5. REQUIRED
SUPERVISION - LARGE SCALE CONSTRUCTION SITES Surveillance nécessaire sur les chantiers de grande envergure |
Committee Recommendation
That Council
request the province to amend the Building Code and/or Fire Code to require
supervision of large scale construction sites (> 7 units) when wood framed
buildings have been constructed, but not yet sided on the interior or exterior
with gypsum board material.
Recommandation DU Comité
Que le Conseil demande à la province
de modifier le Code du bâtiment et / ou au Code des incendies pour exiger une
supervision des grands chantiers de construction échelle (> 7 unités) quand
à ossature de bois ont été construits, mais pas encore sur le côté intérieur ou
extérieur avec des matériaux de gypse.
Documentation
1. Committee Coordinator’s report dated 9
September 2010 (ACS2010-CCS-CPS-0030).
Report to /
Rapport au :
Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires et de protection
9 September 2010/le 9 septembre 2010
Coordonnateur de comité
Contact Person / Personne ressource :
Councillor Peggy Feltmate (613) 580-2752 Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca
City-Wide/ À l'échelle de la ville |
|
Ref N°: ACS2010-CCS-CPS-0030 |
SUBJECT: REQUIRED SUPERVISION – LARGE SCALE
CONSTRUCTION SITES
OBJET : Surveillance nécessaire sur les chantiers de
grande envergure
That the Community and
Protective Services Committee recommend that Council request the province to
amend the Building Code and/or Fire Code to require supervision of large scale
construction sites (> 7 units) when wood framed buildings have been
constructed, but not yet sided on the interior or exterior with gypsum board
material.
Que le Comité des services communautaires et de
protection recommande que le Conseil demande à la province de modifier le Code
du bâtiment et / ou au Code des incendies pour exiger une supervision des grands
chantiers de construction échelle (> 7 unités) quand à ossature de bois ont
été construits, mais pas encore sur le côté intérieur ou extérieur avec des
matériaux de gypse.
At its meeting of 19 August 2010 the following Notice of Motion was presented to the Community and Protective Services Committee with regards to requesting that the Province amend the Building Code and/or Fire Code requiring that large scale construction sites have 24 hour supervision.
“WHEREAS The Ottawa Fire Services has found that the
majority of fires investigated on construction sites have occurred when the
site is unoccupied;
AND WHEREAS the highest level of fire risk and
damage at construction sites occurs at larger scale projects when wood framed
buildings are being constructed without the protective coverings that deter the
spread of fire within the structure and prevent the fire from spreading to
adjacent buildings;
AND WHEREAS having a security firm supervise the
premises when there are no workers present would greatly reduce the risk of
fire at these sites;
AND WHEREAS there are currently no legislative
requirement in the Building Code and/or Fire Code to require supervision of
construction sites during construction.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council request the
province to amend the Building Code and/or Fire Code to require supervision of
large scale construction sites (> 7 units) when wood framed buildings have
been constructed, but not yet sided on the interior or exterior with gypsum
board material.”
CONSULTATION
The Ottawa Fire Service (OFS) shares the concern of the councillor regarding fires at new construction sites.
Construction sites generate interest from the general public and are targets for vandalism. When workers are on site there are often protocols in place to mitigate fire risk, such as a fire watches and hot work permits etc.
The majority of fires that the OFS has investigated on construction sites occur from deliberately set fires when the site is unoccupied. Due to the large amount of materials stored on site and the nature of vulnerable unprotected structures, a fire, once started, will quickly build into a large scale incident generating significant levels of heat and posing a threat to adjacent structures and communities.
There are minimal fire safety standards that have been incorporated into the Ontario Building Code (OBC) for new construction and as the Ontario Fire Code (OFC) complements the OBC it cannot supersede the minimum standards that the OBC requires. Additionally, by-laws cannot be enacted by Council which supersede provincial legislation.
Construction sites can be a large target for vandalism, which we believe is the largest factor and fire risk with these sites. Having construction workers monitor the site during the day and having a security service guard the premises when there are no workers present and building are in their vulnerable stage, will eliminate the greatest risk to fire at these sites.
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
As the Building Code standard is a minimum standard and as there are concerns with fire protection and prevention prior to the exposing walls obtaining the fire resistance of a completed exposing wall, and in view of the potential higher incidences of vandalism resulting in fires, Building Code Services supports the proposal to raise the standard as noted in the Recommendation.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There are no direct
financial implications associated with the recommendation.
Staff to take appropriate
action as directed by Committee and Council.