Life Safety Drawings

During a recent survey, a surveyor asked for our current LS drawings. We were unable to provide them, and the surveyor gave us a Requirement for Improvement (RFI), stating that we did not have a current Statement of Conditions (SOC). What is the link between current LS drawings and the SOC? What is required in a current set of LS drawings?


Standard LS.01.01.01, EP 2, requires an organization to have a current SOC. Part of having a current SOC is creating and maintaining an up-to-date and complete Basic Building Information (BBI). The BBI requires organizations to indicate the location of current LS drawings. So, if your organization could not  supply current LS drawings, then it was not in compliance with the requirement for a current BBI and consequently an up-to-date SOC.

Current LS drawings must address the following topics (see Figure 1, above):

• A legend that clearly identifies features of fire safety
• Areas of the building that are fully sprinklered (if the building is partially sprinklered)
• Locations of all hazardous storage areas
• Locations of all rated barriers
• Locations of all smoke barriers
• Suite boundaries, including the size of the identified suites—both sleeping (max 5,000 sq ft) and non-sleeping (max 10,000 sq ft)
• Locations of designated smoke compartments
• Locations of chutes and shafts
• Any approved equivalencies or waivers

While The Joint Commission does not specify where LS drawings should be located, the engineering department is a logical place to keep such documents.


From February 2012 EC News