| Abstract | This report has been commissioned as part of an internal National Research Council of Canada (NRC) research project that is part of the Construction Sector Digitalization and Productivity Challenge program. This report reviewed and documented the historical changes within Division B, Part 3 and Part 9 in the 2020 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC). The area of focus within Division B was Articles 3.2.3.3 to 3.2.3.22 in Part 3, and Article 9.10.15.5 in Part 9, as these provisions are largely related to exposure protection from the horizontal spread of fire from one building to another.
To support this work, meeting minutes from the Standing Committee on Fire Protection meetings between 1985 and 2015 were reviewed.
Each provision was reviewed and the chronology of changes was documented. Where possible:
▪ code changes were substantiated based on various code committee meeting minutes,
▪ details were extracted to identify reasoning and rationale for a specific code change, and
▪ salient performance criteria were noted from test reports, and/or research papers to substantiate the level of performance of a given requirement.
Even though the requirements for exposure protection are provided with specific levels of performance that need to be met, such as a specific fire resistance rating or prescribed physical separation distance between a building and a property line. The historical review process found that overall performance criteria attributed to the provisions of Articles 3.2.3.3 to 3.2.3.22 in Parts 3 and provisions of Article 9.10.15.5 in Part 9 of Division B, were more often keyed to significant discussion as a committee, than specific scientific data. Thus,
As such, this report also aimed to identify gaps and/or areas of study. Each aforementioned code provision is provided with a specific section to highlight gaps and/or areas for further study. These areas of study and gaps are aimed at providing clarity and rationale for a specific set of prescribed requirements.
Thus, this report provides a detailed review of the current requirements for exposure protection in the NBCC and offers insights into areas where the defined level of performance can be substantiated. |
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