Fire and Life-Safety Group (FLS)

Fireplace Use and Re-commission: Code Requirements and Procedures

INTRODUCTION:

Fire Codes, Building Codes, and the University of Colorado 's Fire- and Life-Safety Group (FLS) are aimed at providing fire safety and prevention guidelines in order to minimize risks to safety and life. This code review outlines important code requirements and procedures for re-commission and use of fireplaces on campus. Please note that this review is limited to fire safety and fire prevention issues with respect to fireplaces and solid fuel-burning appliances and measures that need to be implemented to alleviate hazardous conditions.

APPLICABILITY AND COURSE OF ACTION:

Fireplaces are governed by NFPA-211 the Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances. The following code requirements come from the 2006 edition of NFPA-211.

Fireplaces must meet the requirements of the following sections and chapters of NFPA-211; as such, any fireplaces on campus must meet these requirements in order for them to be used. NFPA-211 is intended to reflect a consensus of what is necessary to provide an acceptable degree of protection from the hazards addressed in NFPA-211 at the time it was issued.

As such, all re-commissioning and subsequent use of fireplaces on the CU-Boulder Campus need to comply with the following sections of NFPA-211. In order to verify and ensure that all fireplaces meet these requirements, a written request and any necessary information needs to be sent to the Campus Fire Marshal. At that time, we will conduct a code review and inform the requestor of our findings including requirements, recommendations and remedial actions which will need to be implemented prior to re-commission and use of any campus fireplace and/or solid fuel burning appliances.

CODE REQUIREMENTS:

Chapter 4 addresses general requirements for solid fuel-burning appliances including, but not limited to sizing and draft, enclosure, flue lining.

Chapter 5 addresses the selection of Chimney and Vent types.

Chapter 6 addresses Factory Built Chimneys including type and installation, use and appropriate sizing.

Chapter 7 addresses Masonry Chimneys including general requirements for masonry chimneys, chimney construction and clearance from combustible materials.

Chapter 8 addresses Unlisted Metal Chimneys for Non-Residential Applications.

Chapter 9 addresses requirements for Chimney Connectors and Vent Connectors including materials, location, clearance, interconnection and dampers.

Chapter 10 addresses requirements for Vent location, types and use, size, notice of usage and installation.

Chapter 11 Addresses Fire Places.

             11.1 Addresses Factory Built Fireplaces and the requirements of                       such appliances.

             11.2 Addresses Masonry Fireplaces.

             11. 3 Addresses hearth extensions.

             11.4 Addresses Accessories.

             11.5 Addresses combustion Air Ducts

Chapter 13 addresses Maintenance of solid fuel-fired appliances.

Chapter 14 addresses Inspections of Existing Chimneys.

FPfile: fireplaces.doc