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(a) Where Required. In any apartment house or hotel, any compartment or room in the basement containing more than 1,800 square feet of floor area, or any compartment or room in such a building used for storing or using combustible or flammable materials, shall be equipped with an automatic sprinkler system of a type designed and installed according to the provisions of Chapter 9
of the Building Code. Automatic sprinkler systems designed and installed according to the provisions of Chapter 9 of the Building Code shall be furnished and installed in all hotels as required by this Code.
EXCEPTIONS:
(1) Any automatic sprinkler system required by this Section to be installed in an existing hotel pursuant to this Code shall not be required to have an on-site water supply.
(2) Any automatic sprinkler system required by this Section to be installed in an existing hotel pursuant to this Code may utilize existing standpipes as approved by the Director and the Fire Marshal.
(3) Any automatic sprinkler system required by this Section to be installed in a maid's closet, or similar area, or a floor containing guest rooms in a hotel shall meet the following criteria: (a) Such system may be connected to a domestic water system, regardless of the number of maids closets, or similar areas, in the hotel, as long as there is a minimum pressure of 15 p.s.i. at each sprinkler head; (b) only one sprinkler head need be installed in each such maid's closet, or similar area; and (c) no such system need be connected to the building's sprinkler alarm system.
(4) Any automatic sprinkler system required by this Section to be installed in an existing hotel pursuant to this Code (a) shall, in the event that such existing hotel is already equipped with a supervised automatic sprinkler system, be connected to such existing other system for purposes of supervision only, or (b) shall, in the event that such existing hotel is not already equipped with a supervised automatic sprinkler system, be connected to a local alarm located at the front desk or other approved location.
(b) Domestic Water System. The sprinkler system in an area having less than 1,800 square feet may be connected to a domestic water system if the water supply and pressure conform to the provisions of Chapter 9 of the Building Code.
(c) Exceptions.
(1) Boiler rooms, central heating rooms and bank vaults are excluded from this chapter.
(2) Compartments or rooms in the basement of apartment houses containing four or less dwelling units, provided that there are no mattresses, upholstered furniture, or loose storage contained therein, are excluded from this chapter.
(d) In existing Group R, Division 1 and 2 Occupancies with enclosed stairways in which an approved partial automatic sprinkler system is to be installed to satisfy the requirements of the Housing Code, the design of the system shall be based on all the following additional design criteria:
(1) The computations shall be based upon the most remote locations of sprinkler heads.
(2) The sprinkler water service size and riser size shall be determined by adding the total number of sprinkler heads on the floor requiring the greatest number of heads, plus one-half of the total number on the floor with the same or next greatest number of heads, plus the total number of all heads in all open stairwells.
(3) The maximum water supply required will be that necessary to supply 13 sprinkler heads.
(4) There shall be a minimum pressure of 15 p.s.i. at each sprinkler head and delivery shall be a minimum of 22 g.p.m. from each head.
(5) Piping and spacing of sprinkler heads shall be based on ordinary Hazard Schedule of NFPA 13, in accordance with the Building Code.
(e) Residential Hotels.
(1) An automatic sprinkler system, designed in accordance with NFPA 13 (1999 Edition), shall be installed throughout the residential occupancy of every Residential Hotel building existing on October 16, 2001, and which contains 20 or more guest rooms, as defined in the California Building Code. “Residential Hotel” for purposes of this subsection shall mean each and every hotel for which a certificate of use for any residential units has been issued pursuant to Administrative Code . The design criteria for the installation of the sprinkler system shall be approved by the San Francisco Fire Department and shall comply with NFPA 13 (1999 Edition). Those buildings that have installed a sprinkler system prior to August 20, 2001, that complies with a previous NFPA standard shall be exempt from this subsection. Where a partial sprinkler system has been previously installed in a building subject to this Section 904, the design criteria for such existing sprinkler system, or any new system, may be approved or modified by the Chief of the San Francisco Fire Department or his/her authorized representative. Property owners who are subject to the requirements of this subsection shall be prohibited from relocating tenants for the sole purpose of complying with this subsection. Residential Hotels subject to this subsection must submit a building permit application and plans to the Department of Building Inspection and the Fire Department by September 1, 2002, and complete the fire sprinkler installation as required within subsections (a) and (b) by December 31, 2002. All buildings governed by this subsection which fail to comply with the September 1, 2002, filing deadline shall remain regulated by the original sprinkler installation deadline of June 30, 2002, and subject to immediate code enforcement action. (2) In addition to compliance with the requirements of subsection (e)(1), Residential Hotels sold or transferred after August 1, 2017, shall have an automatic sprinkler system designed in accordance with NFPA 13 (2016 edition) throughout the building, including non-residential areas, within one year of sale or transfer.
(A) Owners of Residential Hotels subject to this subsection shall:
(i) Submit a building permit application and plans to the Department of Building Inspection and Fire Department within one year of sale or transfer; and
(ii) Ten days prior to submitting building permit application, provide written notice to any tenants of the non-residential areas subject to the upgrade requirement of the tenant’s right to apply to the Department of Building Inspection for a deferment of the upgrade requirement; and
(iii) Be prohibited from relocating tenants for the sole purpose of complying with this subsection.
(B) Tenants of non-residential areas impacted by the upgrade requirement may apply to the Department of Building Inspection for a deferment of the upgrade requirement if:
(i) they have a written lease that was in effect as of the effective date of the ordinance; and
(ii) the lease explicitly requires that the tenant pay for the costs of building upgrades or updates.
(C) Any deferment of the upgrade requirement will be limited to the area subject to the applying tenant’s lease and shall expire upon the expiration of that tenant’s lease.
(Added by Order 399-89, App. 11/6/89; amended by Ord. 161-92, App. 6/4/92; Ord. 170-02, App. 7/22/2002 (effective retroactive to 6/30/2002); Ord. 256-07, App. 11/6/2007; Ord. 239-17, File No. 170871, App. 12/15/2017, Eff. 1/14/2018)