IFC 2024: What Product Innovators Need To Know Now

Fire code updates tend to follow real changes in how buildings operate and the risks they carry. The International Fire Code (IFC) 2024 reflects how quickly building risks are changing, as batteries, electrification, and access-controlled environments become standard across commercial and mixed-use projects.

For product innovators, these updates affect more than compliance checklists. They shape how products are designed, tested, integrated, and approved—often long before construction begins. Understanding what changed, why it matters, and how authorities will enforce it is now essential to bringing compliant products to market without delay.

Key Points

• Lithium-ion hazards move to new Section 320: storage areas, electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, and large energy-storage systems now need Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 9540A test data, tighter spacing, and sprinkler designs proven for thermal runaway.
• Section 322 adds rules for e-bikes and e-scooters, requiring supervised charging and secure storage to curb the battery fires tied to 373 deaths since 2017.
• Carbon-monoxide detection is expanded to any occupancy with fuel-burning equipment, parking, or generators, eliminating previous gaps in mixed-use or commercial buildings.
• Stair doors must unlock on three triggers—command-center signal, local fire alarm, and power loss—so access control hardware needs redundant power and clear commissioning tests.
• Code compliance now hinges on early, system-level design: map occupancies, quantify hazardous materials, align with a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), and give authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) data-backed proof to avoid costly retrofits.

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IFC 2024 In Context

In 2024, airlines reported an average of two lithium-ion thermal runaway incidents per week.

That same risk profile now exists in buildings, where batteries, devices, and charging infrastructure operate side by side in occupied spaces.

IFC 2024—the International Fire Code published by the International Code Council—is a model code adopted by states and cities, often with local amendments. This edition moves beyond traditional fire protection topics like sprinklers, alarms, and fire-rated walls. It addresses lithium batteries, powered micromobility, carbon monoxide exposure, and how doors and access control systems must behave during an emergency.

For product innovators and builders, small code edits now have outsized impact.

A battery rack may require new spacing and performance data. A door lock may need to unlock automatically on power loss. Fire-resistance separations such as 2-hour fire-rated walls still govern certain adjacencies under the International Building Code (IBC). Design, certification, and approval are increasingly tied to how individual systems interact in real, occupied buildings—not how they perform in isolation.

Biggest Code Shifts

Energy storage systems are moving toward performance proof.

Where large-scale fire testing is required, design validation increasingly relies on UL 9540A, a method that evaluates thermal runaway and fire propagation. For fire-resistance ratings of walls and floors, ASTM E119 remains the standard furnace test developed by ASTM International (ASTM). In response, some operators report success using Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), real-time monitoring, steel outdoor enclosures, and sensors tracking heat and air quality.

Developers with utility-scale projects, such as Arevon, point to layered mitigation and continuous thermal tracking as part of this shift.

That performance-first direction shows up clearly in several IFC 2024 updates:

• Lithium-ion and lithium metal storage are consolidated into new Section 320, with electric vehicle manufacturing and storage now classified as moderate-hazard factory and storage occupancies. These changes tighten travel distances and often trigger smoke and heat removal requirements in large, open areas.
• Sprinkler protection for battery arrays is tied to fire testing for the actual configuration, rather than generic prescriptive tables, reinforcing the move toward data-backed design.
• Powered micromobility devices receive a dedicated Section 322, formalizing controls for charging, storage, and supervision.

The micromobility changes follow a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report identifying 373 related deaths between 2017 and 2023, many tied to battery fire hazards. Early campus responses illustrate the intent. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) banned unattended charging and began building secure outdoor charging and storage areas to reduce risk.

IFC 2024 also broadens its focus beyond batteries to hazards embedded in everyday building operations:

• Carbon monoxide detection now applies across occupancy types, closing long-standing gaps in mixed-use and commercial buildings with fuel-burning equipment, parking, or generators.
• Stairway reentry requirements now mandate three independent unlock triggers—command center signal, local fire alarm activation, and loss of power—directly affecting access control design and commissioning.
• Emergency responder communications provisions reflect modern radio and digital networks, while appendix language acknowledges operational practices that can elevate risk if poorly controlled.

A practitioner perspective captures the broader theme. As Americase notes, “aligning storage practices now has significant benefits,” because early alignment avoids retrofits and reassures insurers.

That is the throughline of IFC 2024: move early, design for how buildings actually operate, and support safety decisions with credible data.

2021 vs 2024

Sources: MeyerFire, EPA, UNLV, Builders Hardware

Compliance Checklist

Meeting IFC 2024 requirements increasingly depends on early coordination across design, product selection, and operations. The checklist below highlights the actions that most often determine whether projects move smoothly through review or stall late in the process.

• Confirm occupancy and use – Map each space and process to the correct occupancy group. Classification drives travel distance, exit requirements, sprinkler density, and smoke control provisions.
• Quantify hazardous materials – Establish maximum allowable quantities (MAQs), which set thresholds for on-site hazardous materials that trigger additional controls. Plan storage and process separations to remain within limits or design intentionally for higher hazard classifications.
• Build a carbon monoxide (CO) risk inventory – Identify fuel-fired equipment, parking adjacency, generators, and process exhaust. Place CO detection where hazards exist and plan periodic testing.
• Plan early for lithium storage – Section 320 emphasizes tested sprinkler design and defined hazard zones. As Americase notes, “The most cost-effective time to meet IFC Section 320 is during facility design or major renovation.”
• Validate energy storage systems with performance data – Where required, design around UL 9540A testing. Include monitoring strategies, spacing assumptions, and emergency response coordination in drawings and specifications.
• Engineer stair door unlocking – Confirm three independent unlock paths for stairway reentry: command center signal, local fire alarm activation, and loss of power. Verify each path during commissioning.
• Set the certification path – Select a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), accredited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to certify products. Common options include UL Solutions, Intertek, and CSA Group.
• Prepare the AHJ package – Provide a clear code analysis, hazard inventories, test reports, and any approved performance-based equivalencies for the authority having jurisdiction.
• Operate and maintain – Schedule integrated testing to confirm systems interact as intended. Train staff on charging rules, CO alarm response, and access-control hardware checks.

Taken together, these steps shift compliance from a late-stage inspection hurdle to a design input that reduces rework, shortens approvals, and builds confidence with regulators and insurers.

Inspection & Enforcement

Inspection and enforcement in IFC 2024 focus less on individual components and more on how systems perform together during an event, including fire-rated wall assemblies at penetrations and joints.

Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) are looking for evidence that modern hazards—batteries, micromobility, carbon monoxide exposure, and controlled doors—are addressed as integrated risks, not isolated features.

In practice, inspectors increasingly verify system interaction, not just installation.

Detection must activate alarms, alarms must release doors, and communication systems must reach both occupants and responders under real conditions—not just on paper.

Several areas consistently draw closer scrutiny during inspections:

• Powered micromobility – Charging locations, storage conditions, and supervision policies are now visible field checks, driven in part by CPSC investigations linking battery fires to injuries and deaths.
• Energy storage systems – Where applicable, inspectors review UL 9540A summaries, spacing assumptions, on-site monitoring, and coordination with the fire department’s response plan.
• Stairway reentry doors – All three required unlock triggers are typically tested: command center signal, local fire alarm activation, and loss of power to the lock.

Local amendments still shape enforcement details. Some jurisdictions adjust access road timing, inspection sequencing, or permitting requirements for access control systems and EV charging infrastructure.

Teams that arrive with a clear code path, documented testing, and consistent system behavior tend to move through final approval with fewer delays.

Strong working relationships also matter. As Integrity Fire notes, “By building a strong rapport and understanding their AHJ’s perspective, inspections become productive collaborations.”

In IFC 2024, success often depends as much on preparation and clarity as on the technical solution itself.