WAC 296-150M-0550   What is required to meet the fire safety certificate requirements?  You will need to complete the following requirements for your pre-HUD home.

     (1) Wiring system. Aluminum wiring is not permitted for use in fifteen and twenty amp branch circuits. You must do one of the following:

     (a) Rewire the fifteen and twenty amp branch circuits in copper.

     (b) Install receptacles and switches that are approved for the use of either aluminum or copper (i.e., they will be marked AL/CU); or

     (c) Install copper "pig tail" connections using wiring nuts approved for aluminum wire between the aluminum wire and the receptacle/switch/light fixture/bath and fans/range hoods.

     Additionally, if the circuit breakers in the electrical panel for fifteen and twenty amp circuits are not approved for aluminum wiring, the breakers either need to be replaced with those that are acceptable for aluminum wire or they need to be pit tailed with copper wire and wire nuts acceptable for aluminum wire.

     (2) Fire protection.

     (a) Walls, doors and ceilings in the water heater and furnace compartments shall be protected by materials with a flame spread rating not exceeding twenty-five. (This can be met with gypsum wallboard having a minimum thickness of 5/16 inch or ceramic tile.)

     (b) The range hood must be at least as wide as the appliance and have a lower front edge or "eyebrow" which extends at least three inches past the cabinet above.

     (c) The surfaces of the exposed walls adjacent to and within six inches of a range or cooktop appliance must be composed of gypsum wallboard, with a minimum thickness of 5/16 inch, or ceramic tile. Kitchen cabinets constructed of combustible material that is located above a range or cooktop must be a minimum of twenty-four inches above the cooking surface. The cabinets must be protected on the bottom and on the exposed sides within six inches of either side of the appliance, by covering the surface with gypsum wallboard, with a minimum thickness of 5/16 inch, and installing a metal hood above the cooking appliance. A minimum of 3/8 inch gap is required between the cabinet and the gypsum on top of the hood.

     (d) No window may be within twelve inches of the edge of a burner or element of the cooking appliance.

     (3) Emergency egress.

     (a) Every bedroom or other room designed expressly for sleeping purposes must have a window that meets the minimum requirements of at least 5.0 square feet of opening for emergency egress.

     (b) Rooms that have a door, with a minimum clear opening of twenty-eight inches wide by seventy-two inches high, which opens directly to the outside do not need to have an emergency egress window.

     (c) Windows and devices must be installed in a manner which allows for proper operation.

     (d) The bottom of the opening of an egress window shall be no more than thirty-six inches above the floor.

     (e) The height of the bottom of the window can be increased to forty-four inches when the clear net area is increased to 5.7 square feet of opening.

     (4) Smoke detectors.

     (a) Smoke detectors are required at each hallway or area giving access to a bedroom or group of bedrooms. When a furnace is located in the hall giving access to the bedrooms, the detector is to be located between the living area and the return air grill of the furnace.

     (b) Smoke detectors must be installed on a wall and must be permanently wired and installed on a J-box with splices terminating inside the box.

     (c) A smoke alarm with a rated life of ten years and provided with a listed ten year battery can be used in lieu of wired smoke detector.

     (d) The smoke detector may not be switched and if more than one smoke detector is installed, then each one is to be wired on a different branch circuit.

     (e) Smoke detectors do not need to be wired together to sound simultaneous alarms.



[Statutory Authority: Chapter 43.22 RCW and 2005 c 399. 05-24-020, § 296-150M-0550, filed 11/29/05, effective 1/1/06.]