Builders Packet
To whom it may concern:
The South Metropolitan Fire Protection District would like to welcome you to the Raymore and Lake Winnebago areas of Cass County, Missouri. We hope that your business or residential project is a success and an enjoyable experience. We are a complete separate agency from the cities of Raymore, Lake Winnebago, or Cass County Government. We provide a full range of Fire, EMS, Investigation, and Prevention services. The Fire District is authorized under Missouri State Statues (RSMO) 321.
Our coverage area is roughly from County Line Road on the North to 203rd Street on the South and from 1⁄4 mile East of 291 Highway on the East to the East side of Mullen Road from 187th to 203rd Street on the West. We presently have 2 stations with a 3rd being planned. Our ISO is a Class 4 within 5 road miles of a Fire Station and 1000 feet from a Fire hydrant and if not within these areas it is an ISO class 9.
The Fire Marshals Office which conducts both residential and commercial inspections on all property within the Fire District. We are currently enforcing the 2012 edition of the International Fire code and reference is made to other Codes in the International code series. We also have adopted by Ordinance the NFPA Life Safety Code 101. Please review the below listed process before seeking a permit from the Fire District. It shall be the applicant’s responsibility to see that this letter gets passed onto the Job superintendent.
It is highly recommended that a Pre-Job meeting be held between the contractor and a representative of the Fire Marshal’s office before construction begins.
Fire apparatus Access Roads as per IFC 503 All construction projects must have adequate Fire access roads as approved by the Fire Marshal’s office to support the weight of Fire Apparatus during the construction phase of the building project. Failure to adequately maintain the Fire access roads may result in the project being shut down by the Fire Marshal.
Address must be posted throughout job project. *** Is 1500 GPM fire flow available? *** On site Fire extinguishers are required and must have a current service tag.
No Carpet, or permanent items/shelves/furniture can be stored on premise until sprinklers are functional and passed their acceptance testing
Fire Plan Process and Items To Be Checked By the Fire Marshals Office.
1. Submit your plans along with the Fire District application for approval from the Fire Marshals office before any construction can take place. Commercial projects must be stamped by an Engineer and or an Architect before a Plan Review will take place. No exceptions will be allowed. Plan review time is usually 5-10 working days. It is suggested that a pre-plan submittal meeting occur with the Fire Marshals office. This meeting generally will last about 30 minutes to 1 hour and may save time during the Fire Marshals office Plan Review Process. This review process may have been covered in the city of Raymore’s DRC committee meeting if you attended a Raymore DRC meeting.
Items that may be covered if applicable are listed below. You will be asked to explain the proposed project with emphasis being placed on the below listed items.
a. Above or below ground storage tanks.
b. Emergency lighting.
c. Exiting requirements in commercial type occupancies. d. Fire lanes if applicable.
e. Fire sprinkler/hood, and or detection systems.
f. Hazardous material storage or usage.
g. Occupancy load calculations.
h. Fire Flow requirements.
i. Other information that may pertain to this particular type of occupancy.
j. Fire District inspections and or process.
k. Emergency apparatus access.
l. Emergency exits
m. Warming devices for kitchens may need a Hood System. (Commercial Only) No exceptions.
2. The following is a list of permit fee’s that are applicable within the Fire District.
a. A minimum of $100.00 plan review fee will apply for all construction projects in addition to the Permit fee of four dollar per thousand dollars of construction costs. Example ($100.00 Plan review fee + a permit fee $4.00/$1000.00 of construction costs)
b. A permit fee of $4.00 per $1000.00 of construction cost will apply for all commercial construction and multi-family of 3 or more residential units to include apartment, condo type units.
c. Fireworks fee for seasonal retail sales and or fireworks display permit will be $100.00. Seasonal retail and display will both require a Fire District inspection.
d. Tank placement and or removal will consist of a Plan review fee of $100.00 and an additional fee of $100.00 for the permit per tank.
e. Fire losses that have damage of 50% or more will result in a new permit fee cost structure being applied. It shall be treated as a new structure.
f. Commercial permit fee extension of over a year from the initial issue date will be assessed a fee of $100.00.
g. Fire District inspection for commercial construction outside of normal business hours will be at a rate of a minimum of 2 hours at $75.00 per hour. After the two hour minimum a rate of $75.00 per hour will apply.
h. Range hood suppression system that are added to existing commercial construction or upgraded will have a cost of $200.00. This will cover the Plan review and testing of the new installed system.
i. Governmental agencies as defined under RSMO shall be exempt from any permit fee’s being applied.
j. Other fee’s may apply for different types of projects such as remodel projects and other projects. Check with the Fire Marshal’s office for what other applicable fees may apply if any.
k. These fees are separate from other Government agencies may charge.
3. Fire Flows will be evaluated for each project that is submitted for approval. Adequate Fire Flow must be available or a sprinkler system may be required. Fire Flows are based on the IFC 2003 Appendixes. Fire flows must be verified before any occupancy will be allowed. The minimum fire flow for commercial Projects are 1500gpm. Residential construction fire flow is 1000gpm.
4. No burning is allowed with out a DNR-Fire District Burn permit. No open burning is allowed with in the city limits of Raymore and Lake Winnebago except for warming barrels and then certain regulations apply. Warming barrels are allowed in the city of Raymore only. Warming barrels can only be used up until the outside temperature reached 40F.
5. Beginning construction without a Fire District permit and or the required inspections can result in fines of up to $3000.00 and the permit fee may be doubled.
6. The Fire District will conduct a Rough-in and a Final inspection on all projects. Please allow 2 day advance notice on these required inspections. Other inspections may be performed based on the type of occupancy and the systems that are required by the IFC. Rough-in is defined as an inspection before the insulation and sheet rock are hung. Failure to call for this can result in a $1500.00 fine.
7. The Fire District must issue a “FINAL” or this is also known as a Certificate of Occupancy (COO) on all Commercial projects before a business can be open to the public.
8. Fire District Access and Turn radiuses: Please incorporate the below listed turning radiuses into your commercial drawings and or subdivision plans.
These are included below:
Turn Radius 40.7’ Curb clearance 41.0’ Wall Clearance 42.3’
Please be advised that all Fire District access roads whether used for everyday traffic or just used for Fire suppression efforts shall be a minimum width of 20 feet as stated in the International Fire Code 2003 edition, section 503 pages 39 and 40. Driving surfaces must be an all weather type surface and capable of handling up to a 47 ton truck. The 20 foot requirement allows the Fire District to safely position the apparatus to include the out riggers and the hoses that will connect the truck/engine to the hydrant.
If a special road is required for Emergency fire department access, the road will need to be located a minimum distance away from the building of 1 and 1⁄2 times the height of the building to establish a Safe collapse zone. The collapse zone we use is the height of the building and then add an additional 1⁄2 the original height.
__X__ ***This requires a letter from the proper official advising that the radiuses listed above can be met and will allow for Emergency apparatus to maneuver.***
Collapse Zone example:
A building that is 10 foot high and the collapse zone would be minimum distance of 15 feet back from the structure itself.
If islands are used in the project, these must also meet the unobstructed clearance of 20 feet as per the IFC section 503.2. Please refer to IFC Chapter 5 for further Fire Apparatus Access requirements. I have attached a copy of Chapter 5 for your review.
10. The Fire District will require 1 full set of drawings and one 50% reduction. Also an Auto Cad program to be submitted on a CD for one of the following program types:
A. Auto CAD (.DWG)
B. Auto CAD (.DXF)
C. Placeable Metafile (.WMF)
(Water-Sprinkler-Alarm system):
The Fire District will require a minimum of 1 set of compete sprinkler plans and a calculation sheet. These will not be returned. Certain projects may require 2-3 complete sets of drawings.
11. If a Sprinkler system is required to be installed, we will need 2 sets of drawings of the designed system along with the Hydraulic calculations and a letter (letter # 1)listing the Codes that were incorporated into the system design. All systems must meet applicable NFPA codes and or standards. Emphasis shall be on NFPA 13. All plans must be stamped by an Engineer or a NICET Level III or above. Please allow for a 5% safety factor. A second (letter #2) must be received by the Fire Marshals office before any testing will be observed by the Fire District for acceptance. This letter shall confirm that the proper Backflow prevention device is in place, inspected, and passed. This letter must also confirm that the system installed meets the NFPA code for the particular occupancy that the system was designed for and is installed properly as per the submitted design. Any changes to the system that are different from the original design shall be mentioned in the 2nd letter. Once this letter is received then a date can be set for Fire District acceptance testing. Two or Three letters will be required.
NOTE: All hangers for sprinklers will need to follow the International plumbing code table 3-2. This is more stringent on hanger distances than NFPA 13.
Please note the items listed below for the sprinkler system:
a. All backflow devices used in conjunction with a Fire Sprinkler system must be rated for fire service use. b. A means must be provided for the forward testing of a backflow prevention device to insure that adequate fire flow is achieved. This test will need to be acceptance tested by the Fire Marshal’s office. Call to schedule an appointment.
c. All valves that supply water to the sprinkler system must be properly marked with a weather resistance securing device and all valves must be identified for the purpose of the valve.
d. All valves shall be secured in the operating position with a lock device of some type.
e. All FDC will be a 5 inch Stortz and the water flow alarms will be a horn and strobe.
f. A hydrant must be located within 100 feet of the FDC and be a separate hydrant just for supplying the sprinkler system. FDC that is a standalone shall be located adjacent to a hard surface road. Consult with the Fire Marshal office for proper placement.
e. Systems with 20 heads or over shall be monitored through Electronic supervision. All pits shall be secured with a lock.
f. All Fire Department connections shall be located on the address side of the building or at a location approved by the Fire Marshal’s office.
g. All private hydrants shall be marked red to indicate that this is a private hydrant.
h. If hydrants are not yet in service, then a Black trash bag shall be placed over the entire hydrant until such time the hydrant operational.
i. A Knox box will be required to be located at the front door in the immediate vicinity of the FACP either a 4100 or 400 series Knox box.
j. Stand pipes and sprinkler related items shall be marked in a Red or Blue paint. Consult the FMO for exact details.
h. If Stand pipes are located in the building, some may need to be some on the inside of the exterior wall and may also need some to be located in the middle of the building. Consult the FMO for further details.
Alarm systems:
All alarm systems shall meet NFPA 72 and other applicable codes.
All systems shall have at least 1 pull station installed.
Fire Alarm Control Panels must not be behind any locked interior doors.
Written documentation must be provided to the Fire Marshals office advising that the required Fire Flow is available as listed in the 2003 edition of the International Fire Code. Minimum acceptable Fire Flow is 1500gpm.
***Cooking appliances will need to have the plans Engineered Stamped and the informational sheet must also be turned in for review at the time of the design submission/this includes the installation manual.***
Letters:
1st. Design based on Codes listed in the letter.
2nd. Letter stating the Back flow device has passed the test.
3rd. This can be a third letter or a part of the second letter. It must confirm that the installed sprinkler system is installed as designed and meets all applicable sections of the listed Codes that were referenced in the first letter and the system is ready for acceptance testing by the Fire Marshal’s Office personnel.
12. Hydrant spacing for Commercial projects is a hydrant every 300 feet and for Residential is every 500 feet. All hydrants must have 2-(2 1⁄2) and 1 (4 1⁄2) inch steamer connection. All hydrant connections must face the street. All hydrants must have a 3 foot clear unobstructed circumference. No, trees, signs, plans or other items can be placed within 3 foot of a hydrant.
13. Assembly occupancies of over 150 occupant load will require floor level exit signs.
14. Any plans that are changed after the Fire District permit has been issued must have Fire District
approval before these changes can take place.
15. If “No Parking” areas are required, these must be painted in White Letters with a Red background. Signs must read as follows, “No Parking or Stopping.” Fire Lanes will be established by members of the Fire Marshals office.
16. Electrical rooms shall be marked as “Electrical Room” as per IFC 605.33.1
17. NFPA 704 placards may be required depending on the type of business. The Fire Marshals office will determine if these are required at the time of the Plan Review process.
18. A Green permit sheet will be placed in the front window for all Residential and Business occupancies. This permit must remain in the window until a Final has been completed and passed.
19. Approved Central Stations for alarm transmissions shall be UL Certified and meet applicable NFPA requirements. All FACP must be located in the vicinity of the Knox box that is required to be placed on the exterior of the building. All alarms must have a pull station by each marked exit.
20. Subdivisions: As per local Fire District Ordinance # 031120-1 D107.1 which states that all residential subdivision of over 30 or more dwellings units must have 2 separate and approved apparatus access roads. One exit may be gated with a Knox box type lock. See the attached Ordinance for exact reading.
21. Addresses: Address must be posted on the front of the building in a minimum of a 4 inch number. The address must also be posted at all rear doors in a 4 inch number also.
22. The above list may not include all areas that may be checked by the Fire Marshal’s office. All applicable sections of the NFPA and the International building Code Series shall apply. Local Ordinances may also apply.
23. COMMERCIAL-Mercantile occupancy that has shelving open to the public shall maintain a width of 44 inches. This includes the aisle itself and ALL END CAPS. No exceptions will be allowed.
Alternate Methods
Should any party feel the minimum standards of the Fire and Life Safety Code are unrealistic, alternate methods may be proposed. All alternate methods must meet or exceed the minimum requirements of the applicable code or codes.
We look forward to working with you on this project. If you have further questions, please contact the Fire Marshals office in order that we can discuss your project or address your questions.
Contact
The office number for the Fire Marshals office is 816-331-3008 and cell phone is 816-223-6896. Business hours for the Fire Marshal’s office are Monday through Friday from 7:15am- 3:45pm. All calls must be made during normal business hours Monday through Friday.
Sincerely,
Randy Powers
Fire Marshal CFI & CFI