The Importance of the Fire Code

When you are doing your due diligence, make sure that you don’t forget the fire code. While this may seem like a small thing that you can easily accommodate, there are a lot of factors that play into the fire code that may make or break your self-storage project.

The fire code is critical to your success when you are working on a multi-story project or a climate controlled facility. The first reason for this is that you will need to sprinkle the building. If you are required to have sprinklers throughout the building this will be a significant additional cost. In addition, you will need to make sure that you can get water to the property. If there is no way to economically get water to the property, your project may be over right now.

The second reason for this is the fire walls. The fire codes are changing to make it so that you have to have a 3-hour fire barrier every 2400 sq. ft. Fire doors are expensive. When you are looking at climate controlled buildings, there are a lot of doors. This dramatically increases your costs. You need to find out what the fire code is before you even start to make sure that your project is still financially feasible.

Finally, can you get a firetruck in and out of your self-storage facility? If you can’t, you won’t ever open. Check your fire code requirements to make sure that your facility meets those requirements. As always, happy investing.