Section 518.2180  Construction Details

 

a)         Compartmentation, exits, automatic extinguishing systems and other details relating to fire prevention and fire protection shall comply with requirements listed in the appropriate sections of the National Fire Protection Association Standard 101 (1997), "Life Safety Code."

 

b)         Items such as drinking fountains, telephone booths, vending machines, and portable equipment shall be located so as not to restrict corridor traffic or reduce the corridor width below the required minimum.

 

c)         Doors

 

1)         Doors to observation/treatment rooms shall not be lockable from inside the room.

 

2)         Special Locking Arrangements: Electronic locking devices may be installed at specific locations to restrict egress or ingress for patient/staff safety or security provided each of the following is complied with and after receiving approval from the Department:

 

A)        The facility must submit a narrative to the Department providing a rationale for having a locked door in a required means of egress.  The rationale must relate to security issues.

 

B)        The building must be protected by a sprinkler or fire detection system approved by the Department.

 

C)        All locking system components must be U.L. listed.

 

D)        Cross corridor, smoke or control doors that are located in a required means of egress may only be secured with electronic locks and automatic release devices.  The use of manual keys or tools only to unlock the door is not permitted.

 

E)         Locked doors must have continuous staff supervision (direct or electronic remote).

 

F)         No other type of locking arrangement may be used in a required means of egress.

 

G)        All locked doors must release automatically with actuation of the fire alarm system.

 

H)        All doors must release automatically with loss of electrical power to the locking device.

 

I)          All locks must initiate an irreversible process that will release the lock within 15 seconds whenever a force of not more than 15 pounds is continuously applied to the release device (lever type handle or panic bar) for a period of not more than 3 seconds. Relocking of such doors shall be by manual means only.  Operation of the release device shall activate a sign in the vicinity of the door to assure those attempting to exit that the system is functional. Delays of up to 30 seconds may be acceptable based on the program narrative.

 

J)         Permanent signs must be posted on locked doors that state: "Push until alarm sounds.  Door will be opened in 15 seconds." Sign letters must be at least  1 inch high with 1/8 inch stroke. Signs may be omitted for security reasons based on review of the written rationale.

 

K)        Emergency lighting must be provided at all locked door locations.

 

L)         The local fire department must be fully apprised of locked doors or units and all related details of the system.

 

M)       Any discharge exit door may be locked against entry.

 

N)        Additional electronic release of locked doors initiated from a staff duty station is to be provided.

 

O)        No more than one such device may be installed in any path of travel to exit discharge.

 

d)         The minimum width of all doors to rooms needing access for beds or stretchers shall be 3'8".  Doors to rooms needing access for wheelchairs shall have a minimum width of 2'10".

 

e)         Doors on all openings between corridors and rooms or spaces subject to occupancy, except elevator doors, shall be swing type. Openings to patient toilets and other small wet-type areas not subject to fire hazard are exempt from this requirement.  Sliding doors with a break and swing feature are acceptable.

 

f)          Doors, except those to spaces such as small closets that are not subject to occupancy, shall not swing into corridors in a manner that might obstruct traffic flow or reduce the required corridor width.  (Large walk-in type closets are considered as occupiable spaces.)

 

g)         Windows shall be designed so that persons cannot accidentally fall out of them when they are open, or shall be provided with guards.

 

h)         Glazing.  Doors, sidelights, borrowed lights, and windows in which the glazing extends down to within 18 inches of the floor (thereby creating possibility of accidental breakage by pedestrian traffic) shall be glazed with safety glass or plastic glazing material that will resist breaking and will not create dangerous cutting edges when broken.  Fire-rated glass shall be used where required for fire safety.

 

i)          Where labeled fire doors are required, these shall be certified by an independent testing laboratory as meeting the construction requirements equal to those for fire doors in NFPA Standard No. 80 (1995), "Fire Doors and Windows."  Reference to a labeled door includes labeled frame and hardware.

 

j)          Elevator shaft openings shall be class B 1 1/2 hour labeled fire doors.

 

k)         Linen and refuse chutes shall meet or exceed the following requirements:

 

1)         Service openings to chutes shall not be located in corridors or passageways but shall be located in a room of construction having a fire resistance of not less than one hour.  Doors to such rooms shall be not less than class C 3/4 hour labeled doors.

 

2)         Service openings to chutes shall have approved self-closing class B 1 1/2 hour labeled fire doors.

 

3)         Minimum cross-sectional dimension of gravity chutes shall be not less than 2'0".

 

4)         Chutes shall discharge directly into collection rooms separated from incinerator, laundry, or other services.  Separate collection rooms shall be provided for trash and for linen.  The enclosure construction for such rooms shall have a fire resistance rating of not less than two hours, and the doors thereto shall be not less than class B 1 1/2 hour labeled fire doors. External discharge containers need not be enclosed.

 

5)         Gravity chutes shall extend through the roof with provisions for continuous ventilation as well as for fire and smoke ventilation.  Openings for fire and smoke ventilation shall have an effective area of not less than that of the chute cross-section and shall be not less than 4'0" above the roof and not less than 6'0" clear of other vertical surfaces.  Fire and smoke ventilating openings may be covered with single strength sheet glass or stronger.

 

6)         See NFPA Standard No. 82 (1994), "Incinerators and Rubbish Handling," for other requirements.

 

l)          Dumbwaiters, conveyors, and material handling systems shall not open directly into a corridor or exitway but shall open into a room enclosed by construction having a fire-resistance rating of not less than one hour and provided with class C 3/4 hour labeled fire doors.  Service entrance doors to vertical shafts containing dumbwaiters, conveyors, and material handling systems shall be not less than class B 1 1/2 hour labeled fire doors.  Where horizontal conveyors and material handling systems penetrate fire-rated walls or smoke partitions, such openings must be provided with class B 1 1/2 hour labeled fire doors for two hour walls and class C 3/4 hour labeled fire doors for one hour walls or partitions.

 

m)        Thresholds and expansion joint covers shall be made flush with the floor surface to facilitate use of wheelchairs and carts.

 

n)         Grab bars shall be provided at all patients' toilets.  The bars shall have 1 1/2 inch clearance to walls and shall have sufficient strength and anchorage to sustain a concentrated load of 250 pounds.

 

o)         An accessible shower shall be provided.  Safety glass or plastic glazing materials shall be used for shower doors.  A grab bar shall be provided as specified in subsection (n) above.  A recessed soap dish shall be provided. The shower base shall have a nonslip service.

 

p)         Handwashing facilities shall be located and arranged to permit their proper use and operation.  Particular care shall be given to the clearances required for blade-type operating handles.

 

q)         Paper towel dispensers and waste receptacles (or electric hand dryers) shall be provided at all handwashing facilities except scrub sinks.

 

r)          Lavatories and handwashing facilities shall be securely anchored to withstand an applied vertical load of not less than 250 pounds on the front of the fixture.

 

s)         Radiation protection requirements of x-ray and gamma ray installations shall conform with National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), Report No. 49:  Structural Shielding Design and Evaluation for Medical Use of X-rays and Gamma Rays of Energies up to 10 MeV (1976) and NCRP Report No. 102: Medical X-Ray, Electron Beam and Gamma-Ray Protection for Energies Up to 50 MeV (Equipment Design, Performance and Use) (1989). The completed installation shall be tested, and all defects must be corrected before use.

 

t)          Ceiling heights shall be as follows:

 

1)         Boiler rooms shall have ceiling clearances not less than 2'6" above the main boiler header and connecting piping.

 

2)         Radiographic, major procedure rooms, and other rooms containing ceiling-mounted equipment or ceiling-mounted surgical light fixtures shall have height required to accommodate the equipment or fixtures.

 

3)         All other rooms shall have not less than 8'0" ceilings except that corridors, storage rooms, toilet rooms, and other minor rooms shall be not less than 7'8".  Suspended tracks, rails, and pipes located in the path of normal traffic shall be not less than 6'8" above the floor.

 

u)         Rooms containing heat-producing equipment (such as boiler or heater rooms and laundries) shall be insulated and ventilated to prevent any floor surface above from exceeding a temperature of 10~ F (6~ C) above the ambient room temperature.

 

v)         Elevators. All multi-story facilities shall have at least one institutional-type electric or electrohydraulic elevator.

 

1)         Cars and Platforms.  Cars of hospital-type elevators shall have dimensions that will accommodate a patient bed and attendants and shall be at least 5'8" x 7'6". The car door shall have a clear opening of not less than 3'8".

 

2)         Leveling.  Elevators shall be equipped with an automatic leveling device of the two-way automatic maintaining type with an accuracy of +1/2 inch.

 

3)         Operation.  Elevators, except freight elevators, shall be equipped with a two-way special service key operated switch to permit cars to bypass all landing button calls and be dispatched directly to any floor.

 

4)         Elevator controls, alarm buttons, and telephones shall be accessible to physically handicapped persons.

 

5)         Elevator call buttons, controls, and door safety stops shall be of a type that will not be activated by heat or smoke.

 

6)         Inspections and tests shall be conducted, and written certification shall be furnished that the installation meets the requirements set forth in this Section and all applicable safety regulations and codes.

 

7)         All elevator installations shall meet the requirements of ANSI Standard No. A17.1.

 

w)        Provisions for Natural Disasters

 

1)         General Requirements.  An emergency radio communication system is desirable in each facility.  If installed, this system shall be self-sufficient in time of emergency and shall also be linked with the available community system and State emergency medical network system, including connections with police, fire, and civil defense system.

 

2)         Earthquakes.  In regions where local experience shows that earthquakes have caused loss of life or extensive property damage, buildings and structures shall be designed to withstand the force assumptions specified in the BOCA National Building Code.  Seismic zones are identified on the map in Section 518.Illustration A.

 

3)         Tornadoes and Floods. Special provisions shall be made in the design of buildings in regions where local experience shows loss of life or damage to buildings resulting from tornadoes or floods.