Apartment separation ceiling, punctuated by can lights. Fire separation questions. 402.4.2.1

Ok, I’m looking at a ground floor apartment in a fourplex with one unit above.

The building was built 1928.
The upstairs unit is not touched.
A ground floor unit is under a near gut renovation.
There’s a code enforcement case, so now they have to get it inspected.

The contractor has cut 3" holes in the lath and plaster ceiling for LED can lights with wings:

What should I write up about this situation? The lathe and plaster ceiling is itself only barely fire rated (some tests were done in 1910 or so that are only basis for rating such ceilings). Yet with holes, whatever actual fire resistance the ceiling once had is long gone.

CBC 402.4.2.1 Tenant separations
Each tenant space shall be separated from other tenant spaces by a fire partition complying with Section 708. A tenant separation wall is not required between any tenant space and the mall.

CBC 714.3.2 Membrane Penetrations
Membrane penetrations shall comply with Section 714.3.1. Where walls or partitions are required to have a fire-resistance rating, recessed fixtures shall be installed such that the required fire-resistance will not be reduced.

I see Allied molded old work electrical boxes in fiberglass reinforced polyester (FRP), such as R9305-SK
But these don’t appear to be very suitable for running the can light wire or clip.

How would you write this up?
Is it clearly a “problem”?
What product might work to fix it?

Does the can light comply with your noted code Section 708?

That and the can manufacturer information will give you what you need. You did get a picture of the can sticker, yes? A picture doesn’t say anything about fire rating.

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The product specifications say “Air Tight certified in accordance with ASTM E283-2004”, but nothing about fire code. Model Lithonia Lighting WF6. There’s a UL stamp, but no mark that would indicate a fire rating.
Looking at the things, they offer no potential for fire resistance.

What did the can manufacturer information say re; fire rating?

What did the can manufacturer information say re; fire rating?

There’s a generic UL stamp, but no special mark that would indicate a fire rating. The product specifications say “Air Tight certified in accordance with ASTM E283-2004”, but nothing about fire code. Model Lithonia Lighting WF6. I do not have a photo of UL stamp from the actual ceiling.

I looked for the word Classified, but did not see it:

“The UL logo will be accompanied by the
word “Class” or “Classified”, the letters “W” or “C” to indicate if the box is
Certified for use in fire rated Walls, Ceilings, or both, and the hourly rating
of the wall or ceiling into which the box can be used will be marked as a
number of hours (2HR walls in this photo).”

Did you look make and model up online? That may help you, Bryce.

If the fire rating needs to be maintained after the fixture is installed they may need to install something like this. They also come in one hour rated.

Access is only from below, so at 17 inches, the FF109X is a stretch, or rather a squeeze, to try and install. Each can light hole is exactly 3 inches. FF109X would still leave the ends of each wood lathe exposed to fire.

FF109-250 is better, but seems designed for drywall, and it’s unclear if it would protect the exposed end of each wood lath. It’s also too tall for this historic 1928 building’s floors.

The LED vendor’s online information did not mention fire rating at all.
Their technical support department just responded with:

Our WF series fixtures do not have a fire rating but we have a whole line of fixtures that do.
Please follow the link below and feel free to call us with any questions.
Firewall LED Fire Rated Downlights | Juno® Lighting

So the question is:
Are my code citations correct and defensible?
What would you write up in this situation?

Are you inspecting or providing lighting installation service? are you the AHJ? If it’s not rated, it’s not rated. Have the electrician fix it correctly. Any electrician working in a multi-unit building should know what they are doing. So i’m not sure what you are doing and or how you’re involved with the project. Some information is missing.

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Are you inspecting or providing lighting installation service? Some information is missing.

I’m inspecting. My style of report includes solutions, so the non-expert owners can evaluate the actions of the contractors who do the work. I rarely get called back for a followup inspection, and realize that even a City inspection rarely catches half the stuff I find, and thus have chosen this style of report.

I had not personally seen an existing old-code fire rated ceiling penetrated, thus turned to this forum to ask for other’s experience and thoughts.

So you prescribe a repair method, provide a repair part list, and cite code in your “home inspection” report? That’s very interesting, indeed.

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So you prescribe a repair method, provide a repair part list, and cite code in your “home inspection” report? That’s very interesting, indeed.

Yes indeed. Home inspection plus.

Back to the lathe & plaster ceiling. Since the original ceiling does not carry a fire rating, I felt uncertain if it was OK to call this out for correction. It seems intuitive that the non-rated ceiling got “worse” with the extra holes.

So here is your narrative. “this old house is a tinderbox, don’t make it worse by poking holes in it”

But seriously, are you trying to predict what the upcoming code inspection is going to call out?

You said there was no fire rating between levels so I do not see how a fixture could reduce a non-existing rating. The bigger question is, will the inspector require additional fire separation? If he does, then the cans will need to be updated.

Yes, sort of. I proved the work was done without permits, and my client wants to know all that implies.

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