Life safety · security · compliance hardening

What does the code require of this building?

Name the occupancy, size and systems already in place. Securlor returns the systems the model code requires, the gaps with clause citations, a region-adjusted capex band, and a printable compliance scope memo.

Systems already in place

Set the occupancy, size and systems on the left. The generator returns the required systems with code citations, the gap list with capex bands, and a printable scope memo.

Planning scope This is a planning scope, not a code compliance opinion. Code interpretation is jurisdictional and enforced by the authority having jurisdiction — a municipal official, not this site. Confirm every requirement against the adopted code edition with a qualified professional before you design, budget or build.

01Coverage

Markets tracked

134

Code editions curated

13

Systems costed

10

Occupancy classes

10

02Occupancy classes

Start from what the building is used for

D

Business and personal services

Office and service occupancies: professional practices, banks, clinics without overnight care, and the administrative floors of mixed-use buildings.

E

Mercantile

Shops, showrooms and markets. Ground-floor retail drives the highest occupant loads per square metre of any common commercial class.

C

Residential

Apartments, condominiums, hotels and other sleeping occupancies. Sleeping occupants who may be unfamiliar with the building drive the strictest alarm and voice-communication rules.

F3

Low-hazard industrial and storage

Warehousing, self-storage and low-hazard manufacturing. Enormous floor plates with few people — the load is low, but travel distances and high-piled storage rules dominate.

A2

Assembly — food, worship and community

Restaurants, places of worship, community halls and other gathering spaces without fixed theatrical seating. High loads and occupant unfamiliarity make egress the binding constraint.

A1

Assembly — performance venues

Theatres, cinemas and concert venues with fixed seats and a stage. Stage smoke control, seat-row geometry and emergency voice communication are the recurring gaps.

F2

Medium-hazard industrial

Manufacturing and processing with a moderate combustible load. Sprinkler demand and fire separations tighten relative to F3.

A3

Assembly — recreation and exhibition

Arenas, pools, libraries, museums and exhibition halls. Loads swing with programming, so the design load and the operating load often differ.

B2

Care and treatment

Hospitals, long-term care and treatment occupancies where occupants may be incapable of self-preservation. Sprinklering is mandatory with no size exemption, and defend-in-place design replaces full evacuation.

F1

High-hazard industrial

Processes with flammable or combustible loads high enough to accelerate fire growth. Sprinkler design, explosion venting and separations are engineered per process.

03Systems

The ten systems every scope runs through

Fire alarm system

Detection, notification and signal transmission. Classed by wiring and supervision level; addressable panels dominate new work.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.4 (determination of requirement, 3.2.4.1)

Automatic sprinklers

Fixed water suppression designed to the occupancy hazard. The single most consequential life-safety system in a retrofit budget.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.5 (sprinkler requirements from 3.2.5.12) and the occupancy area limits of 3.2.2

Standpipe and hose

Fixed vertical water mains with hose connections so fire crews are not dragging charged lines up stairwells.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.9

Emergency lighting

Battery-backed illumination of egress routes so occupants can find exits in a power failure.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.7 (emergency lighting, 3.2.7.3)

Exit signage

Illuminated exit signs marking every required exit and the route to it.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.4.5 (exit signs, 3.4.5.1)

Egress capacity

The number of exits and their aggregate width, sized to the occupant load. Not a product — a capacity the building must physically provide.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.4.2 (number of exits, 3.4.2.1) and 3.4.3.2 (egress width)

Portable extinguishers

Hand-held extinguishers distributed by hazard class and travel distance.

NFC 2020 Div. B, 2.1.5 (installation) with selection per NFPA 10

Elevator emergency recall

Automatic recall of elevators to the designated level on a fire alarm, plus firefighters' in-car operation.

Provincial elevator safety codes adopting CSA B44; high-building measures in NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.6

Smoke control

Pressurization, venting and compartmentation measures that keep egress routes tenable — mechanical in high buildings and atria.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.2.6 (high buildings) and 3.2.8 (interconnected floor spaces)

Access control

Electronic door control — readers, strikes and electromagnetic locks. The security layer most insurers and tenants now expect.

NBC 2020 Div. B, 3.4.6 (electromagnetic locks on egress doors, 3.4.6.16; numbering varies by edition)

04Markets and tools

Where Securlor reads the code

Every province and territory's adopted building and fire code is curated by hand, and every cost band is region-adjusted. Pick a market, or run one of the standing tools.