Improving Your Construction Document Review Process

Most of our country's large loss of life fires has one or more common elements of egress deficiencies, non-compliant interior finishes, and lack of automatic fire extinguishing systems. Fire departments continually try to prevent these tragedies from re-occurring through the establishment of a fire prevention program. One of the most significant elements of a comprehensive fire prevention program is the fire department's participation in the construction document review process. (Even small volunteer fire departments must participate in this process.) This task enables fire prevention bureaus to directly reduce the likelihood of fire deaths because of improper construction, inadequate exits or poorly designed suppression systems.

The construction document review process is one of the few times we will always have the ability to fight the fire before it starts by ensuring fire fighters will have the essential tools to fight a fire before they even arrive at the scene. We can only provide an available water supply (hydrants etc.), emergency vehicle and fire fighter access, and the building suppression system one time. This one time occurs when the building is constructed or significantly renovated that requires review by the local fire department. The fire protection decisions made during construction will impact the fire department's ability to mitigate an emergency in a building for the life of the building. This is our only opportunity to ensure the construction features do not contribute to the spread of fire or create unsafe conditions for fire fighters. It is also here where we make certain the building's fire suppression systems are adequate for the hazard it protects.

What sounds as a simple mundane task to undertake and accomplish is not as easy as what it appears. The construction document review process can become very political which may equate to the creation of added pressure on all parties involved. A philosophy of being fair, accurate and consistent will help to avoid accusations of selective enforcement and favoritisms but will not alleviate potential conflicts. Challenges frequently arise when developers are unaccustomed to a having the fire department actively involved in the construction document review process. Most fire departments and municipalities modify the nationally recognized model codes and create local amendments. Many times developers become frustrated because of the variety of codes they have to understand combined with a difficult construction document review process. In past articles we have discussed the need to have the best person possible for the job. The person responsible for construction document review has become one of the most technical jobs in the fire department and has continually evolved into a job with complex duties. Fire departments have begun to fulfill this need with very well trained and educated personnel. On many occasions developers are not accustom to dealing with such a well trained individual in the fire department. What has been overlooked in the past by many fire departments is now being brought to the developer's attention because of the increased training of fire department personnel responsible for construction document review. In addition, many times developers encounter inconsistencies with code interpretations from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This within itself can cause frustration and animosity between the construction document reviewer and the developer. Once one or both parties are frustrated and become adversarial, it is difficult to achieve the desired level of effective fire prevention services.