Codes Globe National Research Council Canada / Government of Canada
Français Contact Us Help Search Canada Site
Home Calendar Order Links Institute for Research in Construction National Research Council Canada
Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes
National Building Code of Canada
National Fire Code of Canada
National Plumbing Code of Canada
Model National Energy Code of Canada for Houses
Model National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings
National Farm Building Code of Canada
Proposed Changes
Guidelines
Instructions
FAQ
Home > 2009 Special Public Review >More About


More About the Special Spring 2009 Public Review

The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) is conducting a focused public review this spring to deal with a single subject – the relocation of building design requirements from the 2005 National Fire Code of Canada (NFC) to the 2005 National Building Code of Canada (NBC) – and the addition of appropriate cross-referencing between the two documents. The commission’s approach in proposing these changes is that the NBC is a design document for new buildings and major alterations to existing buildings, while the NFC should be a fire safety document for ongoing operation of buildings as well as maintenance of fire safety systems and equipment in existing buildings. The proposed changes were developed by the CCBFC in consultation with the Provincial Territorial Policy Advisory Committee on Codes (PTPACC).

This relocation exercise is aimed at drawing a clear line between the roles of the NFC and the NBC. All requirements that are proposed for incorporation in the NBC are currently located in the NFC; no new technical changes are being proposed.

Background

In 1996, the CCBFC established a task group to examine the NFC and recommend changes to ensure clarity and responsiveness to user needs in the context of the move to objective-based codes. Their recommendation to draw a clear line between the roles of the NFC and the NBC was accepted by the CCBFC, who then set up the Task Group on Relocating Requirements and Cross-Referencing in the NFC and NBC to carry it out.

The task group submitted a report, along with recommendations, to the Hazardous Materials and Activities (HMA) Standing Committee on completing their work. The recommendations identified which requirements should be relocated from the NBC to the NFC or from the NFC to the NBC, where they should be located in the two documents, and the cross-references that should be included. Following HMA Standing Committee approval, the revised report and recommendations were submitted to the CCBFC in 2000 and circulated to key stakeholders, including provincial and territorial building and fire officials.

Although the CCBFC agreed with the recommendations, it concurred with some stakeholders that it would not be in the code community’s best interest to introduce these changes at the same time as introducing the objective-based format for the 2005 Codes. The bulk of these recommendations were therefore deferred to the next Code cycle. The CCBFC agreed, however, to incorporate the following recommendations in the 2005 Codes:

  • Move to the NFC the requirements for fire safety at construction/demolition sites that were in Part 8 of the 1995 NBC
  • Introduce cross-references in the NBC to reinforce its relationship with the NFC at the design stage of hazardous material processes and operations.

Proposed changes

In this cycle, several proposed changes call for the transfer of building design requirements from the NFC to the NBC. These proposed changes can be summarized as follows:
  • Move “building design” requirements presently located in the NFC to the NBC, with the exception of spill control measures that should be retained in the NFC
  • Introduce cross-references in the NFC to the NBC to maintain their applicability to existing buildings for the “building design” requirements that are relocated to the NBC, and
  • Create new sections in the NBC to accommodate requirements from the NFC that cannot be incorporated in the existing NBC structure.

By cross-referencing the NBC in the NFC it is not the CCBFC’s intention to require conformity of existing buildings and facilities to the most recent NBC standards. As clarified in Appendix Note A-2.1.3.1.(1) of the NFC 2005, decisions on the retrospective application of NFC and NBC design and installation requirements to existing buildings and facilities is an administrative issue and the responsibility of the authority having jurisdiction.

The requirements proposed for relocation may appear to be new to NBC users. In fact, they already exist in the NFC 2005 and it is the CCBFC’s intention that they be used in combination with NBC requirements at the design stage. In this relocation exercise the only proposed modifications to these requirements are editorial in nature. No new technical changes are being proposed.

Some NFC requirements were not included in this exercise because the Standing Committees felt that they require technical development before being relocated to the NBC (e.g. those that relate to some elements of building fire protection, sprinkler protection for tire storage, and ventilation). These may be considered for future proposed changes during the next Code cycle.

Next steps

All comments during this current special review will be reviewed by the relevant CCBFC standing committees. The standing committees will then either withdraw the proposed change, recommend that it be reviewed further for future consideration as a proposed change, or recommend that it be approved by the CCBFC, with or without modification. Those that are approved by the CCBFC will be published in the 2010 edition of the NBC and NFC.


Get Acrobat Reader
Published: 2009-04-02 Important Notices