Spatial Separation and the National Building Code - 2023 Alberta Edition

"Limiting Distance" means the distance from an exposing building face to a property line, the centre line of a street, lane or public thoroughfare, or to an imaginary line between 2 buildings or fire compartments on the same property, measured at right angles to the exposing building face.

"10-minute Response Time" means the time from receipt of notification of a fire by the fire department (at the dispatch centre) until the first fire department vehicle capable of beginning suppression activities arrives at the building exceeds 10 min in 10% or more of all calls.

"Exposing Building Face" means that part of the exterior wall of a building that faces one direction and is located between ground level and the ceiling of its top storey or, where a building is divided into fire compartments, the exterior wall of a fire compartment that faces one direction.

"Glazing" or "Unprotected Opening" means a doorway, window or opening other than one equipped with a closure having the required fire-protection rating, or any part of a wall forming part of the exposing building face that has a fire-resistance rating less than that required for the exposing building face.

If your property was built since 2004 and was identified as having potential issues related to spatial separation and fire spread preventions, you may have received a letter from the City of Camrose. The Building Code describes regulations of certain building materials to slow the spread of a fire from the initially affected dwelling to another dwelling. These Sections of the Building Code do not prevent or lessen the impact of a fire in the dwelling where the fire started.

We encourage you to follow up with a professional contractor who can assess your home for retrofits that may prevent the spread of fire if your home is built within 2.4 meters of your property line, AND either:

• Has windows or doors with windows on the side within 2.4 meters of the property line; and/or
• Has open soffits or combustible siding.

The City of Camrose provides Safety Codes Services to the Camrose region. Your property was identified as part of a review of all constructions since 2006 that may or may not have issues related to these sections of the Building Code. As such, all information on this page may be applicable to your property.

A significant fire in the early 2000s, that started in a home under construction and quickly spread to the point where 70 homes were destroyed in the fire, was the main driver bringing awareness to this issue. This large fire lead to a number of changes related to spatial separations in the National Building Code and new fire code changes related to safety at demolition and construction sites.

When considering constructing a home, consider the following mitigations as they relate to the Building Code to ensure you are meeting the requirements of Sections 9.10.14 and 9.10.15

1.  Limit how close a building can be to a property line (limiting distance)
2. Limit the area of windows and openings in the exposing building face (unprotected openings or glazing)
3. Upgrade to more fire-resistant, noncombustible siding (cladding with fire-resistance rating of 45 minutes or more)
4. Design fire compartments to limit the overall area of the exposing building face
5. Install sprinklers (removes the 10-minute response time extra measures)

The 10-minute response time refers to the amount of time from someone calling in to 911 or fire dispatch to ask for fire suppression to the time the first piece of equipment arrives on scene to provide that fire suppression activity. Basically the time of the call to the fire department to them arriving on scene. If it is over 10 minutes, 90% of the time, further fire protections must be made in the construction of a property to minimize the possibility that the one person’s property fire could damage or negatively impact another’s property.

The responsibility lies with the homeowner, builder, and contractor to meet the requirements of the Building Code. The City will not be performing checks on individual properties. There are resources available for homeowners to address this issue if you deem that further investigation is required. The City is not and will not make any representation on individual homes or dwellings. Depending on the scope of work, permits or variance requests to permit applications may be required. 

Yes. Issues related to compliance with the Building Code reside with the building itself regardless of changes in ownership. If you believe your home may have issues related to building separation and fire mitigation, please speak with a professional contractor. 

The City strongly recommends you discuss this with your contractor as all construction must meet the Building Code to receive final approval from inspections.

The City does not have a grant program that will assist homeowners in addressing issues related to Building Code issues. Ultimately, it is the homeowner's responsibility to meet the regulations outlined in the Building Code. 

The City cannot provide advice on this and encourage homeowners to reach out to their insurance company or New Home Warranty provider for assistance in this area. 

It is up to each individual homeowner to assess their risk and compliance with the Building Code. As such, there is no City-imposed timeline to address any issues. The City is not considering enforcement for noncompliance in completed homes. 

No. It is up to the homeowners to assess their properties and decide if further fire mitigations are needed. The City is not planning on reassessing any occupied homes. If a home is currently under construction, it must meet the Building Code for final inspection and occupancy. 

The City cannot provide specific contractor lists due to issues related to competition and perceptions of endorsement, but there are many qualified building contractors in the City who are aware of this section of the Building Code and the requirements to meet this section. 

It is up to each individual homeowner to assess their own property. Not all fire spread mitigations are noticeable by visual inspection, which is why the City has opted to send the notice letter quite broadly based on limited information on specific dwellings. As such, your neighbour may have appropriate mitigations in place that are not visible from the exterior. Additionally, we believe the likelihood of this specific issue causing fire spread between homes to be low, based on historical data and level of compliance with the Building Code throughout the City and even more so in the larger Camrose region.