Media Advisory on Single Exit Stairway Building Plan Design

For Immediate Release

BC Provincial Government Makes Changes to BC Building Code Against the Opinion of Public Safety Professionals

Vancouver, BC - On August 29 2024, the British Columbia Provincial Government made changes to the BC Building Code to allow for residential multi unit dwellings to reduce their minimum egress stairways down to a single stairway for up to six (6) stories. This change was made unilaterally and made the BC Building Code incongruent with the intent of a harmonized code with the National Building Code. This change also does not take into account numerous concerns raised by public safety and fire service professional organizations. 

The Fire Chiefs Association of BC (FCABC) and the BC Professional Fire Fighters Association (BCPFFA) have serious concerns regarding the BC Provincial Government move to amend the BC Building Code to allow a Single Exit Stairway (SES) in multi-residential buildings.

On June 25th, 2024, Robert Heikkila, with Jensen Hughes, authored a report for the Provincial Government entitled Single Egress Stair Building Designs: Policy and Technical Options Report. The report identifies some of the fire service’s concerns but does not go far enough to highlight the significant risk to life safety that would exist if a building code revision is made to allow this in BC.

“It is concerning that the Province of B.C. has reduced established critical life-saving features by circumventing the national code development consensus process. The national code development process ensures equal, non-biased dialogue between all stakeholders to find consensus.” -- President Todd Schierling (BCPFFA) 

“Circumventing the code development process jeopardizes the public, building occupants, and first responders. Much like smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, proper exiting is known to have saved thousands of lives and remains the fundamental building block to life safety.” -- President Dan Derby (FCABC)

Layered fire prevention measures encompassing multiple means of egress, fire suppression systems, fire-rated construction, automatic fire alarm systems, compartmentalization, and many other codes provide a reasonable, widely accepted, and nationally developed level of protection. Drastic changes, such as those proposed, directly contrast with time-tested safety fundamentals.

Positions on SES:

Our associations are not alone with this concern and numerous other industry professionals well versed in the conversation have voiced similar comments and provided position statements, including:

As recently as this past May, the International Codes Council rejected a similar proposed change. This group establishes codes that a considerable number of countries use.

Summation of our Position

  1. The single-egress stairway concept is complex and should be properly evaluated through the national code change process; 

  2. BC’s planned adoption of single-egress stairways is moving too quickly, does not have supporting data, and does not consider all stakeholder concerns. The latest Canadian data was not considered. Refer to the Single Stair Egress Report by Len Garis; 

    • Nearly 9% of the fires in these buildings start in the hallway or stairwell, 

    • Smoke from these fires flooded the hall and stairs, 

    • The majority (68%) of residential fire-related deaths were a result of smoke inhalation alone, while 10% were reported to be caused by both smoke inhalation and burns, and 17% were due to burns alone.

    • Fire inspection data shows that 40% of fire and life safety systems in apartment buildings are not compliant with fire codes and may not function properly, ie. smoke detectors, heat alarms or automatic sprinkler systems, 

  3. The BC Building Code (BCBC) does not consider or control other aspects of fire response capacity and building upkeep realities once a building is completed; 

  4. Fires do occur in egress pathways even with protection systems in place; 

  5. BC Fire Code inspections of apartment buildings show low compliance rates; 

  6. Emerging issues such as lithium-ion battery fires make this proposal even riskier; 

  7. Human movement research on evacuations showed a negative impact with a single exit.

Our associations are requesting that these changes be reversed or paused, and we strongly recommend that this be deferred to the National Building Code revision process with the involvement of the National Research Council.

-30-

Media Inquiries

  • Todd Schierling, President (BCPFFA), 604.436.2053

  • Dan Derby, President (FCABC), 604.492.3080

You can’t argue with Evidence Based Data!

 
 
Embed Block
Add an embed URL or code. Learn more
 

  1. B.C. fire chiefs worry about 1-stairwell building code changes, CBC News, August 31, 2024