D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 12, r. 12-H1101
Strike Section 1101.2 of the International Fire Code in its entirety and insert a new Section 1101.2 into the Fire Code in its place to read as follows:
Intent. The intent of this chapter is to provide a minimum degree of fire and life safety to persons occupying existing buildings by providing minimum construction requirements where such existing buildings do not comply with the minimum requirements of the Building Code. Existing buildings shall come into compliance with the requirements of Chapter 11, and shall comply with the requirements of the Building Code that applied at the time of construction and any other D.C. laws or regulations which apply to existing buildings, including, but not limited to, provisions of theProperty Maintenance Code. If a conflict arises between Chapter 11 of the Fire Code and the Building Code that applied at the time of construction the more stringent requirement shall be applicable. Any alterations, additions, or changes in use or occupancy of an existing building shall comply with the Building Code or Existing Building Code as applicable.
Transition Period. Where an existing building is required to come into compliance with the requirements of Chapter 11 and the work requires a permit from DCRA, the owner of the existing building shall have a period of 24 months from the date of adoption of the Fire Code to complete and submit to DCRA a permit application and construction documentsin accordance with Sections 105 and 106 of the Building Code, as necessary to comply with this chapter. Failure to submit a complete permit application within the 24-month period required by this section shall be a violation of the Fire Code. Extension of the submission deadline shall be requested in writing to the fire code official and reasonable extensions shall be granted upon good cause shown.
Strike Section 1101.3 of the International Fire Code in its entirety and insert a new Section
into the Fire Code in its place to read as follows:
Owner notification.When a building is found to be in noncompliance with this chapter, the fire code official, in consultation with the building code official,is authorized to issue a notice or order to the owner of the building, in accordance with Sections 109.2.1 and 109.2.2, to require the owner to bring the building into compliance with the requirements of Chapter 11. Such notice or order shall specify a time schedule for (a) submission to DCRA of a permit application and construction documentsin accordance with Sections 105 and 106 of the Building Code, as necessary to authorize the work required to comply with this chapter; and (b) completion of the work necessary to comply with this chapter. Upon receipt of such notice or order, the owner shall, subject to the stated time limits, take necessary actions to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
Authority to require life safety evaluation. When the fire code official, in consultation with the building code official, deems that an existing or newly presented condition in an existing building has reduced compliance with the minimum degree of fire and life safety required by this chapter, the fire code official is authorized to require that a life safety evaluation of that condition be prepared by the owner, consistent with the requirements of Section 104.8, provided that such an evaluation is not a prerequisite to the owner notification authorized by Section 1101.4. The life safety evaluation shall identify any changes that are necessary to address the condition and restore compliance with the required minimum degree of fire and life safety. The building shall be modified by the owner to comply with the recommendations set forth in the approved evaluation; provided, that the modifications required shall not exceed the minimum requirements of the Existing Building Code.
Extension of time.The fire code official in coordination with the building code official is authorized to grant necessary extensions of time for compliance with the time schedule specified in a notice or order pursuant to Section 1101.3 when it can be shown that the specified time periods are not physically practical or pose an undue hardship. The granting of an extension of time for compliance shall be based on the showing of good cause and subject to the filing of an acceptable systematic plan of correction with the fire code official.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 12, r. 12-H1101