Section 403.70  Fire Protection Requirements

a)         Water Supply

The track shall have a water system capable of providing an adequate and reliable water supply for fire fighting purposes. Grandstands, barns and dormitories and other facilities shall have a water supply capable of providing at least 1000 gallons per minute (gpm) at 20 per square inch (psi) residual pressure for a period of two hours.

b)         Fire Hydrants

1)         All portions of major track structures such as barns, dormitories, kitchens and maintenance buildings shall be within 400 ft. of a fire hydrant. Grandstands shall comply with Section 7.41. (11 Ill. Adm. Code Section 403.70(d)(1))

2)         To allow access, new fire hydrants shall be located at least 25 ft. away from masonry and noncombustible walls and 50 ft. away from combustible walls.

3)         Fire hydrants shall be located so that a fire department pumper can approach to within 10 ft. of the outlet.

4)         Fire hydrants adjacent to doorways, parking lots or other areas where subject to vehicular damage shall be protected to prevent such damage.

5)         Fire hydrants shall be approved by the local fire department. All hose connections shall have threads matching those of the public fire department serving the track.

c)         Automatic Sprinklers

1)         Automatic sprinkler systems shall be installed in accordance with NFPA Standard No. 13-1975, Installation of Sprinkler Systems.

2)         Automatic sprinklers protecting grandstands and dormitories shall be designed for Light Hazard Occupancies, except those areas containing combustible storage or that are used as exhibition halls shall be designed for Ordinary Hazard (Group 3) Occupancies. Sprinklers for barns shall be designed for Ordinary Hazard Occupancies (Group 2).

3)         Automatic sprinklers shall have a waterflow alarm device, value supervision and air pressure supervision transmitting a signal to a constantly attended location. The signaling system shall be installed in accordance with the general requirements of Section 7.7 (11 Ill. Adm. Code Section 403.70(g)) covering fire detection systems.

d)         Standpipes

Grandstand structures shall be provided with Class III standpipes. Standpipes shall be designed and installed in accordance with NFPA Standard No. 14-1975, Standpipe and Hose Systems. A 1½" rubber lined hose connected to the standpipe shall be provided in all non-sprinklered areas. Each standpipe shall be equipped with a valved 2½" hose connection to conform with the local fire department thread. All portions of the grandstand shall be within 125 ft. of a standpipe or within 400 ft. of a fire hydrant, except for open seating spaces of noncombustible constructions. All fire department standpipe connections shall be within 100 ft. of a fire hydrant.

e)         Fire Hose

1)         Class B and C barns not protected by automatic sprinklers shall be provided with hose stations containing not more than 150 ft. of 1" hard rubber hose secured in a wall-mounted reel and equipped with an adjustable nozzle. Such hose stations are acceptable provided they are in compliance with Section 7.52. (11 Ill. Adm. Code Section 403.70(e)(2)) Until such hose stations are installed, 50 gallon water drums shall be provided 50 ft. apart in barn aisles with two buckets per drum. Drums shall be kept filled with water.

2)         Hose stations shall be located so that all portions of the structures are within reach of at least one hose stream.

3)         Each fire hose station shall be marked with a sign(s) visible from each direction of approach saying "FIRE HOSE."

f)         Fire Extinguishers

1)         Enclosed grandstand areas, barns, and sleeping room buildings shall be provided with a basic complement of approved fire extinguishers having a minimum Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. rating of Class 2-A, within 75 ft. of travel distance from any point in the building. Non-freeze type units shall be used in areas subject to temperatures below 40°F. Exception: Hoses may be substituted in barns in lieu of the above requirements for fire extinguishers. Such hose substitutes shall contain not more than 100 ft. of ¾" hard rubber or synthetic hose on a wall-mounted reel and be equipped with an adjustable nozzle. These hose substitutes must comply with Sections 7.52 and Sections 7.53. (11 Ill. Adm. Code Sections 403.70(e)(2) and (3))

2)         Kitchens, concession booths and maintenance areas shall have at least one multipurpose type extinguisher with a minimum Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. rating of 20-BC. Additional extinguishers shall be provided, if necessary, so that an extinguisher is within 50 ft. travel distance of any point in these areas.

3)         Totalisator rooms, main electrical panels, and other locations containing significant amounts of electrical equipment shall have at least one liquefied gas type extinguisher having a minimum Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. rating of 10-BC. Additional extinguishers shall be provided, if necessary, so that an extinguisher is within 50 ft. travel distance of any point in these areas.

g)         Fire Detection Systems

1)         The performance, location, mounting and testing of automatic fire detectors shall comply with NFPA Standard No. 72E-1974, Automatic Fire Detectors. Fire detectors shall be of the combination rate-of-rise/fixed temperature type, or equivalent in performance under the conditions of use.

2)         The interconnection of detectors and control equipment shall comply with the applicable portions of NFPA Standards No. 71-1974, Central Station Signaling Systems; No. 72A-1974, Local Protective Signaling Systems; No. 72B-1974, Auxiliary Signaling Systems; No. 72C-1974, Remote Station Signaling Systems; No. 72D-1974, Proprietary Signaling Systems and No. 70-1975, National Electrical Code.

3)         Fire alarm and detection systems shall have standby power supplies capable of operating the system, including audible warning devices, for a period of 2 hours in the event of primary electrical power outage.

4)         Fire alarm control equipment such as relays, rectifiers, transformers, batteries and trouble alarm devices shall not be located inside sleeping rooms, or outside where exposed to weather conditions unless in a weather-proof cabinet. All such control equipment that is accessible to the public shall be in cabinets equipped with sturdy locks.

5)         Fire detection systems shall transmit alarm and trouble signals to a constantly attended location. The system shall be designed so that the specific building from which the alarm or trouble signals originate can be identified.

h)         Fire Reporting and Notification Systems

1)         Fire Reporting System: The grandstands, barns, dormitories, track kitchens, maintenance buildings and other buildings normally occupied during track operations shall be provided with manual fire reporting stations.

A)        Manual fire reporting stations shall be located so that the normal horizontal travel distance from any building area to a stations does not exceed 200 ft. in grandstands and 300 ft. in barn and other areas.

B)        Manual fire reporting stations shall transmit an alarm signal to a central location manned by trained personnel.

C)        Non-voice manual fire reporting stations shall be arranged in zones to provide signals that will identify to the central receiving locations the general area served without need of voice communication.

D)        If voice or telephone type manual fire reporting stations are utilized, each station shall be provided with a sign indicating its location or zone so that the user can give this information readily to the central receiving location.

E)        Every manual fire reporting station shall be marked with an overhead sign(s) visible from all directions of approach saying "FIRE ALARM." Stations located in outdoor areas that are poorly lit shall be provided with a 40-watt overhead red light.

2)         Fire Notification System: An audible fire notification system shall be provided to alert building occupants to a fire emergency.

A)        The track public address system may be considered an acceptable means of performing this function when fire reports are received directly by a person with a microphone connected to the public address system.

B)        For buildings not covered by a public address system outlined in Section 7.821, (11 Ill. Adm. Code Section 403.70(h)(2)(A) or during periods that buildings are occupied and the public address system is not in operation, other audible means shall be provided to alert occupants. Such a system may either be manually actuated from a central location manned at all times the buildings are occupied, or automatically actuated by a fire detection system.

C)        Fire notification systems shall be designed to awaken occupants of sleeping rooms.