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Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS

Section 910

California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) · 2022 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.

SMOKE AND HEAT REMOVAL

[F] 910.1 General. Where required by this code, smoke and heat vents or mechanical smoke removal systems shall conform to the requirements of this section.

Copyright © 2022 by, or licensed to, International Code Council, Inc. (ALL RIGHTS RESERVED); licensed to California Building Standards Commission pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions is authorized. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution is a violation of the federal copyright act and the license agreement, and subject to civil and criminal penalties thereunder.

FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS

[F] 910.2 Where required. Smoke and heat vents or a mechanical smoke removal system shall be installed as required by Sections 910.2.1 and 910.2.2.

Exceptions:

  1. Frozen food warehouses used solely for storage of Class I and II commodities where protected by an approved automatic sprinkler system.

  2. Smoke and heat removal shall not be required in areas of buildings equipped with early suppression fast-response (ESFR) sprinklers.

  3. Smoke and heat removal shall not be required in areas of buildings equipped with control mode special application sprinklers with a response time index of 50 (m × s) 1/2 or less that are listed to control a fire in stored commodities with 12 or fewer sprinklers.

910.2.1 Group F-1 or S-1. Smoke and heat vents installed in accordance with Section 910.3 or a mechanical smoke removal system installed in accordance with Section 910.4 shall be installed in buildings and portions thereof used as a Group F-1 or S-1 occupancy having more than 50,000 square feet (4645 m 2 ) of undivided area. In occupied portions of a building equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1 where the upper surface of the story is not a roof assembly, a mechanical smoke removal system in accordance with Section 910.4 shall be installed.

Exception: Group F-1 aircraft manufacturing build- ings and Group S-1 aircraft repair hangars.

[F] 910.2.2 High-piled combustible storage. Smoke and heat removal required by Table 3206.2 of the California Fire Code for buildings and portions thereof containing high-piled combustible storage shall be installed in accordance with Section 910.3 in unsprinklered buildings. In buildings and portions thereof containing high-piled combustible storage equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1, a smoke and heat removal system shall be installed in accordance with Section 910.3 or 910.4. In occupied portions of a building equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1, where the upper surface of the story is not a roof assembly, a mechanical smoke removal system in accordance with Section 910.4 shall be installed.

[F] 910.3 Smoke and heat vents. The design and installation of smoke and heat vents shall be in accordance with Sections 910.3.1 through 910.3.3.

[F] 910.3.1 Listing and labeling. Smoke and heat vents shall be listed and labeled to indicate compliance with UL 793 or FM 4430 or ICC ES AC 331 .

[F] 910.3.2 Smoke and heat vent locations. Smoke and heat vents shall be located 20 feet (6096 mm) or more from adjacent lot lines and fire walls and 10 feet (3048 mm) or more from fire barriers. Vents shall be uniformly located within the roof in the areas of the building where the vents are required to be installed by Section 910.2 with

consideration given to roof pitch, sprinkler location and structural members.

910.3.3 Smoke and heat vents area. The required aggregate area of smoke and heat vents shall be calculated as follows:

For buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1:

AVR = V /9000 (Equation 9-3)

where:

AVR = The required aggregate vent area (ft 2 ). V = Volume (ft 3 ) of the area that requires smoke

removal. For unsprinklered buildings:

AVR = AFA /50 (Equation 9-4)

where:

AVR = The required aggregate vent area (ft 2 ). AFA = The area of the floor in the area that requires smoke

removal.

[F] 910.3.4 Vent operation. Smoke and heat vents shall be capable of being operated by approved automatic and manual means.

[F] 910.3.5 Fusible link temperature rating. Where vents are installed in areas provided with automatic fire sprinklers and the vents operate by fusible link, the fusible link shall have a temperature rating of 360°F (182°C).

[F] 910.4 Mechanical smoke removal systems. Mechanical smoke removal systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with Sections 910.4.1 through 910.4.7.

910.4.1 Automatic sprinklers required. The building shall be equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section 903.3.1.1.

910.4.2 Exhaust fan construction. Exhaust fans that are part of a mechanical smoke removal system shall be rated for operation at 221°F (105°C). Exhaust fan motors shall be located outside of the exhaust fan air stream.

910.4.3 System design criteria. The mechanical smoke removal system shall be sized to exhaust the building at a minimum rate of two air changes per hour based on the volume of the building or portion thereof without contents. The capacity of each exhaust fan shall not exceed 30,000 cubic feet per minute (14.2 m 3 /s).

910.4.3.1 Makeup air. Makeup air openings shall be provided within 6 feet (1829 mm) of the floor level. Operation of makeup air openings shall be manual or automatic. The minimum gross area of makeup air inlets shall be 8 square feet per 1,000 cubic feet per minute (0.74 m 2 per 0.4719 m 3 /s) of smoke exhaust.

910.4.4 Activation. The mechanical smoke removal system shall be activated by manual controls only.

910.4.5 Manual control location. Manual controls shall be located where they are able to be accessed by the fire service from an exterior door of the building and separated from the remainder of the building by not less than 1-hour

9-52 2022 CALIFORNIA BUILDING CODE

Copyright © 2022 by, or licensed to, International Code Council, Inc. (ALL RIGHTS RESERVED); licensed to California Building Standards Commission pursuant to License Agreement. No further reproductions is authorized. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution is a violation of the federal copyright act and the license agreement, and subject to civil and criminal penalties thereunder.

fire barriers constructed in accordance with Section 707 or horizontal assemblies constructed in accordance with Section 711, or both.

[F] 910.4.6 Control wiring. Wiring for operation and control of mechanical smoke removal systems shall be connected ahead of the main disconnect in accordance with Section 701.12E of the California Electrical Code and be protected against interior fire exposure to temperatures in excess of 1,000°F (538°C) for a period of not less than 15 minutes.

[F] 910.4.7 Controls. Where building air-handling and mechanical smoke removal systems are combined or where independent building air-handling systems are provided, fans shall automatically shut down in accordance with the California Mechanical Code . The manual controls provided for the smoke removal system shall have the capability to override the automatic shutdown of fans that are part of the smoke removal system.

910.5 Maintenance.

Smoke and heat vents and mechanical smoke removal systems shall be maintained in accordance with the California Fire Code .

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▸Contents — California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
  1. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
  2. Appendix G — FLOOD-RESISTANT
  3. Appendix L — EARTHQUAKE RECORDING
  4. Appendix M — TSUNAMI-GENERATED
  5. Appendix N — REPLICABLE
  6. Appendix O — PERFORMANCE-BASED
  7. Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
  8. Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
  9. Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED ON OCCUPANCY A…
  10. Chapter 5 — GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
  11. Chapter 6 — TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
  12. Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
  13. Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
  14. Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISHES
  15. ▸Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
    Overview
    1. Section 901
    2. Section 902
    3. Section 903
    4. Section 904
    5. Section 905
    6. Section 906
    7. Section 907
    8. Section 908
    9. Section 909
    10. Section 910
    11. Section 911
    12. Section 912
    13. Section 913
    14. Section 914
    15. Section 915
    16. Section 916
    17. Section 917
    18. Section 918
  16. Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
  17. Chapter 11A — HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY
  18. Chapter 11B — ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PUBLIC ACCOMM…
  19. Chapter 12 — INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
  20. Chapter 14 — EXTERIOR WALLS
  21. Chapter 15 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES
  22. Chapter 16 — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  23. Chapter 16A — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  24. Chapter 17 — SPECIAL INSPECTIONS AND TESTS
  25. Chapter 18 — SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
  26. Chapter 19 — CONCRETE
  27. Chapter 20 — ALUMINUM
  28. Chapter 21 — MASONRY
  29. Chapter 22 — STEEL
  30. Chapter 23 — WOOD
  31. Chapter 24 — GLASS AND GLAZING
  32. Chapter 25 — GYPSUM BOARD, GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS AND PLASTER
  33. Chapter 26 — PLASTIC
  34. Chapter 27 — ELECTRICAL
  35. Chapter 28 — MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
  36. Chapter 30 — ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
  37. Chapter 31 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
  38. Chapter 31B — PUBLIC POOLS
  39. Chapter 31C — RADIATION
  40. Chapter 31D — FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
  41. Chapter 31F — MARINE OIL TERMINALS
  42. Chapter 32 — ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
  43. Chapter 33 — SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
  44. Chapter 35 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
  45. Appendix A — EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS
  46. Appendix B — BOARD OF APPEALS
  47. Appendix C — GROUP U – AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
  48. Appendix D — FIRE DISTRICTS
  49. Appendix F — RODENTPROOFING
  50. Appendix H — SIGNS
  51. Appendix I — PATIO COVERS
  52. Appendix J — GRADING
  53. Appendix K — GROUP R-3 AND GROUP R-3.1 OCCUPANCIES
  54. Appendix P — EMERGENCY HOUSING

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