No sprinkler system
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The building destroyed by a fire over the weekend did not have a sprinkler system and was not required to have one, says the territorial fire marshal.
The three-storey wood-framed structure was built in 1968, said Kelly Hayden, vice-president of commercial properties and hotels with Northern Property REIT.
It had five single bedroom units and 12 units with two bedrooms.
Even if a similar structure was proposed today, Chucker Dewar, the territorial fire marshal, said the building wouldn't need a sprinkler system.
The requirements are outlined in the National Building Code and the National Fire Code based on square footage, height and what the building is used for.
Someone planning a structure larger than a single family home must provide plans to the fire marshal's office for review.
The building code is only applied to projects being built, not ones already constructed.
If the fire marshal's office becomes aware of a threat to resident safety in an existing building, it can retroactively apply current code requirements.
He cannot recall an instance of that happening in the city.
It's the responsibility of the owners to make sure requirements of the building codes are met, Dewar said.
