New Fire Safety Guidelines for Wood Frame Buildings

On Tuesday, September 23, 2014, Ontario Regulation 191/14 was filed to amend the 2012 Building Code, Ontario Regulation 332/12.

These amendments increase the permitted height of certain wood frame buildings from four to six storeys, and will take effect on January 1, 2015.

Under the new Building Code provisions, residential ("Group C") and office buildings ("Group D") can be constructed using wood-frame construction up to six storeys.

These buildings may include other "mixed use" occupancies below the third floor, specifically, "Group A-2" and "Group E" uses such as restaurants and grocery stores, as well as parking garages.

To ensure that they meet Ontario’s high safety standards, these buildings will feature several additional safety provisions not currently required in four storey wood buildings, including:

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is working with the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, responsible for the Office of the Fire Marshall, to develop guidelines for site fire safety during construction of five and six storey wood buildings.