Complexities unique to office buildings in fire and life safety design

Fire and life safety design in office buildings is often unique due to issues of vertical spread and occupancy changes.

By Consulting-Specifying Engineer February 4, 2025
With a shift towards hybrid work, office building design focuses on flexible spaces and multi-purpose areas. Courtesy: SmithGroup

Office building insights:

  • Automation and smart technologies are allowing for increased connectivity in office building design.
  • The nature of high-rise office buildings presents specific considerations when planning for vertical fire and smoke spread.
  • More stringent codes and standards may increase costs related to the design and specification of fire and life safety systems in office buildings.

Respondents: 

  • Jarron Gass, PE, CFPS, Fire Protection Discipline Leader, CDM Smith, Pittsburgh
  • Danielle Passaglia, PE, LEED GA, Mechanical engineer, SmithGroup, Chicago
  • John Yoon, PE, LEED AP, Principal, McGuire Engineers, Inc., Chicago

What are some of the unique challenges regarding fire/life safety system design that you’ve encountered for such projects? How have you overcome these challenges?

Jarron Gass: Challenges in fire protection include complying with complex and evolving codes, such as NFPA and International Building Code (IBC), which require early coordination with local officials and precise designs using tools like building information modeling (BIM). Integrating fire safety measures into architectural layouts without compromising aesthetics is especially important for high-density or flexible spaces. Retrofitting older buildings to meet modern standards can be costly but feasible with forward-thinking fire protection strategies or emerging technologies like wireless alarms.

Large, open office spaces and mixed-use areas present additional risks for smoke control and evacuation, often necessitating advanced systems such as zoned alarms, smoke barriers and active smoke management. Emergency power redundancy and clear wayfinding systems further enhance safety during power outages or evacuations. For smart systems, cybersecurity concerns can be mitigated with secure protocols and encryption.

Collaboration among stakeholders, prioritizing investments based on risk assessments and exploring cost-effective solutions are essential to ensure fire protection systems are efficient, compliant and adaptable to future needs.

John Yoon: Some clients want a consistent set of corporate standards enforced across all of their facilities, regardless of wherever they might be located. It’s reasonable to expect that there would be no issues if what is being specified exceeds local code requirements. However, that’s often not the case. This can be a challenge in some areas of the country where the labor force may have a lower level of expertise, local standard practices are different or equipment/material specified to meet a particular requirement is not locally available. For example, we commonly see proposed substitutions of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride and schedule 10 for schedule 40 piping in sprinkler systems. These types of things can result in a significant amount of additional effort spent in evaluating substitutions, discussions with the client, etc.

What fire, smoke control and security features might you incorporate in these facilities that you wouldn’t see on other projects?

Jarron Gass: Stairwell smoke pressurization is a critical safety feature in high-rise office buildings, designed to protect occupants during emergencies. These systems keep stairwells free of smoke and ensure a safe egress route for evacuation while providing clear access for emergency responders. By using dedicated fans to pressurize stairwells, the system prevents smoke infiltration from surrounding areas, even when fire doors are opened.

Key design considerations include maintaining adequate pressure differentials between stairwells and adjacent spaces, avoiding excessive pressures that could hinder door operation, and adhering to standards such as NFPA 92: Standard for Smoke Control Systems. Smoke pressurization systems are typically integrated with fire alarm systems for automated activation during fire events. Proper design, rigorous testing and regular maintenance are essential to ensure reliable, long-term performance.

What are the challenges specific to fire protection in high-rise office buildings, and how do you address them when designing fire safety systems for such structures?

Jarron Gass: Fire protection in high-rise office buildings presents unique challenges due to their height, occupancy density and complex layouts. Preventing vertical fire and smoke spread relies on fire-rated barriers, compartmentalized floors and advanced smoke control systems. Safe egress is supported by pressurized stairwells, sufficient exit capacity and clear emergency lighting. Delivering water to upper floors requires robust, redundant fire pumps, standpipes and zone-specific sprinklers. Integration of fire protection with electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is increasingly critical, enabled by smart building technologies for coordinated fire detection and suppression. Firefighter response is addressed with features like firefighter access elevators, staging areas, communication systems and pre-incident planning protocols. Compliance with stringent codes, such as the IBC and NFPA 101: Life Safety Code, is achieved through collaboration with authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) and other stakeholders, involving thorough design reviews and inspections.

For office renovations, what types of active or passive fire/life safety systems are being requested and specified?

Jarron Gass: Office renovations typically require a combination of active and passive fire and life safety systems to comply with building and fire codes. Active systems include upgraded addressable fire alarms with voice evacuation, modern sprinkler systems, clean agent suppression for IT rooms, mechanical smoke control systems and emergency lighting with backup power. Passive systems focus on fire-rated walls, floors and ceilings to contain fire spread, fire doors and smoke dampers. Renovations often enhance egress pathways by widening corridors and updating signage, while advanced monitoring systems allow for seamless integration with centralized building management platforms.

John Yoon: One of the more significant changes that we are seeing is a more stringent interpretation of the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements by some AHJs. These interpretations mandate that where employee work areas have audible fire alarm coverage, visible alarms (strobes) must also be provided. Traditionally, visual alarm device coverage has been limited to commonly accessible areas such as open offices, conference rooms, washrooms, pantries, etc. With this new interpretation, strobes must be provided in all work areas, including private offices and occupiable storage rooms. In most office occupancies, this requirement can easily double the number of devices. With the availability of LED strobes, which have lower power requirements than traditional xenon strobes, the extent of required fire alarm system modifications can be limited. Still, the associated cost can come as a shock.

How has the cost and complexity of fire protection systems involved with office buildings changed over the years? How did these changes impact the overall design process?

Jarron Gass: The cost and complexity of fire protection systems in office buildings have increased due to evolving codes, emerging technologies and sustainable design demands. Modern systems, such as addressable alarms, automated smoke control and smart integrations, require specialized expertise and higher upfront investments. Stricter fire codes for high-rises and mixed-use facilities have further added to design challenges and costs. Additionally, rising material and labor costs continue to strain budgets. Open layouts and complex architectural designs often necessitate advanced tools like BIM for precise system integration. These factors have transformed fire protection into a highly collaborative process, requiring early planning and coordination to ensure both safety and functionality.

John Yoon: The most significant changes have been related to emerging technologies like lithium-ion battery storage that supports uninterruptable power supply systems. The pertinent codes are a moving target as the hazards associated with the technology are still being researched. As the hazards are better understood, the new version of the code will likely incorporate additional prescriptive mitigation requirements. For example, comparing Chapter 12 of the 2018 and 2021 International Fire Code, it is clear that the fire protection requirements for battery storage are dramatically more detailed in the more recent versions. Just because a particular jurisdiction may be enforcing an older version of the code doesn’t mean that the associated level of hazard has changed. As such, the design process has to holistically consider the relative hazards and if it makes sense to incorporate more stringent requirements, even if not required by the local AHJ.

How has the integration of fire/life safety systems with other building systems changed?

Jarron Gass: The integration of fire and life safety systems with other building systems has advanced to enhance coordination and efficiency. Modern fire systems now interface with HVAC, lighting, access control and security systems through centralized building management platforms. This enables automated responses during emergencies, such as smoke control, unlocking doors for evacuation and directing occupants to safety. Internet of Things sensors and real-time monitoring provide data-driven insights, which enable predictive maintenance and quicker response times. Automation further improves system efficiency by reducing the need for manual intervention. However, increased connectivity also brings the need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against vulnerabilities that could compromise safety. These advancements significantly enhance occupant safety and operational efficiency but demand more complex design and maintenance.