Cape Coral moves forward on firewall protection requirements for new commercial construction

A plan to require a two-hour firewall for new commercial buildings moved forward Wednesday with a nod from Cape Coral City Council

A presentation in favor of the requirement was made by the Cape Coral Fire Department Fire Chief Mike Russell who said the department is routinely encountering code compliance problems with firewalls — walls being one hour rated instead of two hours for the type of business occupancy.

The problem begins when tenants move into a space, and the plans are reviewed for their particular type of occupancy, which can lead to a non-compliant finding for the existing firewall.

When the wall is non-compliant for the type of business use, the new tenant has to stop what they are doing, remove everything that has been done and build the space to applicable code, which takes time and money.

A firewall inhibits or prevents fire from spreading due to a specific type of drywall, or partition that provides protection.

Russell explained that the Florida Fire Prevention Code determines the kind of firewall needed for business occupancy.

“The fire code dictates that not only the type of occupancy, but the adjoining occupancy matters,” Russell said. “The firewall separation is the total firewall assembly.”

He showed council a chart that showed the firewall requirement by occupancy type — a chart that showed 94% of the examples require a two-hour or greater firewall.

“Only about 6% of what we are talking about requires one-hour rating,” Russell said.

Cape Coral Fire Department Fire Marshal Dale Deleacaes gave an example of a building that has 10 units and is categorized as either storage or a retail center. He said as long as it is identified as a same use, a one-hour firewall does apply.

When the use changes and it goes to a cell phone store next to a Chinese restaurant, for example, two of those walls have to be altered to a two-hour firewall, he explained.

“The tenants on each side matter of who is next to who,” Deleacaes said, adding that, unfortunately, they are not made aware of the change in tenants until later in the process.

The CCFD offers complementary inspections, he said, which allows them to share if the wall needs to be changed or if it is in good shape.

City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said they amended the city’s grant programs to include fire codes, so the city could help with additional expenses.

“We still have half of our city that needs commercial development. Let’s not repeat the path,” he said. “Ninety-four percent of all the uses that come through the door are going to require a two-hour fire code. Why are we allowing building to less than 6%?”

Ilczyszyn said it translates to economic development issues that people are encountering as the construction of a two-hour firewall is not in their budget or plan. He said before they even start their business they are in a financial hole — way more so than imagined.

The thought process, Ilczyszyn said, is if it is built right, it changes the future and the city becomes business friendly.

He said discussions between the broker and Realtor and the owner and tenant are happening before the city is involved.

“We have improved our operations internally, but it really depends on what is happening external to us before they start,” Ilczyszyn said.

Council went with the second option presented — to move forward with a local ordinance to address a two-hour firewall in new commercial construction.

The pros of a two-hour firewall include increased fire safety through compartmentalization, flexibility to lease to a variety of clients forever, reduction in future construction permits, decreased time for new tenants to move in and balance cost against future flexibility.

Among the cons comes an increased initial cost and construction time, as well as a decrease in future permit revenue for the city.

Mayor John Gunter said a two-hour rated wall is easy when meeting the standard, as it is an additional layer of a five-inch drywall — two layers of five-inch drywall.

“It’s not like it is a huge expense,” he said.

The firewall has to expand the height from the concrete floor to the roof.

“This isn’t a huge expense when the new construction is taking place,” Gunter said, adding that the two-hour firewall will save a lot of people money in the long run. “It’s not a big burden of an expense on the builder. I think it is a great idea.”

To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com