Jeffrey Lasalle, P.E., Principal, LaSalle Engineering, LLC, Willow Grove, Pa.

What’s at Risk?

While it's true that fire protection in educational occupancies is generally well-regulated by applicable building codes— the Life Safety Code and local fire codes—is this really good enough for parents, teachers and administrators? After all, it is a well-established fact that code requirements are a minimum and do not address the specific needs of a building owner or user. Fortunately, qualitative risk-based approaches to fire safety can be a cost-effective way to address specific risks and improve life safety in educational occupancies beyond the minimum code requirements. However, such solutions require an understanding of the school fire record, knowledge of the population characteristics and the application of a holistic, engineering-based approach to fire safety. All classrooms not equal The 2003 International Building Code defines educational occupancies as those that house, for instructional purposes, at least six occupants ranging from 2ty classroom buildings are classified as business occupancies. A similar definition can be found in the 2003 Life Safety Code . In any case, this classification includes within its scope buildings that have a broad range of occupant ages, capabilities, fire hazards and risks.