HAR §12-45.4-76. Means of egress application

Section 14.1 is amended to read as follows: 14.1 Means of egress application. Means of egress in existing buildings shall comply with this Code and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. The provisions of this chapter do not apply for new construction. For new construction see the building code. Existing buildings shall be maintained to meet the requirements of the building code at the time the structure was built, unless specifically indicated for existing facilities. Provisions in this chapter are provided for maintenance purposes. Exception: Stairway marking requirements set forth in Section 10.12.3 shall apply to new and existing construction. [Eff ] (Auth: HRS §132-3) (Imp: HRS §132-3) (This was in the previous state fire code. The reference to 14.6.4.1 in the exception of the NFPA 1 Fire Code, 2006 edition, was changed to 10.12.3 to match the appropriate section in the 2012 edition. Maintenance of building and fire protection systems and appliances are the enforceable objectives of the fire code. NFPA 101 is not a fire or building code, but is concerned with the protection of building occupants. The application to existing buildings eliminates conflicts with building code requirements for new construction. There are about 1500 sections that are extracted from NFPA 101 throughout NFPA 1 Fire Code, but there are other important provisions that are not. This means unless specifically adopted they would not apply. In addition, “grandfathering” in building codes leaves a loophole that NFPA 101 closes when imminent danger exists.) §12-45.4-77 Screen door assemblies and storm door assemblies. Section 14.5.1.4 is amended by adding an exception at the end to read as follows: Exception: Double-acting screen doors used in conjunction with exit doors having panic hardware in school cafetoriums do not need to comply with this provision. [Eff ] (Auth: HRS §132-3) (Imp: HRS §132-3) (This was in the previous state fire code. This allows double acting screen doors to be allowed in school cafetoriums for egress. It was allowed in previous building code amendments to allow doors that swung in both directions and provided additional ventilation for Hawaii’s climatic conditions.) The section heading is amended to mirror NFPA 1 “Screen Door Assemblies and Storm Door Assemblies”.)