Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) Practice

The rating for corridor walls in new ambulatory health care facilities that are equipped with sprinklers is that no fire-resistance rating is required. This is based on the understanding that sprinklers significantly enhance the fire safety of a building by controlling or extinguishing a fire before it can spread. In the context of ambulatory health care facilities, which are typically less hazardous than other health care settings and designed for lower occupancy recommendations, this allowance helps streamline construction and operational flexibility.

Specifically, in areas protected by automatic sprinklers, the focus is often placed on life safety features that adequately manage fire risks without the need for stringent fire-resistance ratings on certain components, such as corridor walls. This approach utilizes the effectiveness of the sprinkler systems to mitigate fire spread, thereby justifying the absence of a required wall rating for the corridors in these specific facilities.