CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina is updating its fire code in response to the massive SouthPark fire that killed two construction workers in south Charlotte last year.
The fire on May 18 broke out when an insulation foam sprayer caught fire on the ground floor of the building. A team of more than 90 firefighters rescued 15 workers from the burning building, including a crane worker who was rescued after being trapped atop the structure.
Two construction workers were unable to escape and died. Now, state officials are adopting new standards in the hopes that this never happens again.
North Carolina adopts changes to the fire code every six years, but after the SouthPark fire, the State Fire Marshal's office says it was approached by safety experts in Charlotte who asked them to consider new standards already laid out by the National Fire Protection Association in 2022.
The new changes specifically pertain to large wood-frame buildings, like the one in SouthPark, as well as many others that are being built in the Queen City.
North Carolina fire code changes
First, the code will ban torch-applied roofing systems. Those are materials that need an open flame to help it stick to the roof.
The code will also require a fire exposure analysis before construction even begins, to get a sense of what could be at risk if a fire does break out. A fire watch will be required for two hours, when so-called "hot work" is happening.
And the use of direct-fired heaters, which are HVAC systems that use combustion to generate heat, will be limited.
These are just some of the requirements laid out in the new code, which will take effect in January. These changes to national standards took effect two years ago, but as North Carolina changes its fire code every six years, it's sometimes lagging behind national standards.
Charlie Johnson, North Carolina's chief fire code consultant, said the state was on a three-year code cycle before switching to a six-year cycle in 2014. Johnson told WCNC Charlotte that all code change proposals are submitted to the state's Building Code Council at quarterly meetings. If approved, those become amendments to the code in effect at the time or the next proposed code, depending on when they receive approval.
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