California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1.5 - Department of Forestry and Fire Protection › Chapter 7 - Fire Protection › Subchapter 2 - State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations › Article 1 - Administration › Section 1270.01 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following definitions are applicable to Subchapter
						2.
(a) Agriculture: Land used for
					 agricultural purposes as defined in a Local Jurisdiction's zoning
					 ordinances.
(b) Board: California
					 Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(c) Building: Any Structure used or intended
					 for supporting or sheltering any use or Occupancy, except those classified as
					 Utility and Miscellaneous Group U.
(d) CAL FIRE: California Department of
					 Forestry and Fire Protection.
(e)
					 Dead-end Road: A Road that has only one point of vehicular ingress/egress,
					 including cul-de-sacs and Roads that loop back on themselves
(f) Defensible Space: The area within the
					 perimeter of a parcel, Development, neighborhood or community where basic
					 wildland fire protection practices and measures are implemented, providing the
					 key point of defense from an approaching Wildfire or defense against
					 encroaching Wildfires or escaping Structure fires. The perimeter as used in
					 this regulation is the area encompassing the parcel or parcels proposed for
					 construction and/or Development, excluding the physical Structure itself. The
					 area is characterized by the establishment and maintenance of emergency vehicle
					 access, emergency water reserves, Road names and Building identification, and
					 fuel modification measures.
(g)
					 Development: As defined in section
					 66418.1 of
					 the California Government Code.
(h)
					 Director: Director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or their
					 designee.
(i) Driveway: A vehicular
					 pathway that serves no more than four (4) Residential Units and any number of
					 non-commercial or non-industrial Utility or Miscellaneous Group U Buildings on
					 each parcel. A Driveway shall not serve commercial or industrial uses at any
					 size or scale.
(j) Exception: An
					 alternative to the specified standard requested by the applicant that may be
					 necessary due to health, safety, environmental conditions, physical site
					 limitations or other limiting conditions, such as recorded historical sites,
					 that provides mitigation of the problem.
(k) Fire Apparatus: A vehicle designed to be
					 used under emergency conditions to transport personnel and equipment or to
					 support emergency response, including but not limited to the suppression of
					 fires.
(l) Fire Authority: A fire
					 department, agency, division, district, or other governmental body responsible
					 for regulating and/or enforcing minimum fire safety standards in the Local
					 Jurisdiction.
(m) Fire Hydrant: A
					 valved connection on a water supply or storage system for the purpose of
					 providing water for fire protection and suppression operations.
(n) Fuel Break: A strategically located area
					 where the volume and arrangement of vegetation has been managed to limit fire
					 intensity, fire severity, rate of spread, crown fire potential, and/or ember
					 production.
(o) Greenbelts: open
					 space, parks, wildlands, other areas, or a combination thereof, as designated
					 by Local Jurisdictions, which are in, surround, or are adjacent to a city or
					 urbanized area, that may function as Fuel Breaks and where Building
					 construction is restricted or prohibited.
(p) Greenways: Linear open spaces or
					 corridors that link parks and neighborhoods within a community through natural
					 or manmade trails and paths.
(q)
					 Hammerhead/T: A "T" shaped, three-point Turnaround space for Fire Apparatus on
					 a Road or Driveway, being no narrower than the Road or Driveway that serves
					 it.
(r) Hazardous Land Use: A land
					 use that presents a significantly elevated potential for the ignition,
					 prolonged duration, or increased intensity of a Wildfire due to the presence of
					 flammable materials, liquids, or gasses, or other features that initiate or
					 sustain combustion. Such uses are determined by the Local Jurisdiction and may
					 include, but are not limited to, power-generation and distribution facilities;
					 wood processing or storage sites; flammable gas or liquids processing or
					 storage sites; or shooting ranges.
(s) Local Jurisdiction: Any county,
					 city/county agency or department, or any locally authorized district that
					 approves or has the authority to regulate Development.
(t) Municipal-Type Water System: A system
					 having water pipes servicing Fire Hydrants and designed to furnish, over and
					 above domestic consumption, a minimum of 250 gpm (950 L/min) at 20 psi (138
					 kPa) residual pressure for a two (2) hour duration.
(u) Occupancy: The purpose for which a
					 Building, or part thereof, is used or intended to be used.
(v) One-way Road: A Road that provides a
					 minimum of one Traffic Lane width designed for traffic flow in one direction
					 only.
(w) Residential Unit: Any
					 Building or portion thereof which contains living facilities including
					 provisions for sleeping, eating, cooking and/or sanitation, for one or more
					 persons. Manufactured homes, mobile homes, and factory-built housing are
					 considered Residential Units.
(x)
					 Ridgeline: The line of intersection of two opposing slope aspects running
					 parallel to the long axis of the highest elevation of land; or an area of
					 higher ground separating two adjacent streams or watersheds.
(y) Road: A public or private vehicular
					 pathway to more than four (4) Residential Units, or to any industrial or
					 commercial Occupancy.
(z) Road or
					 Driveway Structures: Bridges, culverts, and other appurtenant Structures which
					 supplement the Traffic Lane or Shoulders.
(aa) Same Practical Effect: As used in this
					 subchapter, means an Exception or alternative with the capability of applying
					 accepted wildland fire suppression strategies and tactics, and provisions for
					 fire fighter safety, including:
(1) access for
					 emergency wildland fire equipment,
(2) safe civilian evacuation,
(3) signing that avoids delays in emergency
					 equipment response,
(4) available
					 and accessible water to effectively attack Wildfire or defend a Structure from
					 Wildfire, and
(5) fuel modification
					 sufficient for civilian and fire fighter safety.