NRC Releases Report on Single Egress
The National Research Council Canada (NRC) has released its report Consultation on Single Egress in Residential Buildings.
The official proposal to amend the National Building Code of Canada to permit single egress in buildings up to six storeys was submitted to the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes by Conrad Speckert on April 18, 2022.
Speckert has received considerable attention for the idea of single-egress stairwells in certain buildings, but, in fact, the idea can at least be traced to a report submitted to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation as early as 1984.
Mr. Speckert provides a noteworthy retrospective of the related events since 1984, including his Code change request, on his Second Egress website presented in December 2021 as part of fulfilling requirements for a graduate degree in architecture at McGill University (see link below).
Not only did the idea of single-egress stairwells quickly became popular among planners, developers and others as a solution to the Canadian housing affordability ‘crisis’, but the topic very quickly became popular internationally for the same reason.
The British Columbia Building Code was amended by ministerial order to allow single-exit egress in August 2024.
The response from the Canadian fire service has been appropriately resounding with, among others, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs dedicating a webpage to it, and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs addressing it.
The social pressures presented by a Canadian housing affordability crisis are forcing governments to rethink the effect of evolving fire safety technologies in the context of modernized fire and life safety education, prevention, and firefighting techniques – a context represented by fire chief and other fire service associations across Canada.
The NRC report is a summary of work with a consultation group (CG) consisting of two subgroups with provincial and territorial representatives in one; and design professionals, industry and the fire services in the other.
The report is essential to understanding where we are on the topic, but, concisely, according to the report, the intent is to use the input from the CG meetings to, “…develop the scope and methodology for a follow-up foundational research project that examines the equivalence of single-egress solutions to existing fire safety requirements in current codes and inform consideration of potential code changes…through the Harmonized Code Development System.”
We will discuss that system in upcoming issues.
As a next step, the NRC is expected to invite input on that research project.
A chronological listing of related Canadian events and representation of the work of Conrad Speckert can be seen at: The Second Egress: Building a Code Change
The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs webpage on Single Egress can be seen at: Single Egress Consultation – Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs
NRC Report: Consultation on Single Egress in Residential Buildings can be seen at: SEC_consultation_-_revised_r.pdf
