The National Building Code (NBC) is a document designed to assemble construction requirements for generic buildings. It presents a writing style for requirements adapted to the construction of an “autonomous” building in which all safety features are present.
The way in which the NBC is written should not be seen as a prohibiting of the sharing of fire safety or mechanical equipment. Such elements can be:
- a boiler,
- a fire pump,
- a generator set,
- a fire alarm,
- HVAC control,
- electricity (substation).
Buildings are often part of a building complex, where sharing some equipment is advisable for optimising performance or available resources. In such a case, the management style is called “campus”.
These “campuses” thus form clusters of buildings that share services. For most NBC subject, the existence of a “campus” is not influenced by property lines. Shared services are possible even if buildings are located on different properties. In such cases, shared responsibility must be provided for.
The following are examples of services shared between buildings that are part of a “campus”:
- hot water (or steam) from a central boiler room,
- mixed water from a water tower,
- chilled water from centralized cooling compressors,
- emergency power supply,
- fire protection water (e.g., water tower or fire pump),
- compressed gases,
- fuel (e.g., diesel).
In Montreal, the CCUM “Climatisation et chauffage urbain de Montréal” is probably the most explicit example of this design strategy. In Toronto, the equivalent exists for cold water from Lake Ontario. Several universities, hospitals, penal institutions, airports and industrial facilities are opting for the “campus” approach to optimize resources and equipment.
Fire pumps are fire safety equipment frequently shared between buildings on a campus. When it happens, the information and the fire safety plan must reflect this particular condition. In the event of an intervention, firefighters must be able to quickly figure out that the pump is located elsewhere on the site. Information of this importance should always be shared with the fire department, especially when the campus-style configuration results in a non-typical intervention (e.g., location of fire connections, location of water tower valves, etc.).
However, some codes or standards regulate or prohibit the sharing of services. For example, the CSA-C282-09 Standard for Emergency Electrical Supply for Buildings sets out two (2) conditions for a generator set to be used to supply power to several buildings, namely:
- the buildings are owned by the same owner,
- all buildings have adequate generator capacity at the same time.
Other examples include the National Plumbing Code (NPC). This code specifies that buildings on different properties cannot share a water or sewer connection. Under this code, sharing a water service is still permitted on the same property.
Source: National Plumbing Code – Canada 2015, figure A-2.1.2.4.1)
A Note of Caution
Designers bear the responsibility to be very careful when designing groups of “campus” buildings. Although shared services may exist, it is important to understand its constraints and limitations.
Many design reflexes can be influenced by this “campus” reality. Certain rules will apply beyond the connected buildings. For example, the electrical conductors of circuits between buildings on a “campus” cannot carry LSS (life safety systems) and non-LSS loads. Each building with LSS loads that require a common emergency power supply must have its own transfer switch(es). It must also be electrically connected to the “campus” by means of a normal power supply and an emergency power feeder to provide the prescribed segregation.
Sharing services requires a proper allocation of responsibilities between the parties involved. When there is more than one owner, measures (e.g., contracts, easements, etc.) should be in place to ensure the longevity of the buildings in the event of a property being sold. When buildings share equipment, such as fire safety equipment, there should be binding contracts and clear rules assigning responsibility for testing and maintenance of equipment.
Under the Building Act, the owner of a building remains solely responsible for the compliance of a building. They must therefore be tooled up to ensure that the compliance of his building is monitored, even for equipment located off their property.
Questions on the subject? Contact the author of the article!
By Frédéric Lévesque, P. Eng., Head of expertise, Codes and standards – Fire safety team
