NFSA’s OGCV Voting Guide – May 2026
OGCV Voting Guide – May 2026
Fire Protection Voting Guide for the 2027 Editions of the International Codes
This guide provides recommendations for online voting by ICC Voting Governmental Members. These recommendations are offered with the intent of improving the model codes, with an emphasis on enhancing fire and life safety requirements.
Code officials who have completed ICC’s voter validation process are encouraged to participate in online voting and to consider these recommendations when voting on the proposals listed in the attached table. The Online Governmental Consensus Voting (OGCV) will take place from May 8 to May-22, 2026.
For more information on the voting period and how to vote, go the www.cdpaccess.com website.
The NFSA Codes, Standards, and Public Fire Protection department is fully committed to assisting our members, ICC members, and others in understanding the ICC development process and the NFSA’s involvement. Please contact Jeffrey M. Hugo, CBO (hugo@nfsa.org) or Roland Asp (asp@nfsa.org) for further assistance.
International Wildland Urban Interface Code |
|
|
WUIC11-24 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY PUBLIC COMMENT 1 – AMPC1 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Exterior sprinklers for wildfire protection
Updates appendix guidance related to exterior wildfire sprinkler systems that more accurately describes these systems, considerations for their use, and when and how they might be of benefit. |
International Fire Code |
|
|
F108-24 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY PUBLIC COMMENT 1 – AMPC1 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Sprinklers in public parking garages
Requires sprinklers to be installed in newly-constructed public parking garages in response to increased fire risk associated with EV and hybrid vehicle battery systems. |
|
F110-24 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY PUBLIC COMMENT 2 – AMPC2 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Sprinklers in residential occupancy bathrooms
Revises code requirements for bathroom enclosure walls to improve correlation with NFPA standards |
|
F162-24 Vote recommendation: AS SUBMITTED – AS Supports the committee recommendation, not the PCH vote. The PCH vote for AS was 46 to 46, one vote shy of the required majority to have AS as the PCH outcome. Lacking that one vote, the item defaulted to D |
Post-fire reconstruction
Requires the installation of sprinklers in Group R-1, R-2, R-4 and I Occupancy fire areas that have experienced significant fire damage when the fire area is reconstructed. This change was supported by the IFC committee at both hearings, and is very beneficial to improving fire safety in reconstruction of fire damaged buildings |
International Building Code |
|
|
E24-24 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY COMMITTEE ACTION HEARING 2 – AMC2 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Single-stair buildings
Expands allowance for single-stair buildings from 3-stories to 4-stories, for small footprint buildings provided with substantially upgraded safety features, including sprinklers |
|
G45-25, Part II Vote recommendation: As-Submitted – AS Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Smoke and CO alarms
Clarifies that the IFC, not the IRC, regulates smoke and CO alarms in existing 1&2-family dwellings/townhouses |
|
G96-25 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY COMMITTEE ACTION HEARING 2 – AMC2 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
Fire protection for 4-story Type V-B dwellings
Allows Group R-3 dwellings (1- and 2-family and townhouses) to be increased from 3-stories to 4-stories in Type V-B construction when NFPA 13D sprinklers are installed, no longer requiring NFPA 13R for this increase |
International Existing Building Code |
|
|
EB103-25 Vote recommendation: AS MODIFIED BY PUBLIC COMMENT 1 – AMPC1 Supports the public comment hearing recommendation |
IEBC sprinkler exceptions
Deletes three sprinkler exceptions from the IEBC that were irrelevant to and not needed in the IEBC |
International Residential Code |
|
|
RB108-25 Vote recommendation: DISAPPROVAL – D Opposes the public comment hearing recommendation |
Sprinklers for habitable attics above dwellings
This change, if approved, will weaken the IRC by reducing a current sprinkler requirement for some homes with habitable attics above the third story, possible resulting in no sprinklers in buildings having up to 5-levels, including a walk-out basement. The IRC committee and membership should not have recommended approval of this change |