Wisconsin Legislature: Ch. SPS 362 TOC

Note: Chapter Comm 62 as it existed on June 30, 2002 was repealed and a new chapter Comm 62 was created, Register December 2001 No. 552, effective July 1, 2002. Chapter Comm 62 was renumbered chapter SPS 362 under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672.

Note: Chapters SPS 361 to 366 are affected by 2017 Wisconsin Acts 59, 198, 243, 317, 329, 330, and 331. Future rule-making will update chs. SPS 361 to 366 to reflect this legislation.

SPS 362.0100 Administration. The requirements in IBC chapter 1 are not included as part of chs. SPS 361 to 366.

Note: The sections in this chapter are generally numbered to correspond with the section numbering in the IBC, e.g., s. SPS 362.0202 corresponds to IBC section 202.

Note: As used throughout chs. SPS 361 to 366, “not included as part of chs. SPS 361 to 366” is intended to convey that the referenced requirements are not incorporated, and therefore cannot be enforced through chs. SPS 361 to 366. However, local ordinances may include the referenced requirements, as specified in s. SPS 361.03.

Note: IBC section 101.2 addresses the scope of the IBC. For the scope of the Wisconsin Commercial Building Code, see s. SPS 361.02. Three or more attached townhouses, as referenced in an exception under IBC section 101.2, are included within the scope listed in s. SPS 361.02. Detached one- and two-family dwellings, as likewise referenced in an exception under IBC section 101.2, and elsewhere in the IBC, are not included within the scope listed in s. SPS 361.02, but are regulated in Wisconsin by chs. SPS 320 to 325, in accordance with subch. II of ch. 101, Stats.

History: CR 00-179: cr. Register December 2001 No. 552, eff. 7-1-02; CR 01-139: renum. (1) and (2) to be Comm 62.0100 and Comm 62.0115 Register June 2002 No. 558, eff. 7-1-02; CR 04-016: am. Register December 2004 No. 588, eff. 1-1-05; CR 06-120: am. Register February 2008 No. 626, eff. 3-1-08; CR 16-094: am., Register April 2018 No. 748 eff. 5-1-18.

SPS 362.0202 Definitions.

(1) Additions. These are department definitions for this chapter in addition to the definitions in IBC section 202:

(a) “High-piled combustible storage” means storage of combustible materials in closely packed piles or on pallets, racks, or shelves where the top of storage is greater than 12 feet in height. When required by the fire code official, high-piled combustible storage also includes certain high-hazard commodities, such as rubber tires, Group A plastics, flammable liquids, idle pallets, and similar commodities, where the top of storage is greater than 6 feet in height.

(b) “Neutral plane for a deep foundation” means the level at which drag load, accumulated from the top down, added to the long-term static service load, equals the upward acting shaft resistance accumulated from the bottom up, added to the deep foundation’s toe resistance.

(2) Substitutions. Substitute the following definitions for the corresponding definition in IBC section 202:

(a) “Approved” means acceptable to the department.

(b) “Automatic sprinkler system” or “automated fire sprinkler system” has the meaning given in s. 145.01 (2), Stats.

Note: Section 145.01 (2), Stats., reads as follows: “ ‘Automatic fire sprinkler system,’ for fire protection purposes, means an integrated system of underground and overhead piping designed in accordance with fire protection engineering standards. The system includes a suitable water supply, such as a gravity tank, fire pump, reservoir or pressure tank or connection beginning at the supply side of an approved gate valve located at or near the property line where the pipe or piping system provides water used exclusively for fire protection and related appurtenances and to standpipes connected to automatic sprinkler systems. The portion of the sprinkler system above ground is a network of specially sized or hydraulically designed piping installed in a building,structure or area, generally overhead, and to which sprinklers are connected in a systematic pattern. The system includes a controlling valve and a device for actuating an alarm when the system is in operation. The system is usually activated by heat from a fire and discharges water over the fire area.”

(c) “Commercial motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle used to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle meets either of the following:

1. The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,000 pounds or more.

2. The vehicle is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver.

(d) “Fire area” means the aggregate floor area enclosed and bounded by fire walls, fire barriers, exterior walls, or fire-resistance-rated horizontal assemblies of a building.

(e) “Fire separation distance” means the distance measured at right angles from the face of the building wall to one of the following:

1. The closest interior lot line.

2. A permanent no-build easement line.

3. The centerline of a street, an alley, or a public way.

4. An imaginary line between two buildings on the same property.

(f) “Fuel-burning appliance” means a device that is installed in a building and burns fossil-fuel or carbon-based fuel when carbon dioxide is a combustion by-product, including ranges, ovens, grills, clothes dryers, furnaces, boilers, water heaters, heaters, fireplaces, and stoves.

(g) “Immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH)” means a concentration of air-borne contaminants that poses a threat of death, immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects, or effects that could prevent escape from such an environment. This contaminant concentration level is established by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health based on both toxicity and flammability. It generally is expressed in parts per million by volume, or milligrams per cubic meter.

(h) “Live/work unit” means a dwelling unit that includes a “home-based business” as defined in s. SPS 361.04 (3m).

Note: SPS 361.04 (3m) reads as follows: “Home-based business” means any business, profession, trade, or employment conducted in a person’s dwelling unit, that may involve the person’s immediate family or household and a maximum of one other unrelated person, but does not involve any of the following:

(a) Explosives, fireworks, or repair of motor vehicles.

(b) More than 25% of the habitable floor area of the dwelling unit.

(i) “Sealed combustion appliance” means a listed appliance that acquires all air for combustion though a dedicated sealed passage from the outside to a sealed combustion chamber and all combustion products are vented to the outside through a separate dedicated sealed vent.

(3) Deletions. The following terms and corresponding definitions in IBC section 202 are not included as part of chs. SPS 361 to 366: approved agency, approved fabricator, base flood, base flood elevation, certificate of compliance, design flood, design flood elevation, designated seismic system, dry floodproofing, fabricated item, label, lowest floor, manufacturer’s designation, mark, special flood hazard area, special inspection, sprayed fire-resistant materials, start of construction, and structural observation.