STANDARD

FEBRUARY 2004
the electronic IN THIS ISSUE:
TEXT IN RED is a LINK.
u 2004 Spring Seminar
THE BUILDING CODES & STANDARDS DIVISION WEBSITE NEWSLETTER
Registration Information

2004 Spring Seminar: Mechanical & Plumbing u Lake Wilson Explosion

u Mechanical Unit Updates
The BCSD 2004 Spring Seminar will focus on the proposed mechanical codes u Committee Information
and the recently adopted plumbing codes: u Website Updates
- Residential Makeup Air State Appeals Board
- ASHRAE 62-2001 addendum ‘n’ - Commercial Ventilation Committee Information
- Gas Equipment Venting Advisory committee form
u New Building Officials
- Commerical Kitchen Venting
u BCSD On the Move
- Proposed Minnesota Mechanical amendments
u Survey & Email Request
- Minnesota Plumbing Code (adopted in August 2003)
After being adopted, the new Minnesota Mechanical Code and its
amendments will replace the current Minnesota Mechanical Code and
Minnesota Rules Chapter 1346, and will apply to both residential and Disaster Strikes
commercial construction. Mark Hensen, BCSD Region 4
Representative reports on the
The Spring Seminar will include the following subjects: licensing, residential January 12, 2004 explosion in
and commercial plumbing, residential makeup air requirements, commercial the city of Lake Wilson. The
ventilation requirements, gas equipment venting, and commercial kitchen explosion destroyed the Fire
ventilation and referenced standards. Hall and damaged many other
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Building Officials, inspectors, design professionals, buildings in the SW Minnesota
contractors, skilled trade persons and other interested parties. community of 269 people. (page 2)

CREDITS: Building Official Continuing Education – 2.5 units of instruction. In

order to receive credit, you must attend from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Other
professional continuing education units or credits must be applied for on an
individual basis with the respective college or professional organization.
Dates, locations, and
registration info on
page 3.

BUILDING CODES &

Check out the new website:
STANDARDS DIVISION MNCodes.org
408 METRO SQUARE BUILDING 121 7TH PLACE EAST • ST. PAUL MN 55101 Your one stop for
651.296.4639 • FAX: 651.297.1973 • TTY: (1-800) 627.3529
WWW.BUILDINGCODES.ADMIIN.STATE.MN.US
code information. 1
Lake Wilson
Disaster
01-12-04
City of Lake Wilson
Population 269
Mayor, Neal Gilbertson
Assistant Mayor, Jack Vaneck
City Clerk, Charlotte Vander Schaaf
Fire Chief, Leroy Reese
Murray County Sheriff
Monday night, January 12, 2004 at 11:15 pm, an
explosion in the City of Lake Wilson Fire Hall destroyed
that building and damaged many other buildings in the
SW Minnesota community of 269 people.
The damage in the community created by this
explosion was similar to that of a tornado. The City of
Lake Wilson is familiar with tornado damage. In 1992,
an F-5 tornado tore through the community leaving
wide spread damage. 12 years after the tornado, it
again has city wide destruction to deal with.
Early Tuesday morning following the explosion, the
Murray County Sheriff contacted the State Building
Codes and Standards SW Regional Rep. Mark
Hensen, and requested assistance with damage
assessment with all the damaged structures in Lake
Wilson. Mark then contacted the SW Chapter of
Building Officials via telephone and email to alert the
members that they may be asked to volunteer their
help to inspect the damaged buildings. A few hours
later, Mark was in Lake Wilson to meet with city and
state emergency management officials to assess
the damage and determine the need for building
inspections. Officers of the SW Chapter made phone
calls and emails to their members and had a number
of building officials scheduled to be in Lake Wilson
early the next morning.
Wednesday morning a team of 6 volunteer building
officials were ready to start inspecting damaged
building in the city. Also on hand were two structural
engineers to assist in more detailed structural
evaluations of some of the heavier damaged
buildings. BCSD structural engineer Dan Kelsey and
a member of the Structural Engineers Emergency
79 Structures Inspected
Disaster Placards used:
Red 9
Orange 12
Yellow 37
Green 21
Priority Structures:
Post Office
Grocery Store
Bank
Legion Hall
Liquor Store
Schmitz Grain Elevator
Lutheran Church
Methodist Church
City Hall
Disaster Volunteers:
Mark Hensen, BCSD
Dan Kelsey, BCSD
Ray Henrikson, City of Marshall
Dan Delgehausen, City of Luverne
Ted Hays, Independent, Tyler
Bill Boltjes, Independent, Worthington
Darrin Tinklenberg, City of Pipestone
Jim Kartes, City of Windom
Leonard Middleton, PE, Minneapolis
Response group, worked with the building officials
and building owners to inspect the dangerous
buildings.
The information in the Disaster Preparedness Manual
was put to good use as the inspectors paired up to
assess the damages. The damaged buildings were
in about a 5 city block diameter around the center
of the explosion. As the buildings were inspected, a
colored placard was placed on the building to identify
the degree of damage and habitability. Damage
assessment reports were written for each structure
and were placed in files for future use by the city.
Since the explosion was in the downtown area, many
businesses were damaged and needed inspections
to determine if they could open for business. Mark
Hensen worked with city officials and emergency staff
to prioritize inspections for buildings such as the post
office, grocery store, American legion, banks, Grain
elevator, city hall and churches. By the end of the day,
79 total buildings were inspected. 21 buildings were
either destroyed or sustained heavy damage, and 58
buildings had moderate to minor damage. A number
of the buildings damaged in this explosion were also
damaged or rebuilt after the 1992 Tornado.
The Disaster Preparedness Manual was a very
effective tool in working at this disaster. The
procedures, checklists and information provided in
this manual are of great use to the building official
when faced with a disaster in a community.
2
The Disaster Preparedness Manual is posted at:
www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
Click on Informational Printouts & Forms
Continued from page 1 Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served
basis. There is limited seating at all sites.
SEMINAR DATES & LOCATIONS:
- On-site registrations will NOT be accepted.
Wednesday, March 24 (Registration limit 50) - A seminar book will be provided.
Holiday Inn Lakeside - Fill out this form and mail it with your payment to:
Highway 10, East Detroit Lakes, MN 56501 Building Codes and Standards Division
218-847-2121
408 Metro Square Bldg., 121 7th Place East
Wednesday, March 31 (Registration limit 100) St. Paul, MN 55101-2181
Best Western Maplewood, 1780 E Cty Rd. D
Maplewood, MN 55109 2004 SPRING BUILDING CODE SEMINAR
651-770-2811 Registration Form
(Please clearly type or print. One registrant per form)
Wednesday, April 7 (Registration limit 60)
Name:
Best Western
1111 Range Street, North Mankato, MN 56003 Certification # (if applicable) Phone
507-625-9333
Wednesday, April 14 (Registration limit 60) Employer
Holiday Inn Burnsville
Address
14201 Nicollet Ave S, Burnsville, MN 55337
952-435-2100 City/State/Zip
Wednesday, April 21 (Registration limit 60)
Best Western Edgewater E-Mail Address:
q Please put me on your list for future seminars.
2400 London Road, Duluth, MN 55812
Registration fee is $35/person. Registrations received later than
218-728-3601
10 days prior to the seminar will NOT be accepted.
Wednesday, April 28 (Registration limit 100
Comfort Inn Plymouth Check # Amount $
3000 Harbor Lane, Plymouth, MN 55447 Purchase Order # Amount $
763-559-1222 Please make checks payable to State Treasurer.
If using a purchase order, please attach a copy.
Wednesday, May 5 (Registration limit 60) State employees use Bldg Codes & Standards vendor # 200306985 43
Best Western Apache State Deposit #
1517 SW 16th St., Rochester, MN 55902 Indicate choice of seminar you wish to attend:
507-289-8866 q March 24, Detroit Lakes q May 5, Rochester

Wednesday, May 12 (Registration limit 60) q March 31, Maplewood q May 12, St. Paul

Holiday Inn East St. Paul q April 7, North Mankato q May 19, St. Cloud
2201 Burns Ave., St. Paul, MN 55119 q April 14, Burnsville q May 26, Brooklyn Center
651-731-2220 q April 21, Duluth q June 2, Maplewood

Wednesday, May 19 q April 28, Plymouth

(Registration limit 75)
I have the following special needs:
Best Western Kelly Inn q I require specific accommodations. Please contact me at:
100 4th Ave. S., St. Cloud, MN 56301 _______________________________ (VOICE or TTY, circle one)
320-253-0606 q Dietary restrictions (specify)_________________________________
q Auxiliary aids (i.e. sign language interpreter, large print or Braille
Wednesday, May 26 (Registration limit 60) materials), please contact me at: _________________________
Earle Brown Heritage Center (VOICE or TTY, circle one)
6155 Earle Brown Dr., Mail to: Building Codes and Standards Division
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430 408 Metro Square Bldg., 121 7th Place East
763-569-6300 St. Paul, MN 55101-2181
Wednesday, June 2 (Registration limit 100) Questions: Voice 651.296.1189
Best Western Maplewood TTY 651.297.5353 or Toll Free 1.800.627.3529.
1780 E Cty Rd. D, Maplewood, MN 55109 Fax 651.297.1973
651-770-2811 http://www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
3
BCSD Mechanical
Mechanical engineering
is a branch of engineering
concerned primarily with
the industrial application
of mechanics and with the
production of tools, machinery,
and their products. When staff
at BCSD say ‘mechanical’ while
discussing building construction
they are referencing the many
items included in Minnesota
Chapter 1346.
Chapter 1346 governs the
installation and maintenance of
heating, ventilating cooling and
refrigeration systems (HVAC/
ACR) which includes furnaces,
ductwork, hot water heat,
commercial kitchen ventilation,
gas piping, exhaust ventilation,
etc. The Minnesota Mechanical
code currently consists of the
1991 Uniform Mechanical Code
and the amendments to that
document located in Chapter
1346. Chapter 1346 applies to
all jurisdictions that administer
the Minnesota State Building
Code and their local building
officials and inspectors who
enforce this chapter of the
code.
When you call BCSD with a
mechanical code question your
call will be directed to:
Nirmal Jain, 651-297-4379
Paul Heimkes, 651-205-4715
Gerald Norman, 651-296-4636
4
Updates from the Mechanical Unit
Nirmal Jain, Mechanical Code Representative
I joined BCSD in December 2003 as a Mechanical Code Representative
after working 30 years in HVAC engineering and electrical distribution
design, including the last 19 years as a Senior Engineering Specialist for
3M. I was looking forward to the unique challenges of a public service
position, and I have not been disappointed. Each phone call reflects a
wide variety of customers and construction projects.
2004 is already proving to be an exciting year as the rule-making process
continues toward adoption of the 2000 International Mechanical Code
and 2000 International Fuel Gas Code. A second hearing was held on
February 6 and information regarding procedural steps will continue to
be posted to the website and emailed to customers. We are grateful that
my predecessor, Tim Manz, has continued his involvement in the IMC/
IFGC committee. If you have any questions after viewing the information
posted on the website in the Rules Section, feel free to contact us.
Because mechanical is a diverse subject, BCSD works closely with
other government entities including the Department of Labor and
Industry (boiler codes), Department of Health (plumbing codes), and
the Department of Commerce (licensing) in developing and conducting
training programs. Although I have been with BCSD only a short time,
I have already had the opportunity to both participate and present at
programs presented at division and industry events.
Our next major training program will be the Spring Seminar. The program
will cover highlights from the 2003 Minnesota Plumbing Code including
licensing, and residential and commercial plumbing. It will also include
the Mechanical Code including residential makeup air requirements,
gas equipment venting, and commercial kitchen ventilation. Information
has been posted on the website regarding dates, locations, and
registration information. I look forward to meeting many customers
at these training events. Don’t hesitate to contact me, especially if
there is something relating to mechanical codes I can help you with.
nirmal.jain@state.mn.us
Other News:
New Mechanical Bond Contact:
Greg Karow has moved from our Administrative Services unit to the
Education unit and is handling any questions regarding the Mechanical
Bond. Before calling him, please review the information posted at
the top of the What’s New page. Greg’s number is 651-205-4562,
greg.karow@state.mn.us.
Mike Fricke has moved from our Education unit to join the Code
Administration team in the Administration Services unit. Mike’s number is
651-205-4802. mike.fricke@state.mn.us.
State Appeals Board includes Mechanical Code Appeals
The State Appeals Board has heard its first appeal. Disputes regarding
mechanical code issues are included in their scope. For more information
regarding the State Appeals Board go to: www.buildingcodes.state.mn.us
What’s New - State Appeals Board
Active Advisory Committees
As committee information becomes available it is
posted on the website:
F.Y.I.
www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
in the Rules Section
Information may include committee chairs with contact
information, committee members, meeting dates and
specific information pertaining to each committee.
1300 - Administration of the State Building Code
1305 - Adoption of the 2003 International Building Code
1307 - Elevators and Related Devices
1309 - Adoption of the 2003 International Residential Code
1311 - Adoption of the Building Conservation Code
1341 - The Minnesota Accessibility Code
1350 - Manufactured Homes
Energy Code Advisory Committee
Structural Advisory Committee
Reminder: In the Rules Section there is a Rule Change
Request form.
BCSD Updates
Mike Fricke has moved from the
Education unit to join the Code
Administration team in the Administration
Services unit. Mike’s number is
651-205-4802, mike.fricke@state.mn.us.
Greg Karow has moved from the
Administrative Services unit to the
Education unit. One of his assignments
is answering questions regarding the
Mechanical Bond. However, before
calling him regarding the bond, please
review the information that is posted
on the website under What’s New.
Greg’s number is 651-205-4562,
greg.karow@state.mn.us.
Congratulations to Jeff Conner,
Business Unit, for receiving a
Certificate of Appreciation from the
Minnesota Chapter of the National
Institute for Governmental Purchasing
(MN NIPG).
Congratulations to the state’s recently
designated municipal Building
Officials:
• David Neisen – Menahga
• Jay Kruger – West Concord
• Duane Stensland – Afton, St. Mary’s
Point, Grey Cloud Island
• Jon Ludwig – New Scandia
• Paul Waldron – Watkins
• Brita Vanhorne – Elko
• Paul Waldron – Kimball and Green Isle
• Dean Busse – St Peter
Be sure to check the website
at least once a week:
www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
Current notices in What’s New:
u Mechanical Bond information is
currently posted at the very top of this
section because cities frequently access
the list.
u State Appeals Board information is
currently posted near the top of this
section.
MOST RECENT POSTINGS:
What’s New:
u Planning review commentary regarding
IBC Chapter 29 (number and type of
required plumbing fixtures in a “unisex”
restroom.
u Disaster Memo
u Memorandum Regarding the Use of
Platform Lifts in Change of Occupancy,
Minnesota Rules Chapter 1311
u Information Regarding Manufactured
Structures Seminars
Rules Section:
u Advisory Committee List and Information
u Rule Change Request form for Advisory
Committees
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST:
u BCSD Calendar (exams, seminars)
u The Standard (current and past issues)
u Minn. State Building Code in pdf format
u Map with directions to BCSD
u Counties that have adopted the code.
u Question Form and Contact Info
5
 Request for Email Notification
Email is an efficient and effective method for Check your most recent contact with us:
distributing information and announcements. q Accessibility Staff q Office Staff
However, we respect your time and promise: q Accounting Staff q Plan Review Staff
- To keep emails very brief. q Certification Staff q Reception Staff
- To limit the frequency of email distribution. q Code Administration Staff q Regional Services Staff
q Director’s Office q Rules Staff
- To not include attachments. Any documents
q Education Staff q Structural Engineering Staff
referenced in emails are posted on our q Elevator Safety Staff q Website Staff
website unless otherwise noted. q Manufactured Structures q Other: ____________________
q Yes! I would like to receive a brief email notice q Mechanical Bond Staff __________________________
from Building Codes and Standards. __________________________
Topics I am interested in include: Was the person you
q Anything related to the Minnesota State spoke with . . .
Building Code Yes Somewhat No
...courteous? q q q
q Educational Opportunities or Information: ...knowledgeable? q q q
q For certification purposes. ...understandable? q q q
q For technical/informational purposes. ...helpful? q q q
My areas of interest include:
Was the response
q Accessibility
time satisfactory? q q q
q Building Plan Preparation
q Building Safety and Security
q Code Administration and Reports We appreciate your feedback!
q Construction Materials: _____________________
q Elevator Safety
q Electricity*
If you have comments or suggestions you
q Energy* would like to share, we would like to hear
q Fire Safety* from you.
q Industry Standards and Models*
q Legal Issues:______________________________ Either use this form or you the Feedback form
q Manufactured Homes on our website. Emails we receive through the
q IBC Modular/Prefabricated Structures website Feedback form are processed through
q Mechanical Systems (ventilation) a remote server. We are not told who sent the
q Occupancy Codes email, unless you specifically include that
q Plan Review
information in your email.
q Professional Responsibility
q Plumbing*
q Problems: flooding, mold, ___________________ P.S. Be sure to include any feedback
q Roof/Ceiling Design and Construction regarding our website:
q Rulemaking www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
q Structural Engineering ? samples instead ___________________________________
q Windows and Doors* ___________________________________
Other:_______________________________ ___________________________________
* Some training is provided with other agencies .
___________________________________
CONTACT INFORMATION PLEASE PRINT CAREFULLY
___________________________________
NAME:
___________________________________
COMPANY/ORG
___________________________________
JOB TITLE ___________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESS ___________________________________
SECOND EMAIL ADDRESS ___________________________________
BUSINESS PHONE
___________________________________
___________________________________
SECOND PHONE

Building Codes and Standards Division www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us Fax: 651-297-1973

408 Metro Square Building, 121 East 7th Place, St. Paul, MN 55101-2181 Direct: 651-296-4639 TTY: 800-627-3529