Las Vegas’s Clark County Building Department requires smoke control inspection and testing services be completed by an MQAA.
The Clark County Building Department requires that any tenant improvement to an existing space that impacts smoke control systems must have smoke control inspection and testing services completed by a Mechanical Quality Assurance Agency (MQAA) prior to occupancy. TERPconsulting is a certified Mechanical Quality Assurance Agency which is defined as an agency approved by the staff at the Clark County Building Department to conduct special inspections and/or testing on mechanical smoke-control systems as adhered to by the Clark County Building Administrative Code (CCBAC).
Although applicable to the 2006 International Building Code (IBC) as amended, these smoke control testing and inspection services are unique to Clark County, Nevada. As part of the Las Vegas Building Department’s quality assurance and quality control, smoke control inspection and testing are required to confirm that any tenant construction that was performed did not impact the existing smoke removal system.
As an approved MQAA in Clark County, TERPconsulting starts the smoke control inspection and testing process by reviewing the approved project fire protection report (FPR) that describes the fire protection method for the entire construction project, establishing the building’s smoke-control design, and outlining smoke-control criteria as well as reviewing any existing system operation resulting from any remodel, renovation, or additions.
During its MQAA inspections and testing TERPconsulting’s Las Vegas team of fire protection engineers prepare scenarios for all equipment in need of testing, conducts inspections, and prepares a Final MQAA testing report documenting all testing and inspections conducted for the project. An approved MQAA Final Report is required prior to a building receiving a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) or certificate of occupancy (CO).
In addition to smoke control, TERPconsulting is approved by Clark County as a Prime Agency for inspection of fire penetration and joint, and garage ventilation in the QC/QA arena.