Quote:
Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic
Actually, in the US, life safety isn't nearly as important as you'd imagine believe it or not. Property protection is a much higher priority. It costs insurance carriers far more to rebuild a building than it does to payoff the next of kin of the souls lost. Sad but true.
Parking garages are not filled with occupants. People don't hang out or linger in parking garages. They have transient occupany. It doesn't really matter how the building was built. It's all about how it's used.
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It's not a matter of imagining it, I live it.
Fire and life safety is all about lives. Every major municipality, county and state designs their fire and life safety bldg codes around saving lives. Property is pretty much always secondary to lives.
In every locale I've built in, fire/life safety is the ONLY department that it difficult or impossible to appeal the ruling.
If you live in a city/town that puts property first, I'd move. Lawsuits with compensatory and punitive damage claims must be off the charts where you live.
http://www.nfpa.org/