California Lodging facililities Q & A for Fire Code Compliance

Q. Should my Hotel have a fire alarm system?

A.  The answer is Yes. If your property does not have a fire sprinkler system installed then you must have a full automatic/manual fire alarm system installed.

Q. My Motel is over 100 years old.  Isn’t it grand fathered in to the current  code requirements?

A.  The answer is No.  There is no longer any Grand Fathering in for existing buildings since the Code cycle change of 2007.  The new California Building Code & Fire Code was written with the intent to address existing buildings.  And so it is the only code in the state of California that is retro-active.

 Q. I only have 10 units in my Motel and I do not have a sprinkler system.  Am I still required to have a new fire alarm system installed?

A. The answer is No.  The magic number of units must exceed 20 for you to be required to retrofit a new fire alarm system in.

 Q. My apartment complex is single story building with 24 units and no fire sprinkler system.  I have been told that since it has a one hour fire wall between each unit and since each unit has a door outside to the courtyard that I did not need to have a fire alarm system installed.  Is this true?

A. The answer is Yes.  The CFC 907.3.1.5 specifies that all buildings that are less than two stories in height where all sleeping units, attics and crawl spaces are separated by a 1 hour fire-resistance-rated construction and each sleeping unit has direct access to a public way, exit court or yard, then these are EXEMPT.

 Q. The Fire Marshall in my town does not care about this law so I do not have to do it right?

A. The answer is, “Wrong”.  Just because the Fire Marshall is not policing it, does not mean it isn’t a law and not required.  It does take a little political action and if you as a property owner are on the forefront of this then you can not be liable.

HUE & CRY IS EXPERIENCED AND REASONABLY PRICED FOR ALL FIRE ALARM SERVICES NEEDED.  WE HAVE FIRE ALARM ENGINEERS AND DRAFTSMEN, AND ARE EXPERTS IN THE APPLICATION OF STATE FIRE ALARM CODES.  OUR INSTALLATION CREWS HAVE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN FIRE ALARM INSTALLATION, AND OUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT CAN HELP YOU KEEP YOUR SYSTEM COMPLIANT LONG AFTER THE INSTALLATION. 

CALL US AT (800) 762-3196 AND ASK FOR MIKE, MICHELE OR LORI AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO GET YOUR PROJECT STARTED FOR YOU WITH LOW DOWN PAYMENT ON OUR EASY TO LEASE PROGRAM.