp discharging at grade.

~~2. A separate fire alarm syste

ctors shall be installed in all interior corridors and common areas.

Exceptions:

1. Where each living unit is separated from other contiguous living units by fire barriers having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 3/4 hour, and where each living unit has either its own independent exit or its own independent stairway or ramp discharging at grade.

2. A separate fire alarm system is not required in buildings that are equipped throughout with an approved supervised automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2 and having a local alarm to notify all occupants.

2.3. A fire alarm system is not required in buildings that do not have interior corridors serving dwelling units and are protected by an approved automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 or 903.3.1.2, provided that dwelling units either have a means of egress door opening directly to an exterior exit access that leads directly to the exits or are served by open ended corridors designed in accordance with Section 1027.6, Exception 3.

3.4. A fire alarm system is not required in buildings that do not have interior corridors serving dwelling units, do not exceed three stories in height and comply with both of the following:

3.14.1. Each dwelling unit is separated from other contiguous dwelling units by fire barriers having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 3/4 hour.

3.24.2. Each dwelling unit is provided with smoke alarms complying with the requirements of Section 907.2.11.

1103.7.10 Monitoring of Group R Occupancies. All existing R occupancies that are required to provide both a fire alarm and fire suppression system shall have the system monitored by a supervising station in accordance with NFPA 72, Chapter 26, Section 26.3, Central Station Service Alarm Systems, and this section.

SECTION 1104 – MEANS OF EGRESS FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS

1104.24 Stairway floor number signs. Existing stairways shall be marked in accordance with Section 1023.9.

SECTION 1114 – EXISTING HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS [SFM]

1114.27 Automatic sprinkler system–Existing high-rise buildings. Regardless of any other provisions of these regulations, every existing high-rise building of Type II-B, Type III-B or Type V-B construction shall be provided with an approved automatic sprinkler system conforming to NFPA 13.

Building owners shall file a compliance schedule with the fire code official not later than 365 days after receipt of a written notice. The compliance schedule shall not exceed 12 years for completion of the automatic sprinkler system retrofit.

(Ord. 7990-NS § 1, 2025)