WHEREAS the BC Building Code fire department response time of ten minutes is an unrealistic expectation to impose on municipalities with paid on-call fire departments; AND WHEREAS the new unprotected opening and sprinklering requirements for fire department response times of greater than ten minutes significantly impacts the affordability of homes and imposes unrealistic costs and potential safety risks for municipalities required to upgrade to larger water connections for sprinklering: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the BC Building Code be amended allowing municipalities with paid on-call fire departments a fire department response time of fifteen minutes.
Ministry of Natural Gas Development Minister Responsible for Housing The BC Building Code requires builders to provide houses with an adequate level of fire protection based on the time it takes for a fire department to respond to a fire in the building. The response time requirements are intended to establish a fire hazard benchmark for building sites, not a performance requirement for fire departments. Ultimately, the objective of the BC Building Code and of this requirement in particular, is to provide a minimum level of safety for occupants of all buildings. Where communities do not or cannot provide 10-minute fire department response time, buildings are required to achieve the minimum level of safety through other means. Ensuring a minimum level of safety to building occupants is the responsibility of the owner, not the local government or their fire department.