Calgary’s firefighters union is trying to prevent what it calls a dangerous housing trend — in which apartment buildings are being constructed with only one exit stairwell — from making its way here.
Under the national building code, new residential buildings more than two storeys tall must have two stairwells. But there has recently been a push in Canada to work around that.
Last year, the B.C. government tweaked its building code, allowing buildings up to six storeys to have one stairwell instead of two.
And earlier this year, the City of Edmonton released a guide to help developers get the green light for single-stair housing by using alternative solutions to fire safety instead — a process that’s been available for decades. So far, two building permits have been approved.
Now, Jamie Blayney, president of the Calgary Firefighters Association, worries Calgary is next.
“We don’t want to see even one of those buildings get built inside the city,” said Blayney.
“As we’re seeing increasingly more and more faster growing fires, we don’t want to occupy that stairwell at the same time people are trying to escape.”
Blayney’s comments echo concerns from firefighters across North America who are trying to stop these proposals in cities like Vancouver and Los Angeles.
But proponents argue that, amid a housing crisis, shifting to one stairwell is a good way to construct housing quicker and cheaper.
Stephen Barnecut, principal of Gravity Architecture, said he feels like it’s just a matter of time before these types of developments make their way to Calgary.
His firm recently partnered with students at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape to design single-stair — also called point access block — housing. They submitted their work to a competition in Denver and one team was shortlisted.
Barnecut said there are many advantages to this type of housing. For one, stairwells cost a lot. And with less space needed for stairs, he said there are opportunities to design spaces more creatively, giving residents better light and air circulation.
It also opens up the opportunity to build multi-storey buildings on smaller parcels of land, he said.
“Rather than waiting 10, 20 years for [a real estate developer] to buy up the entire block and put a large North American apartment building, the single stair allows even a 50-foot wide or even maybe narrower site to be built as an apartment building,” he said.
Barnecut said this type of building is common outside of North America. He pointed to Europe as an example of how they can be constructed safely.
Countries in Europe use non-combustible materials for stairwells, he said. And European buildings often have designated refuge areas for people with mobility issues in the event of a fire, which isn’t common in Canada.
“The single stair in some ways is just a more progressive way of doing things if it’s done the way it’s done in Europe.”
In a statement to CBC, the City of Calgary’s chief building official said no single-stair proposals have been submitted to date.
But the city is open to reviewing proposals, as long as they’re designed with alternative solutions that are equivalent to applicable building code requirements.
“In cases where emergency response may be impacted, such as with single egress designs, the Calgary Fire Department would be a key partner in the review and the design would need to reflect both the capabilities of the Calgary Fire Department and the specific site conditions,” said Ulrik Seward.
Back at the firefighters’ union, Blayney argues there are no alternative solutions as safe as having two exit stairwells. As a new city council kicks off, he said he plans to continue conversations with councillors to share his concerns.
