NFPA Journal - May/June 2020 - 48

Robert Solomon, director of building and life safety
at NFPA, on two new NFPA resources available to
help health care facilities safely modify and build
temporary spaces to handle the surge in patients
related to COVID-19:
NFPA has created two immediate resources to help
health care engineers, designers, and authorities
having jurisdiction (AHJ) provide the safest levels of
fire and life safety possible as these unprecedented
circumstances continue to evolve and emerge.
The Army Corps of Engineers
have established a temporary
field hospital at Jacob
Javits Convention Center
in New York City.

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It is impossible to modify or construct spaces in
strict compliance with fire and life safety codes while
getting ready to treat critically ill patients with the
best possible care. However, there are measures that
can be taken to help keep people safe from fire in
light of the current situation.
Under normal conditions, structures built for providing care to patients are designed and operated
in accordance with NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, and
NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, and the dozens
of other standards referenced within them. At this
time, though, fire and life safety professionals can
look to the intent of these documents and use portions, such as the equivalency clauses, the goals and
objectives of NFPA 101, and the risk-based approach
of NFPA 99, to guide decisions.
The new resources that are available to assist are
the NFPA factsheet, "Maintaining Safe Health Care
Facilities in Extraordinary Times," which is a short
guide that outlines multiple considerations and alternatives to providing life safety for affected rooms,

RECENT BLOGS ON
CODES AND STANDARDS
BY NFPA STAFF

areas, and structures. The other document is "Temporary Compliance Options for Code Modifications,
Alternate Care Sites, and Facilities Related to Health
Care," a white paper that provides greater context
to associated considerations and measures around
construction, prevention, detection and notification,
egress, and automatic sprinkler systems. Both can
be found at nfpa.org/coronavirus.
NFPA continues to collect information around the
issues AHJs, health care providers, and accrediting
organizations are facing and
how modifications to these and
other occupancies still need to
address fire and life safety. While
each situation has its own unique
variables, we will keep working
to provide guidance that facility
engineers, designers, AHJs,
contractors, and others can use
to balance common practices
against the current needs during
this public health emergency.
Kevin Carr, senior specialist
at NFPA, on the benefits and
challenges of remote video
inspections during the
COVID-19 pandemic and NFPA
resources that can help:
While remote video inspection
(RVI) is new to many, it can be
an effective alternative to an
on-site inspection, enabling
one or more parties to remotely perform an inspection of a
building or building component.
As code officials, enforcers, and
inspectors work to ensure building safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, NFPA has
created a factsheet, available at nfpa.org/coronavirus,
that provides guidance on how to conduct an RVI.
This new resource addresses several considerations, including setting clear expectations, selecting technology, location verification, and sign-offs/
follow-up. We encourage jurisdictions to review this
guidance to become more familiar with the benefits
as well as the limitations of RVI.
RVI is currently in use in select jurisdictions across
the United States, although no formal standard governs its use. These jurisdictions often utilize everyday
smartphone technologies to facilitate the inspection.
Like traditional on-site or in-person inspections,
an RVI is typically done within a jurisdiction's permitting process and needs to be approved by the AHJ.
Remote inspection may be able to accomplish critical
and emergency permit work that is still underway. It
is intended to be just as complete and comprehensive as an onsite inspection and can be employed to
achieve the same, or enhanced, results.

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NFPA Journal - May/June 2020

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