FIRE SAFTY ASPECT
DATE:
August 8, 1983
TO:
Mayor and City Council
-.
FROM:
George Magdal, Fire Marshal
SUBJECT:
Fire Safety Aspect of the Proposed Garage to be built at
44 - 5th Avenue North.
The 1982 Uniform Building Code allows a garage to be built three feet from the
property line, which is exactly the placement of this proposed garage. The same
code also requires 5 feet between an apartment building and the pro~~yline.
The apartment building abutting the proposed garage property is nonconforming,
being one foot short of the required distance.
The difference between seven and eight feet as far as fire exposure problems
are concerned is not significant. The fact that one of the two required exits
for the apartments would bring the tenants path of egress within a few feet of
a building containing gasoline, is our number one concern. Our second major
concern is that a fire in the garage would emit super heated air, smoke, and
possible flames toward the second story of the apartment. ThlS could possibly
make the hallway impassible for all tenants and start additional fires.
An equivalency that would minimize the above hazards and give us a reasonable
degree of life safety would be to build the garage exterior of one-hour fire
resistive construction. This would also include no openings in the roof or
the side facing the apartment building. This option, which is called out in
the building code, is considered to be an equivalency to the distance require-
ment. In this case the one-hour construction exceeds the benefits of one
additional foot of separation.
A reasonable alternative to the one-hour construction of the garage is as
follows:
1. No openings in the roof and south side of the garage.
2. Fiberglass shingles on the roof of the garage
3. One layer of 5/8" water resistive gypsum board applied to
the outside of the roof rafters and the wall studs on the
south side of the garage.
A layer of 7/16" wafer board (chip board) applied rough side up directly under
the gypsum on the roof would eliminate the need for plywood there.
-.
With the garage utilizing the above protection, the intent of keeping the
garage fire from the apartments and vice versa will have been met with a
minimum of extra expense to the homeowner. Fire fighting access will not be
imparied with the new garage.
If the garage is allowed to be built 13' west from the proposed location, the
fire exposure hazard will be increased. We would rather not have the over-head
door on the garage that close to the exit door of the apartments. Experience
has shown us that the overhead door opening is often the major venting area for
smoke and hot gasses.
-....-".
~.
August 7, 1983
To. City Counc11 of Hopk1ns
From' R1chard B. Loberg
1319 Preston Lane
Hopk1ns, Mn (tel) 938 4678
Subject. Construct10n of Garage
I would 11ke to bU11d a garage on the north end of my lot wh1ch backs
up to Excels10r Blvd. Because there 1S a ut11ity easement runn1ng across
that end of the lot, I checked w1th J1m Kerr1gan, and then w1th John StroJan
as to the poss1b111ty of encroaching on that easement. Mr. StroJan informed
me that there 1S a (2) two foot road r1ghtaway from the curb line and then
a 17 foot ut11ity easement wh1ch precludes my bU11d1ng the garage as far
back on the lot as I would 11ke.
.--
In talk1ng w1th Mr. StroJan, he 1ndicated that it could be possible to
bU11d on the easement, but 1t would have to be w1th C1ty counc11 approval.
I would 11ke to build a 2 1/2 car garage, either 24 or 28 feet w1de
wh1ch would encroach on the ut1l1ty easement by 7 feet. Th1S would leave
10' feet of util1ty easement plus the 2 foot road r1ghtaway between the back
slde of the garage and the curb.
I would apprec1ate 1t very much 1f you could cons1der this request at
the next counc1l meet1ng on August 16th.
Re#':~ll#1
~~. ~:berg"
<"'"
. :, ~-.
..
...
-,
"Gyc~l. SIO ~ jJL-VC> (
"2 F., "f4/rP r< Ie. "'T"1't.,;41.( ... ..
J .,,..,,, I I ~
.... ' " "',~ ,'" , ,,'," /',/
17 pur- w~.~//,; ///<//;~>//~;.:~.;:}~<~>~~<</>
urll...,ry ///t'/ //// ,/ t // / /./ ,/,' 0/ "
;:1Jf#t1N/' / " ",/ / / " //, - -- I /~'"
I _ / / ' ,
--
AM'4t!
-
p~p'f';'D ·
,
r I
I I
I
\ I
.....
.... I
'I. [
r
I
I I
] I l
l -
M'-'SE .
. I
I
I
I
I I
~-,. I
I I
I I
I I
~ I
I - I
I I
) I
\
.'.
! ~
.
~.~;: ~'/6A LA#l?
t.J
LN-l-Ii
~
\
"-
'\
I