Austin emergency personnel push back against 'single stairway' code proposal
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin emergency personnel are sharing concerns about a resolution approved by Austin City Council earlier this year regarding proposed code changes to allow single staircases in multifamily residences.
Austin City Council approved May 2 a resolution directing the city manager "to evaluate and provide options for Council to adopt building code updates that would allow a single stairway for multifamily developments up to at least five stories." That resolution cited both Seattle and New York City as well as communities in Europe and Asia as places with similar regulations already adopted.
However, officials with the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Development Services Department found multiple issues with the prospect of implementing those code changes locally. Tom Vocke, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department, addressed those concerns during Monday's Austin Public Safety Commission meeting.
Vocke said AFD along with other emergency response entities shared a letter with the city on June 26 noting they weren't in support of the code proposal. He said the proposed change would negatively impact evacuation tactics and obstruct emergency services, with aging and insufficient water infrastructure in Austin coupling those concerns.
While the council resolution cited other communities with this code as part of the passed resolution, Vocke said AFD services more than 300 square miles of land; in contrast, he said cities like Seattle and New York City are more compact and have a higher density of stations.
Presentation documents took the example of Seattle from council's resolution and crosschecked its operations against Austin's. Since 1977, Seattle's city code has permitted single stairway use in multifamily residences up to six stories high if built with specific safety protections in place, such as fire-resistive construction practices, limits on the number of apartments per floor and minimized travel distances from the farthest point of each apartment to the stairway, per a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development policy brief.
The reasons behind Seattle's capability of this code change, Austin officials said, came down to the following factors:
- Strong water supply access
- Fast response times
- Emergency communications tactics
- Fire prevention and enforcement measures
Presentation documents noted the Texas capital fell short in emergency response times as well as the sheer volume of fire response resources. Seattle has one ladder for every 2.7 engines, while Austin has one ladder for every 3.8 engines.
When looking at response times, Seattle's first arriving engine arrives at an incident within four minutes 76% of the time; comparatively, Austin's first arriving engine arrives within four minutes 57% of the time. In Seattle, the city's first full-alarm engine arrives within eight minutes 95% of the time; but in Austin, its first full alarm arrives within eight minutes 12% of the time.
Likewise, documents added Seattle has a "very good" hydrant infrastructure that supersedes Austin.
Vocke also shared that while city officials eye this code change as a way to broaden out its available multifamily residences, all of the safety requirements that come with single-stairway residences would likely increase construction costs.
Currently, he said the city's planning commission is poised to deliver a report on the code proposal back to council in the near future, and emergency personnel have been in contact with the commission about their concerns.