Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fire Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears staff concerns on mass timber and energy-storage rules in updated IBC
Summary
Staff highlighted new mass timber construction types and expanded rules for energy storage systems, noting added special-inspection and fire-protection requirements that the city may need to address locally.
Kimberly summarized that the 2021 IBC introduced a new heavy/mass timber construction type and several definitions that local staff have not seen frequently in Lawrence. She said the code changes "created a whole new type of construction" and that table and classification updates reflect that shift.
The board also discussed energy storage systems (ESS), which Kimberley said are now specifically classified in the occupancy chapter and are more comprehensively regulated via the IFC. "They've added this — energy storage systems — that's big in the '21 codes," Kimberly said. Fire staff flagged that special testing and sprinkler-design requirements for lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries have expanded in the 2024 code, and members queried local capacity to provide required special inspections.
