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requirements typically used in construction and occupancy of buildings.

§ 101-6.601 Background.

(a) The Fire Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Pub. Law 102-522) was signed into law by the President on October 26, 1992. Section 106 Fire Safety Systems in Federally Assisted Buildings, of Title I-United States Fire Administration, is commonly referred to as the Federal Fire Safety Act of 1992. This section amends the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) to require sprinklers or an equivalent of safety, in certain types of Federal employee office buildings, Federal employee housing units, and federally assisted housing units.

(b) The definition of an automatic sprinkler system is unique to the Act. In addition to describing the physical characteristics of an automatic sprinkler system, the definition sets a performance objective for the system. Automatic sprinkler systems installed in compliance with the Act must protect human lives. Sprinklers would provide the level of life safety prescribed in the Act by controlling the spread of fire and its effects beyond the room of origin. A functioning sprinkler system should activate prior to the onset of flashover.

(c) This subpart establishes a general measure of building firesafety performance. To achieve the level of life safety specified in the Act, the structure under consideration must be designed, constructed, and maintained to minimize the impact of fire. As one option, building environmental conditions are specified in this subpart to ensure the life safety of building occupants outside the room of fire origin. They should be applicable independent of whether or not the evaluation is being conducted for the entire building or for just the hazardous areas. In the latter case, the room of origin would be the hazardous area while any room, space, or area could be a room of origin in the entire building scenarious.

(d) The equivalent level of safety regulation in this subpart does not address property protection, business interruption potential, or firefighter safety during fire fighting operations. In situ

ations where firefighters would be expected to rescue building occupants, the safety of both firefighters and occupants must be considered in the equivalent level of safety analysis. Thorough prefire planning will allow firefighters to choose whether or not to enter a burning building solely to fight a fire.

§ 101-6.602 Application.

The requirements of the Act and this subpart apply to all Federal agencies and all federallly owned and leased buildings in the United States, except those under the control of the Resolution Trust Corporation.

§ 101-6.603 Definitions.

(a) Qualified fire protection engineer is defined as an individual, with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the principles of physics and chemistry governing fire growth, spread, and suppression, meeting one of the following criteria:

(1) An engineer having an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university offering a course of study in fire protection or firesafety engineering, plus a minimum of four (4) years work experience in fire protection engineering,

(2) A professional engineer (P.E. or similar designation) registered in Fire Protection Engineering, or

(3) A professional engineer (P.E. or similar designation) registered in a related engineering discipline and holding Member grade status in the International Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

(b) Flashover means fire conditions in a confined area where the upper gas layer temperature reaches 600 °C (1100 °F) and the heat flux at floor level exceeds 20 kW/m2 (1.8 Btu/ft2/sec).

(c) Reasonable worst case fire scenario means a combination of an ignition source, fuel items, and a building location likely to produce a fire which would have a significant adverse impact on the building and its occupants. The development of reasonable worst case scenarios must include consideration of types and forms of fuels present (e.g., furniture, trash, paper,

chemicals), potential fire ignition locations (e.g., bedroom, office, closet, corridor), occupant capabilities (e.g., awake, intoxicated, mentally or physically impaired), numbers of occupants, detection and suppression system adequacy and reliability, and fire department capabilities. A quantitative analysis of the probability of occurrence of each scenario and combination of events will be necessary.

(d) Room of origin means an area of a building where a fire can be expected to start. Typically, the size of the area will be determined by the walls, floor, and ceiling surrounding the space. However, this could lead to unacceptably large areas in the case of open plan office space or similar arrangements. Therefore, the maximum allowable fire area should be limited to 200 m2 (2000 ft2) including intervening spaces. In the case of residential units, an entire apartment occupied by one tenant could be considered as the room of origin to the extent it did not exceed the 200 m2 (2000 ft2) limitation.

§ 101-6.604 Requirements.

(a) The equivalent level of life safety evaluation is to be performed by a qualified fire protection engineer. The analysis should include a narrative discussion of the features of the building structure, function, operational support systems and occupant activities which impact fire protection and life safety. Each analysis should describe potential reasonable worst case fire scenarios and their impact on the building occupants and structure. Specific issues which must be addressed include rate of fire growth, type and location of fuel items, space layout, building construction, openings and ventilation, suppression capability, detection time, occupant notification, occupant reaction time, occupant mobility, and means of egress.

(b) To be acceptable, the analysis must indicate that the existing and/or proposed safety systems in the building provide a period of time equal to or greater than the amount of time available for escape in a similar building complying with the Act. In conducting these analyses, the capability, adequacy, and reliability of all building systems impacting fire growth, occu

pant knowledge of the fire, and time required to reach a safety area will have to be examined. In particular, the impact of sprinklers on the development of hazardous conditions in the area of interest will have to be assessed. Three options are provided for establishing that an equivalent level of safety exists.

(1) In the first option, the margin of safety provided by various alternatives is compared to that obtained for a code complying building with complete sprinkler protection. The margin of safety is the difference between the available safe egress time and the required safe egress time. Available safe egressd time is the time available for evacuation of occupants to an area of safety prior to the onset of untenable conditions in occupied areas or the egress pathways. The required safe egress time is the time required by occupants to move from their positions at the start of the fire to areas of safety. Available safe egress times would be developed based on analysis of a number of assumed reasonable worst case fire scenarios including assessment of a code complying fully sprinklered building. Additional analysis would be used to determine the expected required safe egress times for the various scenarios. If the margin of safety plus an appropriate safety factor is greater for an alternative than for the fully sprinklered building, then the alternative should provide an equivalent level of safety.

(2) A second alternative is applicable for typical office and residential scenarios. In these situations, complete sprinkler protection can be expected to prevent flashover in the room of fire origin, limit fire size to no more than 1 megawatt (950 Btu/sec), and prevent flames from leaving the room of origin. The times required for each of these conditions to occur in the area of interest must be determined. The shortest of these three times would become the time available for escape. The difference between the minimum time available for escape and the time required for evacuation of building occupants would be the target margin of safety. Various alternative protection strategies would have to be evaluated to determine their impact on the times

at which hazardous conditions developed in the spaces of interest and the times required for egress. If a combination of fire protection systems provides a margin of safety equal to or greater than the target margin of safety, then the combination could be judged to provide an equivalent level of safety.

(3) As a third option, other technical analysis procedures, as approved by the responsible agency head, can be used to show equivalency.

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(c) Analytical and empirical tools, including fire models and grading schedules such as the Fire Safety Evaluation System (Alternative proaches to Life Safety, NEPA 101M) should be used to support the life safety equivalency evaluation. If fire modeling is used as part of an analysis, an assessment of the predictive capabilities of the fire models must be included. This assessment should be conducted in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard Guide for Evaluating the Predictive Capability of Fire Models (ASTM E 1355).

§ 101-6.605 Responsibility.

The head of the agency responsible for physical improvements in the facility or providing Federal assistance or a designated representative will determine the acceptability of each equivalent level of safety analysis. The determination of acceptability must include a review of the fire protection engineer's qualifications, the appropriateness of the fire scenarios for the facility, and the reasonableness of the assumed maximum probable loss. Agencies should maintain a record of each accepted equivalent level of safety analysis and provide copies to fire departments or other local authorities for use in developing prefire plans.

Subparts 101-6.7-101-6.9
[Reserved]

Subpart 101-6.10-Federal Advi

sory Committee Management

AUTHORITY: Sec. 205(c), 63 Stat. 390; 40 U.S.C. 486(c); sec. 7, 5 U.S.C. app.; and E.O. 12024, 3 CFR 1977 Comp., p. 158.

SOURCE: 52 FR 45929, Dec. 2, 1987, unless otherwise noted.

§ 101-6.1001 Scope.

(a) This subpart defines the policies, establishes minimum requirements, and provides guidance to agency management for the establishment, operation, administration, and duration of advisory committees subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended. Reporting requirements which keep the Congress and the public informed of the number, purpose, membership activities, and cost of these advisory committees are also included.

(b) The Act and this subpart do not apply to advisory meetings or groups listed in § 101-6.1004.

[52 FR 45929, Dec. 2, 1987, as amended at 54 FR 41215, Oct. 5, 1989]

§ 101–6.1002 Policy.

The policy to be followed by Federal departments, agencies, and commissions, consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, is as follows:

(a) An advisory committee shall be established only when it is essential to the conduct of agency business. Decision criteria include whether committee deliberations will result in the creation or elimination of, or change in regulations, guidelines, or rules affecting agency business; whether the information to be obtained is already available through another advisory committee or source within the Federal Government; whether the committee will make recommendations resulting in significant improvements in service or reductions in cost; or whether the committee's recommendations will provide an important additional perspective or viewpoint impacting agency operations;

(b) An advisory committee shall be terminated whenever the stated objectives of the committee have been accomplished; the subject matter or work of the committee has become obsolete by the passing of time or the assumption of the committee's main functions by another entity within the Federal Government; or the agency determines that the cost of operation is excessive in relation to the benefits accruing to the Federal Government;

(c) An advisory committee shall be fairly balanced in its membership in

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terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed; and

(d) An advisory committee shall be open to the public in its meetings except in those circumstances where a closed meeting shall be determined proper and consistent with the provisions in the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b).

[52 FR 45929, Dec. 2, 1987, as amended at 54 FR 41215, Oct. 5, 1989]

§ 101-6.1003 Definitions.

Act means the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. Administrator means the Administrator of General Services.

Advisory committee subject to the Act means any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup thereof, which is established by statute, or established or utilized by the President or any agency official for the purpose of obtaining advice or recommendations on issues or policies which are within the scope of his or her responsibilities.

Agency has the same meaning as in section 551(1) of title 5 of the United States Code.

Committee Management Secretariat (Secretariat), established pursuant to the Act is responsible for all matters relating to advisory committees, and carries out the Administrator's responsibilities under the Act and Executive Order 12024.

Committee member means an individual who serves by appointment on an advisory committee and has the full right and obligation to participate in the activities of the committee, including voting on committee recommendations.

Presidential advisory committee means any advisory committee which advises the President. It may be established by the President or by the Congress, or used by the President in the interest of obtaining advice or recommendations for the President. "Independent Presidential advisory committee" means any Presidential advisory committee not assigned by the President, or the President's delegate, or by the Congress in law, to an agency for administrative and other support and for which

the Administrator of General Services may provide administrative and other support on a reimbursable basis.

Staff member means any individual who serves in a support capacity to an advisory committee.

Utilized (or used), as referenced in the definition of Advisory committee in this section, means a committee or other group composed in whole or in part of other than full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government with an established existence outside the agency seeking its advice which the President or agency official(s) adopts, such as through institutional arrangements, as a preferred source from which to obtain advice or recommendations on a specific issue or policy within the scope of his or her responsibilities in the same manner as that individual would obtain advice or recommendations from an established advisory committee.

§ 101-6.1004 Examples

of

advisory meetings or groups not covered by the Act or this subpart.

The following are examples of advisory meetings or groups not covered by the Act or this subpart;

(a) Any committee composed wholly of full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government;

(b) Any advisory committee specifically exempted by an Act of Congress;

(c) Any advisory committee established or utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency;

(d) Any advisory committee established or utilized by the Federal Reserve System;

(e) The Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations;

(f) Any local civic group whose primary function is that of rendering a public service with respect to a Federal program, or any State or local committee, council, board, commission, or similar group established to advise or make recommendations to State or local officials or agencies;

(g) Any committee which is established to perform primarily operational as opposed to advisory functions. Operational functions are those specifically provided by law, such as making or implementing Government decisions or policy. An operational committee may

be covered by the Act if it becomes primarily advisory in nature. It is the responsibility of the administering agency to determine whether such a committee is primarily operational. If so, it would not fall under the requirements of the Act and this subpart, but would continue to be regulated under relevant laws, subject to the direction of the President and the review of the appropriate legislative committees;

(h) Any meeting initiated by the President or one or more Federal official(s) for the purpose of obtaining advice or recommendations from one individual;

(i) Any meeting initiated by a Federal official(s) with more than one individual for the purpose of obtaining the advice of individual attendees and not for the purpose of utilizing the group to obtain consensus advice or recommendations. However, agencies should be aware that such a group would be covered by the Act when an agency accepts the group's deliberations as a source of consensus advice or recommendations;

(j) Any meeting initiated by a group with the President or one or more Federal official(s) for the purpose of expressing the group's view, provided that the President or Federal official(s) does not use the group recurrently as a preferred source of advice or recommendations;

(k) Meetings of two or more advisory committee or subcommittee members convened solely to gather information or conduct research for a chartered advisory committee, to analyze relevant issues and facts, or to draft proposed position papers for deliberation by the advisory committee or a subcommittee of the advisory committee; or

(1) Any meeting with a group initiated by the President or one or more Federal official(s) for the purpose of exchanging facts or information.

§ 101-6.1005 Authorities for establishment of advisory committees.

An advisory committee may be established in one of four ways:

(a) By law where the Congress specifically directs the President or an agency to establish it;

(b) By law where the Congress authorizes but does not direct the Presi

dent or an agency to establish it. In this instance, the responsible agency head shall follow the procedures provided in § 101-6.1007;

(c) By the President by Executive Order; or

(d) By an agency under general agency authority in title 5 of the United States Code or under other general agency-authorizing law. In this instance, an agency head shall follow the procedures provided in § 101-6.1007.

§ 101-6.1006 [Reserved]

§ 101-6.1007 Agency procedures for establishing advisory committees.

(a) When an agency head decides that it is necessary to establish a committee, the agency must consider the functions of similar committees in the same agency before submitting a consultation to GSA to ensure that no duplication of effort will occur.

(b) In establishing or utilizing an advisory committee, the head of an agency or designee shall comply with the Act and this subpart, and shall:

(1) Prepare a proposed charter for the committee which includes the information listed in section 9(c) of the Act; and

(2) Submit a letter and the proposed charter to the Secretariat proposing to establish or use, reestablish, or renew an advisory committee. The letter shall include the following information:

(i) An explanation of why the committee is essential to the conduct of agency business and in the public interest;

(ii) An explanation of why the committee's functions cannot be performed by the agency, another existing advisory committee of the agency, or other means such as a public hearing; and

(iii) A description of the agency's plan to attain fairly balanced membership. The plan will ensure that, in the selection of members for the committee, the agency will consider a crosssection of those directly affected, interested, and qualified, as appropriate to the nature and functions of the committee. Committees requiring technical expertise should include persons

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