The International Fire Code as now or hereinafter amended, is adopted as the official code of the city together with the following amendments. The most current addition adopted by the State of Idaho shall prevail.
One copy of the fire code shall be kept in both the Fire Chiefs and Fire Marshal’s office.
A. Department of fire prevention, Section 103.2 Appointments, International Fire Code
Delete the following language in Section 103.2 of the International Fire Code “... and the fire official shall not be removed from office except for cause and after full opportunity to be heard on specific and relevant charges by and before the appointing authority.”
B. General Authority and Responsibility, Section 104.1, International Fire Code.
Add the following second paragraph to Section 104.1, General, International Fire Code.
1. Fire Marshal’s Authority. The Fire Marshal is authorized to administer and enforce this code. Under the Fire Marshal’s direction, the fire department is authorized to enforce all ordinances of the jurisdiction pertaining to:
a) The prevention of fires.
b) The suppression or extinguishment of dangerous or hazardous fires.
c) The storage, use and handling of hazardous materials.
d) The installation and maintenance of automatic, manual, and other private fire alarm systems and fire-extinguishment equipment.
e) The maintenance and regulation of fire escapes.
f) The maintenance of fire protection and the elimination of fire hazards on land and in buildings, and other property, including those under construction.
g) The maintenance of means of egress; and
h) The investigation of cause, origin and circumstances of fire and unauthorized release of hazardous materials, for authority related to control and investigation of emergency scenes see Section 104.11.
C. Permits Requisite, Section 105.1.1, International Fire Code.
Delete “required permit” from the last sentence of Section 105.1.1 of the International Fire Code and add “a permit if required by the authority having jurisdiction.”
D. Violation Penalties, Section 110.4 International Fire Code.
In the first sentence of Section 109.4 of the international Fire Code, delete “[SPECIFY OFFENCE], punishable by a fine of not more than [AMOUNT] dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding [NUMBER OF DAYS], or both such fine and imprisonment” and add the word “misdemeanors”.
E. Section 202 International Fire Code.
1. Driveway. Add “Driveway. A vehicular ingress and egress route that services no more than four (4) single family dwellings, not including accessory structures.” Four would allow contractors to build two duplexes or a triplex using the less resistive fire access road requirements. I feel 5 could allow for fire access that is too long and could cause issues in gaining access to all the buildings.”
2. Fire Station. Add “Fire Station, A building, or portion of a building that provides, at a minimum, all weather protection for fire apparatus.
Temperature inside the building used for the purpose need to be maintained at or above thirty-two (32) degrees.”
F. CHAPTER 5 FIRE SERVICE FEATURES. Make the following changes within Chapter 5 of the International Fire Code
1. Section 501
a) To Section 501.3 after the phrase, Construction documents for proposed, add the word “driveways”.
501.3 Construction documents for the proposed fire apparatus access, including driveways, location of fire lanes, security gates across fire apparatus access roads and/or driveways and construction documents and hydraulic calculations for fire hydrant systems shall be submitted to the fire department for review and approval prior to construction.
b) To Section 501.4 Where fire apparatus access roads, add the words “and/or driveways.”
2. Section 502. Definitions
a) To section 502, add the following word “DRIVEWAY and the word Fire Station.”
3. Section 503
a. To section 503, add the following definition, “FIRE STATION, A building, or portion of a building that provides, at a minimum, all weather protection for fire apparatus. Temperatures inside the building used for this purpose must be maintained at above thirty-two (32) degrees Fahrenheit.”
b. To section 503 add the words, “AND DRIVEWAYS” to the section heading.
c. Section 503 Fire Apparatus Access Roads and Driveways.
i. To section 503.1.1 add the following sentence, “Driveways need to be provided and maintained in accordance with Sections 503.1.1 through 503.1.3.”
503.1.1 Buildings and Facilities. Approved fire apparatus access roads shall be provided for every facility, building or portion of a building within the jurisdiction. The fire apparatus access road shall comply with the requirements of this section and shall extend to within 150 feet of all portions of the facility and all portions of the exterior walls of the first story of the building as measured by an approved route around the exterior of the building or facility. Driveways need to be provided and maintained in accordance with Section 503.1.1 through 503.1.3.
d. Add the following section, “503.7 Driveways. Need be provided when any portion of an exterior wall of the first story of a building is located more than 150 feet (45720mm) from a fire apparatus access road. Driveways will provide a minimum unobstructed width of 20 feet (3658mm) and a minimum unobstructed height of 13 feet 6 inches (4115mm). Driveways in excess of 150 feet (45720mm) in length need to be provided with turnarounds. Driveways in excess of 200 feet (60960mm) in length and less than 20 feet (6096mm) in width may require turnouts in addition to turnarounds.”
e. Add the following section, “503.7.1 Limits. A driveway cannot serve in excess of four single family dwellings or a combination thereof.
a. Example two duplexes or a triplex and a single-family dwelling.
f. Add the following section, “503.7.2 Turnarounds. Driveway turnarounds need to have an inside turning radius of not less than 35 feet (9144mm) and an outside turning radius of not less than-50 feet (13716mm). Driveways that connect with an access road or roads at more than one point may be considered as having a turnaround if all changes of direction meet the radius requirements for driveway turnarounds.”
g. Add the following section, “503.7.3 Turnouts. Where line of sight along a driveway is obstructed by a man-made or natural feature, turnouts need to be located as may be needed by the fire code official to provide for safe passage of vehicles. Driveway turnouts will be of an all-weather road surface at least 12 feet (3048mm) wide and 40 feet (9144mm) long.”
h. ADDRESS NUMBERS
a. Buildings shall have approved address numbers, or approved building Identification placed in a position that is plainly legible, visible from the street or frontage road fronting the property and of a contrasting color, Light on Dark, or Dark on Light. (IFC 505.1).
b. Address size is based on distance from center of the street to the building: up to 50 ft. is 4 in., 51 to 100 ft. is 6 in., 101 to 150 ft. is 8 in., 151 to 200 ft. is 10 in. and greater than 200 ft. is 12 in.
c. If 12 in. letters are not visible from the street or frontage road an address sign shall also be installed at the entrance from the street or frontage road. The sign shall be white with 4" Black numbers.
d. In an effort to be consistent with other buildings being built in ‘the area, address numbers must be placed on the upper right side of the building that faces the street, or as agreed upon by the City of Twin Falls Fire Marshal.
e. 4" suite lettering (of a contrasting color) shall be placed at the top of the main entry door. Suite numbers shall start on the left (as you look at the store front) and increase as you move right.
f. A fully visible temporary address sign shall be posted on all construction sites and remain in place until the permanent address is in place.
g. Add the following section, “503.7.7 Security Gates. Where security gates are installed, they need to have an approved means of emergency operation. The security gates and emergency operation will be maintained operational at all times.”
h. Add the following section, “503.7.8 Surface. “Driveways need to be designed and maintained to support 75,000 pounds and will be surfaced to provide all weather driving capabilities.”
G. Reference to Appendix, International Fire Code.
1. When this code references the appendix, the provisions of the appendix shall not apply unless specifically incorporated by reference. The following appendixes of the International Fire Code are incorporated by reference:
a) Appendix B, Fire Flow Requirements for Buildings.
b) Appendix C, Hydrant Location and Distribution.
c) Appendix D, Fire Apparatus Access Roads.
I. To Section DI01.1 Scope, add the following sentence “Driveways as described in section 503.7 through 503.11 are not subject to the reequipments of this appendix.
II. To Section DI03.2 add the words and/or Driveways after the word road.
d) Appendix E, Hazard Categories.
e) Appendix F, Hazard Ranking.
f) Appendix G, Cryogenic Fluids Weight and Volume Equivalents.
g) Appendix I, Fire protection systems- Noncompliant conditions. (Ord. 2022-002, 3-7-2022)