Fire Separation Distance Between Roofs

To an imaginary line between two buildings on the lot.

Fire separation distance between roofs.

Typical fire separation requirements for townhouses is a 2 hour fire rating. 4 replacing of roof material with fire proof material and closing of existing windows with fire proof concrete wall. Depending on the fire separation distance degree of opening protection and percentage of openings the distance required between buildings on the same lot can vary anywhere from 0 feet to 60 feet based on ibc table 705 8. 5 the firewall will be extended in accordance with the condition when the tangent is drawn from the top of the transformer tank towards to the building from the corner of new firewall although x 15m distance is not provided.

Fire area appears in the building code mostly in chapter 9 where it is used as a threshold for requiring either fire separation or fire sprinkler systems. Walls less than 5 from the property line are required to have a one hour fire rating. This recommended practice provides recommendations concerning separation distances between buildings to limit exterior fire spread based on exterior openings and other construction features. Exterior walls of dwellings garages and accessory buildings must maintain a 5 minimum separation distance from the property line or otherwise be fire protected.

For example section 903 2 9 states that one threshold of sprinklering the entire building is when such a building contains a group s 1 fire area of greater than 12 000 square feet. Fire separation distance fsd is he distance measured from the foundation wall or face of wall framing whichever is closer to one of the following. Gypsum board party walls are more common now. To the centerline of a street an alley or public way.

To the closest interior lot line. 8 thick masonry was a common way to do firewalls in my area. I think 1 2 thick gypsum board is probably also required at each side on the wall framing adjacent to the 2 shaft liner system. Where the fire separation distance is five feet or less the construction type is not relevant.

If the separation is between 5 feet and 10 feet the requirements ease slightly for all construction types except ia. Fire separation distance is measured from the face of the building to the property line centerline of a street or alley or to an imaginary line between two buildings. The occupancy group of the building determines whether the exterior wall must be 1 2 or 3 hour construction.