The Ontario Building Code | Portions of Buildings Considered as Separate Buildings
9.10.18.6. Portions of buildings Considered as Separate Buildings
(1) Except as provided in Sentence (2), where a vertical fire separation having a fire-resistance ratingof at least 1 h separates a portion of a building from the remainder of the building and there are no openings through the fire separation other than those for piping, tubing, wiring and conduit, the requirements for fire alarm and detection systems is permitted to be applied to each portion so separated as if it were a separate building.
(2) The permission in Sentence (1) to consider separated portions of a building as separate buildingsdoes not apply to service rooms and storage rooms.
In Plain Language
Under specific conditions, portions of a building may be considered as separate buildings for fire alarm purposes, as set out in this article.
This is a plain-language summary of the 2012/2017 Ontario Building Code text above, for general understanding only and not a substitute for the Code. Always confirm current requirements against the 2024 edition (O.Reg. 163/24) or a qualified professional before construction.