2.3 Terminal Evacuation at BWI Marshall
2.3.1 Terminal Evacuation Plans
The MAA Office of Architecture, in coordination with the Office of the Fire Marshal is only responsible for assisting in the development, approval, and location of all written Evacuation Plans and drawings. Responsibility for submitting written Evacuation plans and drawings to MAA for review and approval shall be the Designer of Record under MAA Capital Program projects, and the tenant organization and/or the tenant organization’s General Construction Contractor under the MAA Building Permit process. Upon approval of the Evacuation plans and drawings, and as directed by MAA, the General Construction Contractor for the Capital Program project or the tenant organization shall be responsible for the placement of the Evacuation Plan Drawings.
Provide Hard copy drawings and CAD generated evacuation plans with a "you are here" designation and the egress paths clearly shown on a floor plan. Permanent signage, with the capability for changing inserts, shall be provided by the general contractor.
2.3.2 Voice Evacuation System Requirements
A. No stand-alone voice evacuation system exists at the Airport. The public address system, although not Underwriter Laboratories (U.L.) listed as a fire alarm voice evacuation system, is monitored 24 hours a day by airport communications (paging) personnel and BWI Marshall Dispatch personnel. Historically, this system was accepted by the Maryland State Fire Marshal (OSFM) for use as a voice evacuation system following the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Section 8-3.4.1, Exception No.2 (1994 Edition.)
B. Public Address (PA) System
1. The Main Terminals (and Concourses are served by the public address system. The system is a microprocessor-based public address system with remote speakers located in holdrooms, public corridors, lobbies, restrooms, and concession areas. The speakers are connected to head-end equipment via plenum rated cable in cable tray or in conduit (except in some older, unrenovated areas of the terminal where cable is strapped to structural steel above the ceiling).
2. Projects that modify or add to public areas, areas of assembly, or areas presently served by the public address system shall include all necessary work to provide public address system coverage to the areas of the project. Provide instruction and maintenance manuals, as built drawings, and schematic one-line drawings for revisions to the existing PA system and all new systems.
3. Provide PA system training as required by the MDOT MAA.
4. Survivability of the public address system is critical since it provides voice evacuation to all public areas. All work must comply with applicable sections of NFPA 72. All circuits necessary for the operation of the notification appliances shall be protected until they enter the evacuation-signaling zone that they serve. Any of the following methods shall be considered acceptable as meeting the requirements of this subsection:
a. A 2-hour fire rated circuit integrity (CI) cable
b. A 2-hour fire rated cable system (electrical circuit protective system)
c. A 2-hour fire rated enclosure
d. Performance alternatives approved by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)
e. Buildings fully protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and with the interconnecting wiring or cables used for the operation of notification appliances installed in metal raceways and in accordance with Article 760 of NFPA 70.
5. It is preferred that all public address system wiring be run in conduit to the extent possible. However, wiring may be run in cable tray. Long runs of wire strapped to roof structures above suspended ceilings are prohibited. Coordinate with MDOT MAA and the Office of the Fire Marshal for approval of routing method.
6. All wire, which is not in conduit, shall be plenum rated.
7. For large renovation and new construction projects, create separate public address zones for dedicated use only by Airport personnel. Coordinate with the Office of the Fire Marshal for identification of the limits of such zones.
Add the following
a. The Office of Information Technology (OT) has detailed standards for the paging system. These standards shall be the overriding standards and documents for the paging system including infrastructure. The OT Standards can be found in Volume 6 of this manual.
b. The specific section dealing with the paging system is: Public Address Emergency Communication System
8. Normal PA Operations
9. The PA system at BWI Marshall Airport provides a means to allow for general announcements to the entire Terminal (all-call) or to selected zones from the BWI Marshall Dispatch. Paging/microphone stations exist throughout the concourses (piers) at ticket lift counters for use by airline personnel when making announcements within a specific holdroom. Announcements to selected zones are performed by entering a zone specific numeric code at a paging console keypad.
10. Emergency PA Operations
11. During emergency situations in the Terminal, Authorized Airport personnel can communicate with BWI Marshall Dispatch personnel via radio or house phone and direct the operator to issue emergency/evacuation announcements to the entire Airport (all-call) or to selected zones within the terminal. A system hierarchy exists whereby all emergency announcements take precedence over all other PA system activity.
2.3.3 Special Criteria for Controlled Evacuation Conditions
Time-based Analysis for Concourses C, D, E and Future Concourses
In addition to meeting the requirements of the Model Code criteria, a time-based analysis must be provided that ensures that Concourses C, D, E and Future Concourses can be evacuated under a controlled evacuation condition. The controlled evacuation analysis shall comply with the following requirements (Note: Concourses A and B were evaluated for compliance with this condition at the time of design and are considered compliant as long as Concourses A or B are not increased in area or passenger seating count.)
A. The controlled evacuation analysis shall be performed using a time-based egress modeling method acceptable to the Office of the Fire Marshal.
B. 100% of the Concourse occupant load is required to egress toward the front of the Concourse and through the Terminal Building to the curbside. Egress via a secure corridor adjacent to the front exit to the Terminal Building, connecting to another Concourse through a horizontal barrier which complies with NFPA 101, is also considered as being egress via the front of the Concourse.
C. The evacuation analysis must demonstrate that the entire Concourse population is capable of being evacuated within 20 minutes via the Terminal Building to the curbside, unless alternate evacuation time criteria are approved by the Office of the Fire Marshal in advance.
D. A Fire Protection Engineer, who is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Maryland, shall prepare all calculations and supporting justification for review by the Office of the Fire Marshal, and shall sign and seal them accordingly.