The Significant Changes to the 2006 International Codes series has been developed by the International Code Council and published by Thomson-Delmar Learning to accommodate the transition from the 2003 to the 2006 editions of the International Codes. To purchase books in the series, visit the Code Council website.

International Fire Code

SUBJECT: Records for Fire Protection Systems

CHANGE TYPE: Modification (901.6.2) and Addition (901.6.2.1)

901.6.2 Records. Records of all system inspections, tests, and maintenance required by the referenced standards shall be maintained on the premises for a minimum of 3 years and made available shall be copied to the fire code official upon request.

901.6.2.1 Records Information. Initial records shall include the name of the installation contractor, type of components installed, manufacturer of the components, location and number of components installed per floor. Records shall also include manufacturers’ operation and maintenance instruction manuals. Such records shall be maintained on the premises.

CHANGE SIGNIFICANCE: Because different government agencies are sometimes involved in plan review and inspection of new versus existing occupancies, a jurisdiction’s original installation records for fire protection systems may not be readily available to fire inspectors charged with inspection of existing occupancies. The change in the 2006 edition helps to ensure that installation records will remain available by requiring that copies be kept on site. A particular focus of this change was developing a mechanism to allow owners and inspectors the ability to readily identify installed fire protection equipment that has been recalled. Although Section 901.6.2.1 is new to the IFC, the requirements in this section are not. Similar regulations have existed in several IFC reference standards for quite some time, including NFPA 72 for fire alarm equipment, NFPA 13 for fire sprinkler systems and NFPA 25 for water-based fire protection systems. Rather than relying on provisions located in reference standards, which may or may not be known to the owner, occupant or fire official, the inclusion of a specific requirement in the IFC provides a concise regulation that is easily referenced. By ensuring that required records are available, current and future owners and occupants will benefit in addition to code enforcers. If design information is needed to evaluate the capabilities of an existing protection system to accommodate future changes in use or changes in stored commodities, it will be available to those who need it.

The other revision to Section 901.6.2 authorizes the fire code official to require the owner to make copies of all inspection, test and maintenance records for the jurisdiction’s use, as opposed to the previous code requirement, which only mandated that the fire code official be given access to the owner’s records.