Construction Projects

NEW CONSTRUCTION

All new construction on University of Georgia properties come under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Before any construction or site development takes place, two sets of Building Blueprints must be submitted to the State for review accompanied by a 354-Transmittal Form. Note: This is true of all University of Georgia properties and new construction state wide. The State Fire Marshal’s Office can be reached at:

GA. Department of Insurance – Fire Safety Division
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Suite 916 – West Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
(404) 656-7087

You can obtain a 354-Transmittal Form at https://ociga.seamlessdocs.com/f/354PlansTransmittalForm.

The UGA Office of Fire & Life Safety should also be notified of all impending construction projects. We will assist you with:

A.)   Questions about code requirements and plan submissions prior to you sending your plans to the State Fire Marshal’s Office;
B.)   On-site consultations and inspections during the building construction process;
C.)   Arrangement and scheduling of the 80% and 100% inspections by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Please contact us if you have any questions or need additional assistance:

 

                UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety
               240A Riverbend Road
                Athens, Georgia 30602
               (706) 542-5801

RENOVATIONS

Plans for renovation of existing buildings should be reviewed by the UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety if the renovation involves adding, removing or modification to any Life Safety feature of the building. Life Safety features include (but are not limited to) fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, exits, egress passageways, lighting, emergency lighting, fire suppression systems, adding moving or eliminating doors, relocation of walls, renovation of HVAC systems, emergency access, interior finishing, major electrical work, change of occupancy type, etc.

 

If you are planning to renovate part of a building, please submit two copies of the renovation blueprints with a UGA 354-Transmittal Form to:

 

                The UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety
             240A Riverbend Rd.
            Athens, Georgia 30602
         (706) 542-5801

 

You must submit actual paper blueprints to our office. You can find the UGA 354 Transmittal here. Please note the following:

 

1.)    Renovation projects that reach and/or exceed 50% of the D.O.A.S. insured value of the building (single event or cumulative renovations) will have to be submitted to the State Fire Marshal’s Office for review and approval.

2.)    Renovation of buildings that exceed 50% of the insured value of the building will require that the entire building be brought up to current fire safety code requirements.

3.)    The requirement for renovation plan review applies to all University of Georgia buildings statewide. This includes all the outlying campuses and research facilities.

4.)    Please submit plans to our office at least four weeks prior to the scheduled start date of the project.  

INSPECTIONS AND SCHEDULING

New Construction:

As mandated by State Law, new construction projects require inspections at 80% completion and 100% completion. These inspections will be conducted by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. All State Fire Marshal inspections are scheduled through the UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety. If you require an inspection by the State Fire Marshal, please contact our office at (706) 542-5801 to make arrangements.

Renovations:

State Law also mandates 80% and 100% inspections for buildings undergoing renovation. If the cost of the renovation is 50% or more of the Department of Administrative Services (D.O.A.S.) insured value of the building, the inspections will fall under the State Fire Marshal’s Office. In this case, please follow the same scheduling guidelines as noted in the New Construction section above.

If the cost of the renovation project is less than 50% of the D.O.A.S. insured value of the building, than the project will fall under the jurisdiction of the UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety (per the Memorandum of Understanding with the State Fire Marshal). For these projects, an 80% and 100% inspection are also required. Please contact our office at (706) 542-5801 to make arrangements for the appropriate inspections. You can also E-Mail Russell Dukes at rddukes@uga.edu to make arrangements for these inspections.

Consultative Visits and Inspections:

You may contact the UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety to request site consultations and inspections for Renovation Projects or New Construction Projects in addition to the 80% and 100% inspections. Under the agreement with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, this includes pre-cover up inspections to prevent delay of the construction project waiting for a State Fire Marshal to be available for a site visit. An example of a pre-cover up inspection would be to check a fire rated wall for penetrations before installing the ceiling sheet rock.

If you feel you need to have the State Fire Marshal on site for a consultation, please contact the UGA Office of Fire and Life Safety to make the arrangements.