NFPA 80 fire door inspections

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Author Message Edward J Dueppen, RA, CSI, CCS, LEED AP Senior Member Username: edueppen Post Number: 43 Registered: 08-2013 Posted on Friday, March 30, 2018 - 10:03 am:    We use AVITRU Masterspecs as the basis for our specifications. We noticed that the newer editions of Sections 08 1113 - HM Doors and Frames and 08 1416 - Flush Wood Doors include text related to NFPA 80 fire door inspections. This text includes qualifications for fire door inspectors and inspections performed under field quality control. We do work in various states and are not aware of any requirements in IBC or state building codes that would require this. To our knowledge, NFPA 80 inspections are required to be performed by owners, not contractors. Does anyone know why has this text been added? If some states or jurisdictions have been requiring contractors to provide this, we would appreciate a brief listing of them. Thanks in advance, Ed Ronald J. Ray, RA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, AIA Senior Member Username: rjray Post Number: 174 Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Friday, March 30, 2018 - 10:42 am:    Hi Ed. The MasterSpec Evaluations document offers an explanation. As you know, by ICC adopting NFPA 80 into IBC, the requirements become part of the building code. In additional to the annual inspections of fire-rated doors that are the responsibility of the building owner, NFPA 80 also requires fire-rated doors be inspected upon “completion of the initial door installation.” That sounds like new construction to me. Projects falling under NFPA 101 also are subject to this requirement. I would assume that part of the historical responsibility of an architect would be to verify that all construction complies with the Contract Documents, and that architects have been inspecting fire-rated doors in the past as part of the “punch list” task. Transferring this responsibility to perhaps a more qualified individual makes sense to me, whether through the Owners testing and inspecting agency or as part of the Contractor’s responsibility, which seems to be the more popular approach. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, NCARB Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 1863 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Friday, March 30, 2018 - 02:55 pm:    NFPA 80 (2013) 5.2.3.1 adopted under the FFPC 6th Edition (2017) requires inspection of fire doors and window assemblies by …”a qualified person”. The appendix A-5.2.3.1 further states “Inspectors of swinging doors with builders hardware need to be able to recognize which components can or cannot be used on specific assemblies, which requires training and experience on behalf of the persons performing the inspections.” Mark Gilligan SE, Senior Member Username: mark_gilligan Post Number: 852 Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Friday, March 30, 2018 - 08:30 pm:    By suggesting that the Architect has a duty to "verify that all construction complies with the Contract Documents" you are increasing the liability of the Architect. The architect does have a role in specifying tests and inspection as well in monitoring the process but the Architects scope typically doe not extend to verifying that all work was in compliance. Ronald J. Ray, RA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, AIA Senior Member Username: rjray Post Number: 175 Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2018 - 08:24 am:    To infer that the Architect does not have a duty to ensure that life safety components of a facility are functioning properly, suggest a lack of familiarity State licensing laws for architects, and to some degree, AIA Document B141 and AIA Document A201. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, NCARB Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 1864 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2018 - 08:35 am:    Ronald, where in the documents that you reference does it say that Third Party Inspections are the responsibility of the Owner. Typically in my projects these inspections are performed by the Owner's designated Inspectors, in this case the Inspector would be an NFPA Certified Fire Inspector. Ronald J. Ray, RA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, AIA Senior Member Username: rjray Post Number: 176 Registered: 04-2004 Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2018 - 02:36 pm:    Jerome, The NFPA required annual inspections of fire-rated doors, which typically would be outside the scope of specifications prepared by architects, is the responsibility of building owners. Even if a building owner contracts these annual inspections out to a “third party,” the building owner is still responsible for the inspections and maintaining a record of the inspection reports. I never stated who was responsible for the fire-door inspections required by NFPA 80 at the time the doors are initially installed. This responsibility should be clear in the specifications. I believe MasterSpec includes options for either the Owner or Contractor. Personally, I have always made these inspections the responsibility of the Contractor. In my area of the country, most door and hardware dealers have qualified fire-door inspectors on staff, who in some cases, not only have the experience to inspect the doors but they can immediately perform any necessary corrections to doors that fail the inspection. Regarding your statement about “NFPA Certified Fire Inspector,” NFPA does not certify inspectors. DHI does have a program for certified fire-rated door inspectors. Additionally, NFPA 80 does not require fire-rated door inspectors to be certified, only “experienced.” See MasterSpec’s Evaluations document associated with either of the two specification Sections mentioned in the original post. Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, NCARB Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 1865 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2018 - 08:50 pm:    Ronald thanks for your response, unfortunately I work in Florida where Architects have been shunning specifications, each year since 2008 my income has decreased, while the hours have doubled, Masterspec is a luxury I am unable to afford. In Florida Architects seldom include specifications in their fees, instead they request compensation for specs when required, and for Private sector work, specs are seldom required. Edward J Dueppen, RA, CSI, CCS, LEED AP Senior Member Username: edueppen Post Number: 44 Registered: 08-2013 Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2018 - 05:31 pm:    Thank you Ronald and Jerome for your responses. I did some further digging and discovered the following: IBC references NFPA 80 for opening protectives. NFPA 80 changed the text in the 2013 edition to require inspection of the opening protectives after completion of their installation. So, although IBC did not change their requirements, IBC 2015 adopted the 2013 edition of NFPA 80, thereby requiring inspections prior to project closeout.