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Explanation of Code Footprint Regulation
Public building owners and operators of all new construction, additions and changes in use begun after July 9, 2004 shall provide and permanently maintain a code footprint at the site and make them available to fire authorities.

Copies of code footprints shall be made available to local fire and building departments upon request.
The State Fire Marshal's Office reviews facilities for the very young, very old, the sick, those incarcerated, large assemblies and large multi-family residential facilities biecause these are vulnerable occupancies.

A code footprint is:

  • a document which shows a structure owner's compliance with state law to protect occupants from the dangers of fire and explosion
  • an architect's or engineer's written and graphic description of the intended life safety features in a public building.

State law establishes minimum life safety and has uniform force and effect throughout Kansas. Kansas Statutes Annotated 31-133 and 2003 Supp. 31-134 require that all occupied structures conform to the basic life safety requirements:

  • Existing occupied buildings cannot have hazardous conditions which slow speedy exits.
  • Alterations of existing buildings cannot make existing conditions worse or block exits.
  • New construction and changes in use are subject to greater life safety requirements.
The code footprint regulation, K.A.R. 22-1-7, defines minimum features of a code footprint for an objective evaluation by uniform application of state law using minimum resources. It also makes the code footpring available to assist local fire and building officials view new construction and changes in use. The regulation also provides a building owner with life safety choices to best suit their circumstances at the outset of construction or renovation. It is a simple record of the designer's life safety features, and it is a fixed code target for the life of their building.
The regulation also simplifies review efforts by the State Fire Marshal's Office because reduces enforcement intervention after new construction and assists field inspectors with the Office of the State Fire Marshal in verifying completion of life safety features promised on paper, keeps building owners on the same life safety document throughout the life of the building, and allows the inspector to see an overview of the entire life safety of a building at the beginning of an inspection.
Further, the code footprint shows compliance with state law by verifying the architect or engineer's seal, their signature and date, the location of building and owner information as a single source contact, the codes of record for a specific building, fire alarm requirements, automatic fire sprinkler requirements, and occupany types which determine exit requirements and maximum occupant codes.