Strobe requirments for "meeting area" (hospital)

[hansolo612]

Hello, I am currently trying to final a 520,000 sq ft hospital building with the fire marshal (in Santa Clara, California). She is now telling me that in 50 different locations in the building (all designated "nurse stations") we must add a strobe. She says she is having trouble seeing "reflective light", but that is a debatable issue. The real issue is that she says that the areas require a new strobe because they fall under a code section that states that they are a "meeting" or "conference" type area because they will have more than 5 people seated there working. She says that under that code, it states that such areas must have their own signaling device. There will be 6 work areas and chairs in the area. My subcontractor who designed the system is a little slow here getting back to me rgd the code section she is speaking of (and I am not having much luck finding it on my own). My sub says that the rule she is speaking of actually applies to 10 chairs (people) and not 6.

Any ideas where in NFPA 72 there is ANYTHING about this issue ??

Anyway, if I cannot find anything on this I will probably have to bow down to the AHJ like always and install the new devices. (new load calcs, etc... arrgghh !!).

Help !

 

[rbulsara]

I am afraid she is right. Its in the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) a federal law.

For such a large hosptial, this is not a issue worth arguing with AHJ at any rate.

 

[hansolo612]

Can you tell me where in the Americans with Disabilities Act this is ?

I need a code section for reference.


Thanks

 

[rbulsara]

Refer to the section which says "Alarms". I recommend you read the whole document. Get a copy of ADAAG (ADA accessibility guide) Also available on web.

 

[SB63]

I have read section 4.28 Alarms and have not found a specific requirement for the amount of people to be considered a conference area. Is the head count a California requirement?

 

[hbendillo]

I do a lot of hospital work and most of the nurses stations with which I deal are open to the corridor and are almost part of the corridor system. If these nurses stations are separate enclosed rooms then I would say yes to showing strobes there. If they are like the classic nurses stations open to the corridor then there may be strobes in the vicinity that will meet the requirements if you increase the candela rating. I haven't read in the code where there is a certain seat requirement for a given type room. You also need strobes in conference rooms, locker rooms and similar locations.