Activists are still waiting for a report on the fire escapes

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In the fall of 2023, the California Legislature commissioned state fire safety regulators to write a report that some housing affordability activists say could make it easier to build larger, airier and better-lit apartment buildings in California’s housing-poor cities.

The State Fire Service received by 01.01.2026 to produce a report on single-stair apartment buildings, a type of mid-rise multifamily construction legal in much of the world but effectively banned in most of North America.

More than a month after the deadline, stairwell advocates are still waiting for that report, though a draft obtained by CalMatters suggests the office may be considering a modest change to the state’s building code.

“They were given a deadline,” said Steven Smith, founder of the Center for North American Construction, which advocates for cost-cutting changes to building regulations.

This safety-oriented code seeks to provide residents with multiple means of escape in the event of a fire. But it has also become a focus of criticism among a growing number of housing advocates, architects and urban planners who say it increases the cost of multifamily construction, restricts apartment locations, pushes developers toward dark studios and away from family apartments and offers limited health and safety benefits.

“I know there was a real desire among California politicians change status image as a slow progress state, but in this case I don’t see it that way,” said Smith, who was also part of the task force of fire service professionals, building code experts and housing advocates tasked with writing the first draft of the state fire marshal’s report. last group meeting It was November 4th.

“This report is still under review and we will publish it as soon as it is approved for publication,” Wes Maxey, CAL FIRE’s deputy assistant legislative director, said in an email. He did not specify when it is expected to be published or what caused the delay.

The state legislature regularly commissions such investigative reports from various corners of the state bureaucracy and, like CalMatters reported earlier the state bureaucracy regularly fails to meet the set deadlines.

But the analysis of one staircase has generated considerable interest outside of Sacramento.

Current California rules (with the most recent Exception in Culver City ) require three-story residential buildings to have at least two stairways connected by a corridor.

The Legislature was clearly interested in raising this height limit when it ordered the report in the first place.

“Many European countries allow buildings with only one staircase and have better fire safety records than the United States,” said Rep. Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, urging a vote in favor of your account in the summer of 2023. “I believe the completion of the fire marshal’s study will start the discussion on using existing fire and emergency response technologies and strategies to maximize housing projects.”

Local firefighters, firefighters and fire unions have generally opposed relaxing building code ladder requirements wherever they have been proposed.

The final report is likely to disappoint both the fire service, the politically powerful electorate and supporters of the Yes in the Backyard movement, who are find an ally in Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A draft report circulated to stakeholders in late October included tepid approval of a change to the state building code. If the state fire marshal recommends a new policy, the blueprint shows the change should only cover a maximum of three and four stories. Any new four-story structure with a single staircase must also be limited in size and meet additional safety restrictions, the report added.

Culver City, west of downtown Los Angeles, adopted a one-staircase ordinance last year to eliminate the requirement for a second staircase in some residential buildings up to six stories. Six stories is also the limit in the other four jurisdictions for buildings taller than three stories: New York, Seattle, Honolulu and Portland, Oregon.

The draft report, which is not final, also took pains to highlight the “nearly unanimous response of California fire departments opposing allowing the construction of single-egress stairways … taller than 3 stories.”

Once finalized and published, the report will not have the force of law. However, if state lawmakers decide to take up the issue in the future, their final recommendations will likely carry weight among undecided lawmakers.