Updates: IFC 2024 Proposals

Overview:

The Jenkins Foundation has been actively supporting an effort to expand CO detection requirements in the 2024 International Fire Code (IFC) to include ALL commercial occupancies, both new and existing, with known CO sources. Proposed revisions also establish common baseline requirements for detector/alarm placement within these buildings. The current IFC requires detection only in limited locations within just a few occupancy types.

This page provides an overview of the process with linked access to the original and revised proposals, supporting documentation, hearing testimony, and voting results. The most recent updates are posted at the top. To view events in chronological order, scroll to the bottom to begin.

Approval of these revisions to the IFC will mark the first time CO detection has been required for all commercial occupancy types at the national/international level. Similar requirements were enacted several years ago at the state level in both New York and New Jersey (sadly, prompted by fatalities) and have proven successful, alerting to hazardous conditions before they become life-threatening.

To become effective, changes to the IFC must be adopted by individual states. Once the 2024 edition of the IFC is published, code section revisions must then go through state level code adoption, a process that varies from state to state and can take many years. This means it is still advised to carry your own CO alarm with you when you travel and spend time in any commercial building.

Note: The code revision process is free to participate in and is open to the public. CO detection requirements are decades behind where they need to be to adequately protect people. We hope the success of this effort inspires and encourages participation in this process in the future, regardless of area of expertise and knowledge or skill level. Please contact us if we can help.

Updates:

11/24/2021 Preliminary results of Online Governmental Consensus Vote (OGCV) posted (both F102 and F116 passed as modified – see page 3)

IFC Public Comment Hearing – held in Pittsburgh, PA Sept 21-26, 2021

9/22/2021 Video: F116 testimony and vote at Public Comment Hearing, Pittsburgh, PA (passed with 92% of vote)
9/22/2021 Video: F102 testimony and vote at Public Comment Hearing, Pittsburgh, PA (passed with 93% of vote)
Complete 2021 Public Comment Hearing Agenda, Pittsburgh, PA

8/20/2021 Rewritten IFC proposals (PCs) #102 and #116 submitted for Public Comment Hearing September 2021, Pittsburgh PA (Following the Committee Action Hearing vote of disapproval, both F102 and F116 were rewritten by a IFC Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) supported task group)

IFC Committee Action Hearing (CAH) – held via Zoom on May 2, 2021

Thank you to the following individuals for providing testimony and support in the Committee Action Hearing process:

Bob Dwyer (COSA), Jeannie Williams, Amber Williams (Jeffrey Lee Williams Foundation), Lyrysa Smith (A Normal Life: A Sister’s Odyssey Through Brain Injury), Don Johnson (The Lauren Project), Charon McNabb and NCOAA, Nikki Zellner (CO in Schools), Leslie Lienemann, Dr. Neil Hampson, Max Kipfer, Melissa Powers, Patrick Smith (REM Risk), Dr. Stephen Thom, Christopher Damm (Milwaukee School of Engineering), Ron Jordan (CPSC), Dr. Lindell Weaver, Dave Cherrone (Clay Fire Dept), Kevin Sehlmeyer (Michigan State Fire Marshal), Attorney Gordon Johnson, Richard Heller and Roger Berkowitz (Legal Sea Foods), Colline Prasad (Jenkins Foundation)

IFC Development Process

Proposals:

These two proposals seek to establish uniform baseline requirements in the International Fire Code (IFC) for CO detection in all new and existing commercial occupancies that contain fuel-burning appliances, fuel-burning fireplaces or have attached garages: