RES-10520 Local Fire Code Condition ModificationsRESOLUTION NO. 10520
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ORANGE SETTING FORTH FINDINGS
WITH RESPECT TO LOCAL CONDITIONS
WITHIN THE CITY OF ORANGE WHICH MAKE
CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS AND CHANGES TO
THE CALIFORNIA FIRE CODE.
WHEREAS, Health & Safety Code Section 17958 mandates that the City of Orange
shall adopt ordinances or regulations imposing the same requirements as are contained in the
uniform code regulations adopted by the State of California pursuant to Health & Safety
Code Section 17922; and
WHEREAS, the State is mandated by Health & Safety Code Section 17922 to
impose the same requirements contained in the uniform codes, including the 2010 California
Fire Code, hereinafter referred to collectively as the Fire Code; and
WHEREAS, Health & Safety Code Section 17958.7 permits the City to make such
changes or modifications to the uniform code regulations as are reasonably necessary
because of local conditions; and
WHEREAS, Health & Safety Code Section 17958.7 requires that the City Council,
before making any changes or modifications pursuant to Section 17958.5, make express
findings that such changes or modifications are needed due to climatic, geographic, or
topographic conditions; and
WHEREAS, the Fire Chief has recommended that amendments to the 2010
California Fire Code are reasonably necessary due to the following local climatic,
geographical and topographical conditions:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of
Orange as follows:
SECTION 1. Changes and modifications to the 2010 Edition of the California Fire
Code are recommended by the Fire Chief and are hereby found to be reasonably necessary
due to the following local conditions:
FINDINGS.
I. Climatic Conditions
A. The jurisdiction of Orange is located in a semi-arid Mediterranean
type climate. It annually experiences extended periods of high
temperatures with little or no precipitation. Hot, dry (Santa Ana) winds, which
may reach speeds of 70 M.P.H. or greater, are also common to the area.
These climatic conditions cause extreme drying of vegetation and
common building materials. Frequent periods of drought and low humidity add
to the fire danger. This predisposes the area to large destructive
fires conflagration). In addition to directly damaging or destroying
buildings,these fires are also prone to disrupt utility services throughout the
City.Obstacles generated by a strong wind, such as fallen trees, street lights
and utility poles, and the requirement to climb 75 feet vertically up flights
of stairs will greatly impact the response time to reach an incident
scene.Additionally, there is a significant increase in the amount of wind force
at 60 feet above the ground. Use of aerial type fire fighting apparatus
above this height would place rescue personnel at increased risk of
injury.B. The climate alternates between extended periods of drought and
brief flooding conditions. Flood conditions may affect the Orange City
Fire Department's ability to respond to a fire or emergency condition.
Floods also disrupt utility services to buildings and facilities within the
City.C. Water demand in this densely populated area far exceeds the
quantity supplied by natural precipitation; and although the population continues
to grow, the already-taxed water supply does not. California is
projected to increase in population by nearly 10 million over the next quarter
of a century with 50 percent of that growth centered in
Southern California.Due to storage capacities and consumption, and a limited
amount of rainfall future water allocation is not fully dependable.
This necessitates the need for additional and on-site fire protection features.
It would also leave tall buildings vulnerable to uncontrolled fires due to
a lack of available water and an inability to pump sufficient
quantities of available water to floors
in a fire.D. These dry climatic conditions and winds contribute to the
rapid spread of even small fires originating in high-density
housing or vegetation. These fires spread very quickly and create a need for
increased levels of fire protection. The added protection of fire sprinkler
systems and other fire protection features will supplement normal
fire department response by providing immediate protection for the
building occupants and by containing and controlling the fire spread to the
area of origin. Fire sprinkler systems will also reduce the use of water
for firefighting by as much as
50
II. Topographical conditions
A. Natural; slopes of 15 percent or greater generally occur throughout the
foothills of the city of Orange. The elevation change caused by the hills
creates the geological foundation on which the community of Orange is
built and will continue to build. With much of the populated flatlands
already built upon, future growth will occur on steeper slopes and greater
constraints in terrain.
B. Traffic and circulation congestion is an artificially created, obstructive
topographical condition, which is common throughout Orange.
C. These topographical conditions combine to create a situation, which places
fire department response time to fire occurrences at risk, and makes it
necessary to provide automatic on-site fire-extinguishing
systems and other protection measures to protect occupants
and property.III.
Geological Conditions The city of Orange, in the Orange County region, is a densely populated area
that has buildings constructed over and near a vast and complex network of faults
that are believed to be capable of producing future earthquakes similar or greater in
size that the 1994 Northridge and the 1971 Sylmar earthquakes. Earthquake faults
run along the northern, eastern and central areas of the City. The
Newport-Inglewood Fault,located within Orange County was the source of the destructive
1933 LongBeach earthquake (6.3 magnitude) which took 120 lives and damaged buildings
in an area from Laguna Beach to Marina Del Rey to Whittier. In
December 1989, another earthquake occurred in the jurisdiction of Orange at an unknown
fault line. Regional planning for reoccurrence of earthquakes is recommended by the
state of California,
Department of Conservation.A. Previous earthquakes have been accompanied by disruption
of traffic flow and fires. A severe seismic event has the potential
to negatively impact any rescue or fire suppression activities because it is
likely to create obstacles similar to those indicated under the high
wind section above.With the probability of strong aftershocks there exists a
need to provide increased protection for anyone on upper floors of
buildings. The October 17, 1989, Santa Cruz earthquake resulted in one major fire
in the Marina District (San Francisco). When combined with the 34
other fires locally and over 500 responses, the department was taxed
to its fullest capabilities. The Marina Fire was difficult to
contain because mains supplying water to the district burst during the
earthquake. This situation creates the need for both additional fire protection
and automatic on-site fire protection for building occupants.
State Department of Conservation noted in their 1988 report (Planning Scenario on
a
the Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone, page 59), "unfortunately,
barely meeting the minimum earthquake standards of building codes places
a building on the verge of being legally
unsafe."B. Road circulation features located throughout Orange also
make amendments reasonably necessary. Located within the City are
major roadways, highways and flood control channels that create barriers
and slow response times. Hills, slopes, street and storm drain
design accompanied with occasional heavy rainfall, cause roadway flooding
and landslides and at times may make an emergency access route
impassable.There are areas in Orange that naturally have extended
emergency response times that exceed the 5 minute
goal.C. Soils throughout the City possess corrosive properties that reduce
the expected usable life of water services when metallic pipes in contact
with soils are
utilized.D. Portions so of the City contain active or former flammable gas and/
or liquid production fields. These areas contain a variety of
naturally occurring gasses, liquids and vapors. These compounds present toxicity
or flammability hazards to building occupants. Evaluation of these
hazards and the risks they pose to development is necessary implement
appropriate
mitigation.IV.
Summary.Due to the topographical conditions of sprawling development separated
by waterways and narrow and congested streets and the expected infrastructure
damage inherent in seismic zone described above, it is prudent to rely on automatic
fire sprinkler systems to mitigate extended fire department response time and keep
fires manageable with reduced fire flow (water) requirements for a given
structures.Additional fire protection is also justified to match the current resources
of firefighting equipment and personnel within the Orange City Fire
Department.SECTION 2. The City Council of the City of Orange hereby adopts the
2010 California Fire Code in its entirety, subject to following local amendments attached hereto
in Exhibit A", as though fully set forth
herein.ADOPTED this 9t" day of November,
2010
i
P Mayor, City of
Orange
A'I"TES'T:
Mary E~ ~~ City Clerk, City ange
I, MARY E. MURPHY, City Clerk of the City of Orange, California, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of
the City of Orange at a regular meeting thereof held on the 9th day of November, 2010, by the
following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Smith, Murphy, Cavecche, Bilodeau
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Dumitru
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ry
Mary E. y, City Clerk, City Orange
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