Protecting a Changing NIH
The following fire safety awareness article was prepared by the Division of the Fire Marshal, ORS.
Buildings are designed to serve specific needs of the occupants. At the NIH, those needs mostly include health care, laboratories, offices, storage, and assembly spaces of various sizes.
Each of these occupancy types have unique requirements for fire alarm and fire suppression systems, as well as safe and efficient egress.
When the way a space is utilized changes from how it was designed, it may increase risk for the building occupants if the fire and life safety systems do not change with it.
It is important to remember that a change in use can occur without a construction project. Simply changing furniture and equipment within a room, or stockpiling materials could change the use of a room.
Common changes of use at the NIH include:
- Health Care ↔ Storage
- Closet ↔ IT Room
- Office ↔ Laboratory
- Office ↔ Conference Room
When there is a change of use, there is usually a change in the number of people within that space. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that the appropriate number of exits, travel distance to those exits, and door modifications are made to ensure people can exit the building safely and efficiently in the event of an emergency.
