Mandatory service stairs in construction projects vs. Fire Department regulationsObligatoriedad de escaleras de servicio en proyectos de construcción frente a normativa del Cuerpo de Bomberos

“II) ON THE MERITS: II.1) REGARDING THE RULES GOVERNING SERVICE STAIRS AND THEIR MANDATORY NATURE IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: Regarding the issue of service stairs, the Construction Regulation (Reglamento de Construcciones) of November 10, 1982, issued by the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (INVU) and in force as of its publication in La Gaceta 56 of March 22, 1983, establishes provisions in this regard. The Construction Regulation was issued by said autonomous entity based on its regulatory power and grounded in the powers that Law 1788 of August 24, 1954, creating the INVU, grants it in its capacity as governing body in matters of urban planning, for the purpose of planning the development and growth of cities and other minor centers, in order to promote the best use of land, locate public areas for community services, establish functional street systems, and formulate investment plans for public use works (Article 4). It is established that said Institute shall have "Article 2º.- The Institute shall have legal personality and its own assets; it shall exercise its administrative and technical management with absolute independence, guided exclusively by the decisions of its Board of Directors, which shall act according to its criteria, within the Constitution, pertinent laws and regulations, and the principles of technique. The Board of Directors shall be totally and unavoidably responsible for its management." In this way, INVU has as its purpose, as expressed by the aforementioned Law 1788 in its Article 2, that of "b) Planning the development and growth of cities and other minor centers, in order to promote the best use of land, locate public areas for community services, establish functional street systems, and formulate investment plans for public use works, to satisfy consequent needs; d) Developing its plans and programs, duly coordinated in their different stages of socio-economic research, planning, and construction, as well as in the educational and assistance activities required by their administration; e) Advising State bodies and other Public Institutions and coordinating public initiatives in housing and urbanization matters, when so requested; and f) Adapting its plans and studies to national economic and social development programs, submitting them for approval by the Ministry of Public Health in their sanitary aspects." In turn, the Urban Planning Law (Ley de Planificación Urbana), number 4240 of November 15, 1968, establishes that Urban Planning is the continuous and comprehensive process of analysis and formulation of plans and regulations on urban development, aimed at ensuring the safety, health, comfort, and well-being of the community, being the governing body in said matter and being able to issue urban development regulations such as the construction one, without requiring approval by the Executive Branch. Such specificity of the competence assigned by law does not exclude the fact that INVU has the power and duty to regulate specific fields in matters of urban development and growth of cities, as in the case of the Construction Regulation, which is clear in its Article 1 that "its purpose is to establish the rules for the planning, design, and construction of buildings, streets, sports fields, industrial and machinery installations, and any other works, regarding architecture, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and sanitary engineering, with the aim of promoting, ensuring, and protecting in the best way health, economy, comfort, and common well-being, through requirements that guarantee in buildings and other works their solidity, stability, safety, healthiness, adequate lighting, and ventilation, without prejudice to the powers that laws grant in these matters to other administrative bodies." Without it being observed in that normative provision an intrusion into the competencies of the Executive Branch, it being necessary to consider that nothing prevents said entity, within the scope of its broad competencies, from having issued the Construction Regulation. The Urban Planning Law itself authorizes INVU, jointly with the Municipalities, to issue specific Construction Regulations for each Municipality (Article 56 et seq. of Law 4240), with which it does not exceed the scope of its competence and authority to have issued rules for the planning, design, and construction of buildings, this being based on the Urban Planning Law, which confers powers in the field of Urban Planning, understood as the continuous and comprehensive process of analysis and formulation of plans and regulations on urban development, aimed at ensuring the safety, health, comfort, and well-being of the community. Furthermore, the Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos itself, in an Extraordinary Assembly, decided to approve it on September 16, 1980, thus making it mandatory for all members of said corporate entity.

Regarding service stairs, the INVU Construction Regulation provides in its Article IV, in the section on general provisions for buildings, the following: "Article IV.25.- Main stairs. In any type of building, main stairs shall be located immediately adjacent to hallways, circulation spaces (courtyards with direct access. No main stair may serve a radius greater than twenty meters (20 m), so other stairs shall be required in that case. When they serve more than forty (40) people or serve to evacuate places of public assembly, doors shall open outward." Similarly, Article VIII.6 of said normative body provides on the subject at issue that "Commercial and office buildings of more than one floor shall always have stairs connecting all levels, even if they have elevators. The minimum width of the stairs shall be one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m). Treads shall have a minimum of twenty-six centimeters (0.26 m) and risers a maximum of eighteen centimeters (0.18 m). Stairs shall be built with materials having a fire-retardant coefficient of no less than one hour and shall have handrails or railings with a minimum height of ninety centimeters (0.90 m). One stair shall serve a maximum of one thousand four hundred square meters (1,400 m2) of floor area per floor, and its width shall vary as follows: Up to 700 m2 of floor area... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1.20 m. From 700 to 1,000 m2 of floor area... ... ... ... ... ... 1.80 m. From 1,000 to 1,400 m2 of floor area... ... ... ... ... 2.40 m." Similarly, Article XI.16 provides, regarding service stairs, that "Stairs shall have a minimum width equal to the sum of the widths of the doors or hallways they serve, but in no case shall the clear width of the stair be less than one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m); it shall have maximum risers of seventeen centimeters (0.17 m) and treads of thirty centimeters (0.30 m) minimum. They shall be built of materials with a fire-retardant coefficient of no less than one hour and have handrails at ninety centimeters (0.90 m) in height, on each side of the stair. Each floor shall have at least two stairs on opposite sides or conveniently separated. Along any stair flight, the tread width and riser height shall be constant. Spiral stairs are prohibited as a main means of egress." Subsequently, the Law of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, number 8228 of March 19, 2002, published in La Gaceta number 78 of April 24, 2002, entered into force, in which Article 1 creates said body with the character of maximum deconcentrated entity, with instrumental legal personality attached to the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica. Such normative body confers upon said body in its Article 5, the functions of "a) The coordination of specific emergency situations with the different private entities and State organs whose activity and competence refer to the prevention, attention, and evaluation of such situations. b) The prevention, attention, mitigation, control, investigation, and evaluation of fires. c) Collaboration in attending specific emergency cases. d) The awarding of medals or other distinctions, in recognition of the career, dedication, or acts of extraordinary service of permanent or volunteer firefighters of the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica or of other countries. e) Any other functions necessary to apply this Law and its Regulation. In other aspects of safety, national authorities and the Cuerpo de Bomberos must respect the technical standardization (normalización técnica) issued or adopted by the respective institution." With which it is appreciated, in matters of service stair regulation, functions and competencies that are complementary but different from those assigned to the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism, which do not conflict with each other, nor are incompatible or dissimilar, but rather are harmonious in matters of safety and accessibility of buildings, all with the aim of joining efforts to safeguard the safety of the population that uses them. Although Law 8228 stipulates technical requirements in buildings, as provided by Articles 7 bis and 14, by empowering it to: "f) Issue the technical standardization and the regulatory framework, which shall be mandatory for individuals or legal entities, as well as for public or private entities, in matters of safety, fire protection, and human safety," and Article 14, by requiring "(...) Technical Requirements in Buildings. Installations, constructions, civil works, or industrial plants, as established, must have the technical requirements, the provisions, and building requisites; likewise, they shall comply with the provisions of the technical standardization and the Regulation of this Law." However, such specifications must be understood as complementary to those already required in the INVU Construction Regulation, but not opposed to it, without it being observed in any case that there is a contradiction in the content of both provisions.

Thus, as both regulations complement each other, it must be understood that their entry into force does not tacitly repeal or disapply what is stipulated on that matter by the Construction Regulation. For this, we must take into consideration that, dealing with public health and safeguarding people's safety, the application of safety and accessibility devices should not be interpreted in a restrictive sense, but rather broadly, such that the greater the safety conditions provided to the constructions, the better it will be to protect the element of life, without developers being able to allege the cost or space required for their implementation as a reason for not establishing them. It must be taken into account that human life is invaluable, and therefore the material and safety conditions must be a means that guarantees the effective protection and comprehensive safeguarding of the human person, coupled with the fact that the provision ordering the construction of a common-use stair aims to allow building users to have, in addition to elevators, a means of access between floors. By virtue of this, the safety and accessibility conditions provided regarding service or common-use and safety stairs by the Construction Regulation, by stipulating two emergency stairs and one service stair for multi-story buildings with a surface area per square meter equal to or greater than 1,400 meters, cannot be understood to be tacitly repealed by Law 8228, to interpret that constructions with such conditions must only contain two emergency stairs and not a common-use one. Given that the Law of the Cuerpo de Bomberos in its technical standard exclusively regulates safety matters, and the technical standard of the INVU Regulation provides for the existence of a main stair so that users have at their disposal another means of circulation and access within the multi-story building—stairs that constitute an alternative and suitable access to the remaining floors of the building, which must be present to guarantee, as the technical provision establishes, access and communication between the different floors. For this reason, if the Construction Regulation establishes a device that guarantees the safeguarding of people in emergency cases or that facilitates access to buildings for people with special situations, and if Law 8228 does not expressly prohibit it, such specification must be considered mandatory and necessary, as these are situations of accessibility and safety for people to such buildings.

All of this is harmonious with the provisions of the Ley General de Salud, the Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades para las Personas con Discapacidad, and its Regulation number 26831 of March 23, 1998, which mandate providing adequate conditions for vulnerable populations with mobility limitations, a situation that constitutes an unavoidable legal and factual imperative for both INVU and the Ministry of Health. On its part, the Regulation to Law 8228 of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, number 34768 of September 28, 2008, published in La Gaceta number 195 of October 9, 2008, subsequently repealed by decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013, provided in its Articles 65 and 66 the following: "Article 65.- Mandatory application regulations. The regulations established by the Cuerpo de Bomberos in matters of prevention, human safety, and fire protection are of mandatory application in any civil works construction project, existing building, or any place, whether temporary or permanent, according to the number of people, the construction area, and other parameters defined by the Cuerpo de Bomberos. These regulations shall be reviewed annually." "Article 66.-Adoption of the regulations of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The Cuerpo de Bomberos adopts the entirety of the standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an international organization specialized in prevention, human safety, and fire protection matters. Said standards shall be mandatory in the design of new buildings, existing buildings, building renovations, change of use, and design and installation of fire protection systems, both active and passive protection." Stating in its Article 89 that it repealed decree number 30383, as well as the internal regulations and provisions referring to the Cuerpo de Bomberos that oppose it, but without expressly repealing the INVU Construction Regulation. In turn, decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013, which subsequently repealed decree number 34768, established in this regard identical regulation in the same Articles 65 and 66.

For this reason, having reviewed the NFPA 101 standard, called the Life Safety Code, in its different editions, issued by the National Fire Protection Association, it coincides that the means of egress for new and existing buildings must comply, regarding stairs, with the provisions of such regulation. Thus, having reviewed these provisions, it is established that stairs serving as means of egress must be of fixed construction, entirely non-combustible, and there must be at least two separate exits on each floor, accessible from any part of a floor or mezzanine. On the other hand, it is provided that when the occupant load is more than 500 but not more than 1,000, there must be no fewer than three means of egress, and if the occupant load is more than one thousand, there must be no fewer than four.

Finally, the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica issued the so-called Manual of General Technical Provisions on Human Safety and Fire Protection, published in La Gaceta number 125 of June 29, 2010, in which it was provided in Articles 2 and 3 that the manual itself, the NFPA standards, those applicable in Costa Rica, and those that are concordant and accessory shall be of mandatory application for civil works, thereby determining that the provisions of the INVU Construction Regulation and the rules of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos do not exclude each other, but rather complement each other, and if there were any contradiction, the Construction Regulation must be chosen to be applied in a prevailing and hierarchical manner, due to the specialty of the matter, because it is in force, because it has not been repealed by a later provision, and because it is supported by Laws 1788 and 4240. This is so as long as human safety is guaranteed and safeguarded in emergency situations, taking into account that the primary purpose of such provisions is not to give priority to one regulation over the other, but rather to guarantee, through their joint application, the safety of human life [...].” No main staircase shall serve an evacuation radius greater than twenty meters (20 m), and therefore, in that case, other staircases will be required. When they serve more than forty (40) people or serve to evacuate places of public assembly, the doors must open outward. Similarly, section VIII.6 of that regulatory body provides on the subject in question that "Buildings for commerce and offices of more than one floor shall always have staircases that connect all levels, even when they have elevators. The minimum width of the staircases shall be one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m). The treads shall have a minimum of twenty-six centimeters (0.26 m) and the risers a maximum of eighteen centimeters (0.18 m). Staircases must be constructed with materials that have a fire-retardant coefficient of not less than one hour and must have handrails or guardrails with a minimum height of ninety centimeters (0.90 m). One staircase shall serve a maximum of one thousand four hundred square meters (1,400 m2) of floor area per story, and its width shall vary as follows: Up to 700 m2 of floor area ........................... 1.20 m. From 700 to 1,000 m2 of floor area .................. 1.80 m. From 1,000 to 1,400 m2 of floor area ................. 2.40 m." Section XI.16 also provides, regarding service staircases, that "Staircases shall have a minimum width equal to the sum of the widths of the doors or corridors they serve, but in no case shall the clear width of the staircase be less than one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m); it shall have maximum risers of seventeen centimeters (0.17 m) and treads of thirty centimeters (0.30 m) minimum. They must be constructed of materials with a fire-retardant coefficient of not less than one hour and have handrails at ninety centimeters (0.90 m) in height, on each side of the staircase. Each floor must have at least two staircases on opposite sides or conveniently separated. Along any flight of stairs, the width of the treads and the height of the risers must be constant. Spiral staircases are prohibited as a main exit means." Subsequently, the **Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica Law, number 8228 of March 19, 2002**, published in Gazette number 78 of April 24, 2002, came into effect, in which the first article creates said body with the character of a maximum deconcentrated organ and instrumental legal personality attached to the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica. This regulatory body confers upon said organ in its fifth section, the functions of "a) The coordination of specific emergency situations with various private entities and State organs, whose activity and competence refer to the prevention, attention, and evaluation of such situations. b) The prevention, attention, mitigation, control, investigation, and evaluation of fires. c) Collaboration in the attention of specific emergency cases. d) The granting of medals or other distinctions, in recognition of the career, dedication, or acts of extraordinary service of firefighters, permanent or volunteer, of the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica or of other countries. e) Any other functions necessary to apply this Law and its Regulations. In other security aspects, the national authorities and the Cuerpo de Bomberos must respect the technical standardization dictated or adopted by the respective institution." From which it is observed, regarding the regulation of service staircases, functions, and competencies, that they are complementary but different from those assigned to the Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo, which do not conflict with each other, nor are they incompatible or dissimilar, but rather are harmonious in matters of safety and accessibility of buildings, all with the aim of joining efforts to safeguard the safety of the population that uses them.

Although Law 8228 stipulates technical requirements in buildings, as provided in sections 7 bis and 14, by empowering it to: "**f)** Issue the technical standardization and regulations, which shall be mandatory for individuals or legal entities, as well as for public or private entities, in matters of safety, fire protection, and human safety.", and article 14, by requesting "(...) **Technical requirements in buildings**. Installations, constructions, civil works, or industrial plants, as established, must have the technical requirements, provisions, and building requisites; likewise, they shall comply with the stipulations in the technical standardization and the Regulations of this Law.", however, such specifications must be understood as complementary to those already required in the INVU Construction Regulations, but not opposed to it, without it being observed in any case that there is a contradiction in the content of both provisions.

Thus, as both regulations complement each other, it must be understood that their entry into force does not tacitly repeal or disapply what is stipulated on that matter by the Construction Regulations. To this end, we must take into consideration that in matters of public health and safeguarding the safety of persons, the application of safety and accessibility devices should not be interpreted in a restrictive sense, but rather broadly, such that the greater the safety conditions given to constructions, the better to protect the element of life, without developers being able to allege the cost or the space that must be occupied for their implementation as a reason for not establishing them. It must be taken into account that human life is invaluable, and therefore material and safety conditions must be a means that guarantees the effective guardianship and integral protection of the human person, coupled with the fact that the provision ordering the construction of a common-use staircase is intended to allow building users to have, in addition to the elevators, a means of access between floors. In virtue of this, the safety and accessibility conditions that the Construction Regulations provide regarding service staircases or those of common use and safety, by establishing two emergency staircases and one service staircase for buildings with several stories and a surface area per square meter equal to or greater than 1,400 meters, cannot be understood as tacitly repealed by Law 8228, to interpret that constructions with such conditions should only contain two emergency staircases and not one for common use. Given that the Ley del Cuerpo de Bomberos in its technical standard regulates exclusively safety matters, and the technical standard of the INVU Regulations provides for the existence of a main staircase so that users have at their disposal another means of circulation and access within the multi-story building, staircases that constitute an alternative and suitable access to the remaining stories of the building, which must be present to guarantee, as established by the technical provision, access and communication between the different floors. For this reason, if the Construction Regulations establish a device that guarantees the safeguarding of persons in emergency cases or that facilitates access to buildings for persons with special situations, and if Law 8228 does not expressly prohibit it, such specification must be considered mandatory and necessary, as it concerns situations of accessibility and safety of persons to such buildings. All this is harmonious with the provisions of the Ley General de Salud, the Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades para las Personas con Discapacidad, and its Regulation number 26831 of March 23, 1998, which oblige the provision of adequate conditions for vulnerable populations who have mobility limitations, a situation that constitutes an unavoidable legal and factual imperative for both INVU and the Ministry of Health.

**For its part, the Regulation to Law 8228 of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, number 34768 of September 28, 2008**, published in Gazette number 195 of October 9, 2008, subsequently repealed by decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013, provided in its sections 65 and 66, the following: "Article 65.- **Mandatory application regulations**. The regulations established by the Cuerpo de Bomberos regarding prevention, human safety, and fire protection are mandatory in all civil construction projects, existing buildings, or any place, whether temporary or permanent, according to the number of people, construction area, and other parameters defined by the Cuerpo de Bomberos. These regulations shall be reviewed annually.", "Article 66.- **Adoption of the regulations of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)**. The Cuerpo de Bomberos adopts all the standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an international organization specialized in prevention, human safety, and fire protection. Said standards shall be mandatory in the design of new buildings, existing buildings, building remodeling, change of use, design and installation of fire protection systems, both active and passive." Establishing in its section 89 that it repealed decree number 30383, as well as the internal regulations and provisions referring to the Cuerpo de Bomberos that oppose it, but without expressly repealing the INVU Construction Regulations. In turn, **decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013**, which subsequently repealed 34768, established in this regard identical regulation in the same articles 65 and 66. For this reason, having reviewed the NFPA 101 standard, called the Life Safety Code, in its different editions, issued by the National Fire Protection Association, it is consistent that the means of egress for new and existing buildings must comply with the provisions of such regulations regarding staircases. Thus, having reviewed such provisions, it is established that staircases serving as means of egress must be of fixed construction, entirely non-combustible, and there must be at least two separate exits on each floor, accessible from any part of a floor or mezzanine. On the other hand, it is provided that when the occupant load is more than 500 but not more than 1,000, there must be no fewer than three means of egress, and if the occupant load is more than one thousand, there must be no fewer than four.

Finally, the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica issued the so-called **Manual de disposiciones técnicas generales sobre seguridad humana y protección contra incendios**, published in Gazette number 125 of June 29, 2010, which provided in sections 2 and 3 that the manual itself, the NFPA standards, those applicable in Costa Rica, and those that are concordant and accessory shall be mandatory for civil works, thereby determining that the provisions of the INVU Construction Regulations and the standards of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos do not exclude each other but rather complement each other, and if any contradiction exists, the choice must be made to apply the Construction Regulations prevalently and hierarchically, due to the specialty of the matter, because it is in force, because it has not been repealed by a later standard, and because it is supported by Laws 1788 and 4240. This is so, as long as human safety is guaranteed and safeguarded in emergency situations, bearing in mind that the primary purpose of such provisions is not to give priority to one regulation over the other, but rather to guarantee, through their joint application, the safety of human life […].” Such specificity of the competence assigned by law does not exclude the INVU from having the power and the duty to regulate specific fields in matters of urban development and growth of cities, such as the case of the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones), which is clear in its first article that "its purpose is to establish the standards for the planning, design and construction of buildings, streets, sports fields, industrial and machinery installations and any other works, in relation to architecture, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and sanitary engineering, with the aim of promoting, ensuring and protecting in the best way health, economy, comfort and common welfare, through requirements that guarantee in buildings and other works their solidity, stability, safety, healthiness, adequate illumination and ventilation, without prejudice to the powers that the laws grant in these matters to other administrative bodies." Without it being observed by this in such normative provision, an intrusion into the competencies of the Executive Branch, it must be taken into account for this, that nothing prevents said entity within the scope of its broad competencies from having issued the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones). The Urban Planning Law (Ley de Planificación Urbana) itself authorizes the INVU, jointly with the Municipalities, to issue specific Construction Regulations for each Municipality (article 56 and following of Law 4240), with which it does not exceed the scope of its competence and authority, by having issued standards for the planning, design and construction of buildings, this based on the Urban Planning Law (Ley de Planificación Urbana), which confers powers in the field of Urban Planning, understood as the continuous and integral process of analysis and formulation of plans and regulations on urban development, aimed at ensuring the safety, health, comfort and welfare of the community. Furthermore, the Federated College of Engineers and Architects (Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos) itself, in an Extraordinary Assembly, ordered its approval on September 16, 1980, thus becoming mandatory for all members of said corporate entity. **Regarding service stairs**, the INVU Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones) in article IV, in the section of general provisions for buildings, provides the following: "Article IV. 25.- Main stairs. In any type of building the main stairs shall be located adjacent to hallways, circulation spaces (courtyards with direct access). No main stairway shall evacuate a radius greater than twenty meters (20 m), so in that case, other stairs will be required. When they serve more than forty (40) people or serve to evacuate public gathering places, the doors must open outward." Similarly, article VIII.6 of said regulatory body provides on the subject in question, that "Buildings for commerce and offices of more than one floor shall always have stairs connecting all levels, even when they have elevators. The minimum width of the stairs shall be one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m). Treads shall have a minimum of twenty-six centimeters (0.26 m) and risers a maximum of eighteen centimeters (0.18 m). Stairs shall be constructed with materials having a fire-retardant coefficient of not less than one hour and shall have handrails or balustrades with a minimum height of ninety centimeters (0.90 m). One stairway shall serve a maximum of one thousand four hundred square meters (1,400 m2) of area per floor, and its width shall vary as follows:

" Similarly, article XI.16 provides, regarding service stairs, that "Stairs shall have a minimum width equal to the sum of the widths of the doors or hallways they serve but, in no case, shall the free width of the stairway be less than one meter, twenty centimeters (1.20 m); it shall have maximum risers of seventeen centimeters (0.17 m) and treads of thirty centimeters (0.30 m) at minimum. They must be constructed of materials with a fire-retardant coefficient of not less than one hour and have handrails at ninety centimeters (0.90 m) high, on each side of the stairway. Each floor must have at least two stairways on opposite sides or conveniently separated. Along any flight of stairs the width of the treads and the height of the risers must be constant. Spiral stairs are prohibited as a main exit means." Subsequently, **Law of the Benemérito Fire Department of Costa Rica (Ley del Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica), number 8228 of March 19, 2002**, came into force, published in Gazette number 78 of April 24, 2002, in which in the first article said body is created with the character of maximum deconcentrated body, and instrumental legal personality ascribed to the Fire Department of Costa Rica (Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica). Such normative body confers on said body in its article five, the functions of "a) The coordination of specific emergency situations with the various private entities and State bodies, whose activity and competence refer to the prevention, attention and evaluation of such situations. b) The prevention, attention, mitigation, control, investigation and evaluation of fires. c) Collaboration in attending to specific emergency cases. d) The awarding of medals or other distinctions, in recognition of the career, dedication or acts of extraordinary service of the firefighters, permanent or volunteer, of the Fire Department of Costa Rica (Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica) or of other countries. e) Any other functions necessary to apply this Law and its Regulations. In other aspects of safety, the national authorities and the Fire Department must respect the technical normalization dictated or adopted by the respective institution." With which it is appreciated, regarding regulation of service stairs, functions and competencies, complementary, but diverse from those assigned to the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo), which do not conflict with each other, nor are they incompatible or dissimilar, but rather are harmonious in matters of safety and accessibility of buildings, all with the aim of joining efforts in order to safeguard the safety of the population that uses them. Although Law 8228 stipulates technical requirements in buildings, as provided in articles 7 bis and 14, by empowering it to: "**f)** Issue the technical normalization and ordering, which shall be of mandatory compliance for persons, physical or legal, as well as for entities, public or private, in matters of safety, protection against fire and human safety.", and article 14, by requesting "(...) **Technical requirements in buildings**. Installations, constructions, civil works or industrial plants, as established, must have the technical requirements, provisions and building requisites; likewise, they shall comply with what is stipulated in the technical normalization and in the Regulations to this Law.", however, such specifications must be understood as complementary to those already required in the INVU Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones), but not opposed to it, without it being observed in any case that a contradiction exists in the content of both provisions. Thus, as both regulations complement each other, it must be understood that their entry into force does not tacitly repeal, nor does it disapply what is stipulated on said matter by the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones). For this we must take into consideration that dealing with public health, and safeguarding the safety of persons, the application of safety and accessibility devices should not be interpreted in a restrictive sense, but broadly, such that the greater the safety conditions given to the constructions, the better it will be to protect the element of life, without developers being able to allege the cost or the space that must be occupied for their implementation for their non-establishment. It must be taken into account that human life is invaluable and therefore the material and safety conditions must be a means that guarantees the effective protection (tutela efectiva) and integral protection of the human person, coupled with the fact that the provision ordering the construction of a common-use stairway has the purpose of allowing the users of the building to have, in addition to the elevators, a means of access between floors. In virtue of this, the safety and accessibility conditions provided in matters of service or common-use and safety stairs, by the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones), by stipulating two emergency stairs and one service stair for buildings with several floors with a surface area per square meter equal to or greater than 1400 meters, cannot be understood as tacitly repealed by Law 8228, to interpret that constructions with such conditions must only contain two emergency stairs and not one of common use. Given that the Law of the Fire Department (Ley del Cuerpo de Bomberos) in its technical standard exclusively regulates safety matters and the technical standard of the INVU Regulations provides the existence of a main stairway so that users have at their disposal another means of circulation and access within the building with several floors, stairs that constitute an alternative and suitable access to the remaining floors of the building, which must be present to guarantee, as established by the technical provision, access and communication between the different floors. For this reason, if the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones) establishes a device that guarantees the safeguarding of persons in emergency cases or that facilitates access to buildings for persons with special situations, and if Law 8228 does not expressly prohibit it, such specification must be considered mandatory and necessary, because it deals with situations of accessibility and safety of persons to such buildings. All this is harmonious with what is provided in the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud), in the Law of Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades para las Personas con Discapacidad), and in its Regulations (Reglamento) number 26831 of March 23, 1998, which oblige providing adequate conditions to vulnerable populations, who have displacement limitations, a situation that constitutes an unavoidable legal and factual imperative for the INVU, as well as for the Ministry of Health. **For its part, the Regulations to Law 8228 of the Benemérito Fire Department of Costa Rica (Reglamento a la Ley 8228 del Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica), number 34768 of September 28, 2008**, published in Gazette number 195 of October 9, 2008, subsequently repealed by decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013, provided in its articles 65 and 66, the following: "Article 65.- **Normative of mandatory application**. The regulations established by the Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos) in matters of prevention, human safety and protection against fire are of mandatory application in all civil work construction projects, existing buildings or any place, whether temporary or permanent, according to the number of people, the construction area and other parameters defined by the Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos). This regulation shall be reviewed annually.", "Article 66.-**Adoption of the regulations of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)**. The Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos) adopts the entirety of the standards of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an international body specialized in matters of prevention, human safety and protection against fire. Said standards shall be of mandatory compliance in the design of new buildings, existing buildings, building remodeling, change of use, design and installation of fire protection systems, both active and passive protection." Establishing in its article 89 that it repealed decree number 30383, as well as the regulations and internal provisions referring to the Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos) that oppose it, but without expressly repealing the INVU Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones). In turn, **decree number 37615 of March 4, 2013**, which subsequently repealed 34768, established in this regard identical regulation in the same articles 65 and 66. For this reason, having reviewed the NFPA 101 regulation, called the Life Safety Code (Código de Seguridad Humana), in its different editions, issued by the National Fire Protection Association, it is coincident in that the means of egress (medios de egreso) for new and existing buildings must comply regarding stairs with what is provided in such regulation. Thus, having reviewed such provisions, it is established that stairs serving as means of egress must be of fixed construction, non-combustible in their entirety, in addition there must be at least two separate exits on each floor, and accessible from any part of a floor or mezzanine. On the other hand, it is provided that when the occupant load is more than 500, but not more than 1000, there must be a number not less than three means of egress and if the occupant load is more than one thousand, it must be not less than four. Finally, the Benemérito Fire Department of Costa Rica (Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica) issued the so-called **Manual of general technical provisions on human safety and protection against fire (Manual de disposiciones técnicas generales sobre seguridad humana y protección contra incendios)**, published in Gazette number 125 of June 29, 2010, in which it was provided in articles 2 and 3, that it will be of mandatory application for civil works, the manual itself, the NFPA standards, those applicable in Costa Rica and those that are concordant and accessory, with which it is determined that what is provided in the INVU Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones) and the standards of the Benemérito Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos), do not exclude each other, but rather complement each other and if any contradiction exists, one must opt to apply the Construction Regulations (Reglamento de Construcciones) in a prevailing and hierarchical manner, due to the specialty of the matter, because it is in force, because it has not been repealed by a subsequent norm, and because it is supported by laws 1788 and 4240. This is so, as long as human safety is guaranteed and safeguarded in emergency situations, taking into account that the primary purpose of such provisions is not to give priority to one norm over the other, but rather to guarantee by their joint application the safety of human life [...].”

“II) SOBRE EL FONDO: II.1) RESPECTO A LAS NORMAS REGULADORAS DE LAS ESCALERAS DE SERVICIO Y SU OBLIGATORIEDAD EN LOS PROYECTOS DE CONSTRUCCIÓN: En lo referente al tema de las escaleras de servicio, el Reglamento de Construcciones del 10 de noviembre de 1982, emitido por la Junta Directiva del Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo y vigente a partir de su publicación en la Gaceta 56 del 22 de marzo de 1983, establece disposiciones al respecto. El Reglamento de Construcciones fue dictado por dicha entidad autónoma con base en su potestad reglamentaria y con fundamento en las potestades que la Ley 1788 del 24 de agosto de 1954, de creación del INVU le otorgan en su condición de ente rector en materia de planificación urbana, a efecto de planear el desarrollo y el crecimiento de las ciudades y de los otros centros menores, con el fin de promover el mejor uso de la tierra, localizar las áreas públicas para servicios comunales, establecer sistemas funcionales de calles y formular planes de inversión en obras de uso público (ordinal 4). Estableciéndose que dicho Instituto tendrá " Artículo 2º.- El Instituto tendrá personería jurídica y patrimonio propio; ejercerá su gestión administrativa y técnica con absoluta independencia, guiándose exclusivamente por las decisiones de su Junta Directiva, que actuará conforme a su criterio, dentro de la Constitución, leyes y reglamentos pertinentes y los principios de la técnica. La Junta Directiva será responsable de su gestión en forma total e ineludible .". De esta forma el INVU tiene como finalidad, tal y como lo expresa la citada ley 1788 en su ordinal segundo, la de "b) Planear el desarrollo y el crecimiento de las ciudades y de los otros centros menores, con el fin de promover el mejor uso de la tierra, localizar las áreas públicas para servicios comunales, establecer sistemas funcionales de calles y formular planes de inversión en obras de uso público, para satisfacer las necesidades consiguientes; d) Desarrollar sus planes y programas debidamente coordinados en sus diferentes etapas de investigación socio-económica, de planeamiento y de construcción, así como en las actividades educativas y asistenciales que exija la administración de los mismos; e) Asesorar a los organismos del Estado y demás Instituciones Públicas y coordinar las iniciativas públicas en asuntos de vivienda y urbanización, cuando así se solicite; y f) Adecuar sus planes y estudios a los programas nacionales de desarrollo económico y social, sometiéndolos a la aprobación del Ministerio de Salubridad Pública en sus aspectos sanitarios.". A su vez, establece la Ley de Planificación Urbana, número 4240 del 15 de noviembre de 1968, que la Planificación Urbana, es el proceso continuo e integral de análisis y formulación de planes y reglamentos sobre desarrollo urbano, tendiente a procurar la seguridad, salud, comodidad y bienestar de la comunidad, siendo ente rector en dicha materia y pudiendo dictar reglamentos de desarrollo urbano como el de construcciones, sin que deba ser aprobado por el Poder Ejecutivo. Tal especificidad de la competencia asignada por ley, no excluye el que el INVU tenga la potestad y el deber de regular campos específicos en materia de desarrollo y crecimiento urbanístico de las ciudades, como el caso del Reglamento de Construcciones, el cual es claro en su ordinal primero que "tiene por objeto fijar las normas para la planificación, diseño y construcción de edificios, calles, campos deportivos, instalaciones industriales y de maquinaria y cuales­quiera otras obras, en lo relativo a la arquitectura, ingeniería civil, ingeniería eléctrica, ingeniería mecánica e ingeniería sanitaria, con el objeto de fomentar asegurar y proteger en la mejor forma la salud, economía, comodidad y bienestar común, mediante requisitos que garanticen en los edificios y en otras obras su solidez, estabilidad, seguridad, salubridad, iluminación y ventilación adecuadas, sin perjuicio de las facultades que las leyes conceden en estas materias a otros órganos administrativos .". Sin que se observe por ello en tal disposición normativa, intromisión en las competencias del Poder Ejecutivo, debiendo tomarse en cuenta para ello, que nada obsta para que dicha entidad en el ámbito de sus amplias competencias haya dictado el Reglamento de Construcciones. La propia Ley de Planificación Urbana autoriza a que el INVU en conjunto con las Municipalidades dicte Reglamentos de Construcciones específicos para cada Municipalidad (ordinal 56 y siguientes de la ley 4240), con lo cual no excede el ámbito de su competencia y autoridad, el que haya dictado normas para la planificación, diseño y construcción de edificios, ello así con base en la Ley de Planificación Urbana, que le confiere potestades en el campo de la Planificación Urbana, entendida ésta como el proceso continuo e integral de análisis y formulación de planes y reglamentos sobre desarrollo urbano, tendiente a procurar la seguridad, salud, comodidad y bienestar de la comunidad. Además, de que el propio Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos en Asamblea Extraordinaria, dispuso aprobarlo el día 16 de setiembre de 1980, constituyéndose así en obligatorio para todos los miembros de dicho ente corporativo. En lo referente a las escaleras de servicio, dispone el Reglamento de Construcciones del INVU en su ordinal IV, en el aparte de disposiciones generales para edificios, lo siguiente: "Artículo IV. 25.-Escaleras principales. En cualquier tipo de edificio las escaleras principales se localizarán inmediatas a pasillos, espacios de circulación (patios con acceso directo. Ninguna escalera principal podrá evacuar un radio mayor de veinte metros (20 m), por lo que se requerirá, en ese caso, de otras escaleras. Cuando sirvan a más de cuarenta (40) personas o sirvan para evacuar sitios de reunión pública, las puertas deberán abrirse hacia afuera.". De igual forma, el ordinal VIII.6 de dicho cuerpo normativo, dispone sobre el tema en cuestión, que "Los edificios para comercios y oficinas de más de un piso tendrán siempre escaleras que comuniquen todos los niveles, aun cuando cuenten con ascensores. La anchura mínima de las escaleras será de un metro, veinte centímetros (1,20 m). Las huellas tendrán un mínimo de veintiséis centímetros (0,26 m) y las contrahuellas un máximo de dieciocho centímetros (0,18 m). Las escaleras deberán construirse con materiales que tengan un coeficiente retardatorio al fuego no menor de una hora y deberán tener pasamanos o barandales con una altura mínima de noventa centímetros (0,90 m). Una escalera dará servicio a un máximo de mil cuatrocientos metros cuadrados (1 400 m2) de área por piso, y su anchura variará en la forma siguiente : Hasta 700 m2 de área de piso ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,20 m. De 700 a 1 000 m2 de área de piso ...... ...... ... ... 1,80 m. De 1 000 a 1 400 m2 de área de piso... ... ... ... ... 2,40 m. ". De igual forma dispone el ordinal XI.16, en lo referente a las escaleras de servicio, que "Las escaleras tendrán una anchura mínima igual a la suma de las anchuras de las puertas o pasillos a los que den servicio pero, en ningún caso, el ancho libre de la escalera será menor de un metro, veinte centímetros (1,20 m); tendrá contrahuellas máximas de diecisiete centí­metros (0,17 m) y huellas de treinta centímetros (0,30 m) como mínimo. Deberán construirse de materiales con un coeficiente retardatorio al fuego no menor de una hora y tener pasamanos a noventa centímetros (0,90 m) de altura, en cada lado de la escalera. Cada piso deberá tener por lo menos dos escaleras en lados opuestos o separadas convenientemente. A lo largo de cualquier tramo de escalera la anchura de las huellas y la altura de las contrahuellas, deberán ser constantes. Se prohíben las escaleras de caracol como medio de salida principal. ". Posteriormente, entró en vigencia la Ley del Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, número 8228 del 19 de marzo del 2002, publicada en la Gaceta número 78 del 24 de abril del 2002, en la cual en el numeral primero se crea dicho órgano con carácter de desconcentrado máximo, y personería instrumental adscrito al Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica. Tal cuerpo normativo le confiere a dicho órgano en su ordinal quinto, las funciones de "a) La coordinación de las situaciones específicas de emergencia con las distintas entidades privadas y los órganos del Estado, cuya actividad y competencia se refieren a la prevención, atención y evaluación de tales situaciones. b) La prevención, atención, mitigación, el control, la investigación y evaluación de los incendios. c) La colaboración en la atención de los casos específicos de emergencia. d) El otorgamiento de medallas u otras distinciones, en reconocimiento de la trayectoria, la entrega o los actos de servicio extraordinario de los bomberos, permanentes o voluntarios, del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica o de otros países. e) Cualesquiera otras funciones necesarias para aplicar la presente Ley y su Reglamento. En los demás aspectos de seguridad, las autoridades nacionales y el Cuerpo de Bomberos deberán respetar la normalización técnica que dicte o acoja la institución respectiva.". Con lo cual se aprecia, en materia de regulación de escaleras de servicio, funciones y competencias, complementarias, pero diversas a las asignadas al Instituto Nacional de Vivienda y Urbanismo, las cuales no riñen entre sí, ni son incompatibles o disímiles, sino que resultan más bien armónicas en materia de seguridad y accesibilidad de las edificaciones, todo ello con el fin con el objeto de unir esfuerzos a fin de salvaguardar la seguridad de la población que las utilice. Si bien, la Ley 8228 estipula requerimientos técnicos en edificaciones, como lo disponen los ordinales 7 bis y 14, al facultarla a: "f) Emitir la normalización técnica y el ordenamiento, que serán de acatamiento obligatorio para las personas, físicas o jurídicas, así como para las entidades, públicas o privadas, en materia de seguridad, de protección contra incendio y de seguridad humana.", y el numeral 14, al solicitar " (...) Requerimientos técnicos en edificaciones. Las instalaciones, construcciones, obras civiles o plantas industriales, según se establezca, deberán contar con los requerimientos técnicos, las previsiones y los requisitos de edificación; asimismo, cumplirán lo estipulado en la normalización técnica y en el Reglamento de la presente Ley.", sin embargo, tales especificaciones deben entenderse como complementarias a las ya exigidas en el Reglamento de Construcciones del INVU, pero no opuestas a ella, sin que se observe en todo caso que exista contradicción del contenido de ambas disposiciones. Así las cosas, al complementarse ambas normativas, debe entenderse que su entrada en vigencia no deroga tácitamente, ni desaplica lo estipulado sobre dicha materia por el Reglamento de Construcciones. Para ello debemos tomar en consideración que tratándose de la salud pública, y de salvaguardar la seguridad de las personas, los dispositivos de seguridad y de accesibilidad no debe interpretarse su aplicación en sentido restrictivo, sino amplio, de forma tal que entre mayores sean las condiciones de seguridad que se le de a las construcciones será mejor para proteger el elemento vida, sin que para ello los desarrolladores puedan alegar para su no establecimiento el costo o el espacio que deba ocupar para su implementación. Debe tomarse en cuenta que la vida humana es invaluable y por ello las condiciones materiales y de seguridad han de ser un medio que garantice la tutela efectiva y protección integral de la persona humana, aunado a que la disposición que ordena la construcción de una escalera de uso común tiene como finalidad permitir a los usuarios del edificio contar, además de los ascensores, con un medio de acceso entre los pisos. En mérito de ello, las condiciones de seguridad y de accesibilidad que dispone en materia de escaleras de servicio o de uso común y de seguridad, el Reglamento de Construcciones, al estatuir dos escaleras de emergencia y una de servicio para edificios con varios pisos con una superficie por metro cuadrado igual o mayor a 1400 metros, no puede entenderse derogada tácitamente por la Ley 8228, para interpretar que las construcciones con tales condiciones, deben sólo contener dos escaleras de emergencia y no una de uso común. Dado que la Ley del Cuerpo de Bomberos en su norma técnica regula exclusivamente materia de seguridad y la norma técnica del Reglamento del INVU dispone la existencia de una escalera principal para que los usuarios tengan a su disposición otro medio de circulación y acceso dentro del edificio con varios pisos, escaleras que constituyen un acceso alternativo e idóneo a los restantes pisos del edificio, la cual debe estar presente para garantizar como lo establece la disposición técnica el acceso y la comunicación entre los diferentes pisos. En razón de ello, si el Reglamento de Construcciones establece un dispositivo que garantiza la salvaguarda de las personas en casos de emergencia o que facilite el acceso a los edificios para personas con situaciones especiales, y si la ley 8228, no lo prohíbe por tratarse de situaciones de accesibilidad y seguridad de las personas a tales edificaciones. Todo ello es armonioso con lo dispuesto en la Ley General de Salud, en la Ley de Igualdad de Oportunidades para las Personas con Discapacidad, y en su Reglamento número 26831 del 23 de marzo de 1998, que obligan a brindar las condiciones adecuadas a las poblaciones vulnerables, que tiene limitaciones de desplazamiento, situación que constituye un imperativo jurídico y fáctico insoslayable tanto para el INVU, como para el Ministerio de Salud. Por su parte el Reglamento a la Ley 8228 del Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, número 34768 del 28 de setiembre del 2008, publicado en la Gaceta número 195 del 9 de octubre del 2008, derogado posteriormente mediante decreto número 37615 del 04 de marzo del 2013, disponía en su ordinales 65 y 66, lo siguiente: "Artículo 65.- Normativa de aplicación obligatoria. La normativa que establezca el Cuerpo de Bomberos en materia de prevención, seguridad humana y protección contra incendios es de aplicación obligatoria en todo proyecto de construcción de obra civil, edificación existente o cualquier lugar, sea éste temporal o permanente, según el número de personas, el área de construcción y otros parámetros que defina el Cuerpo de Bomberos. Esta normativa será revisada anualmente.", " Artículo 66.-Adopción de la normativa de la Asociación Nacional de Protección Contra el Fuego (NFPA por sus siglas en inglés). El Cuerpo de Bomberos adopta la totalidad de las normas de la Asociación Nacional de Protección contra el Fuego (NFPA por sus siglas en inglés), organismo internacional especializado en materia de prevención, seguridad humana y protección contra incendios. Dichas normas serán de acatamiento obligatorio en el diseño de nuevas edificaciones, edificios existentes, remodelación de edificios, cambio de uso, diseño e instalación de sistemas contra incendios, tanto de protección activa como pasiva.". Estableciendo en su ordinal 89 que derogaba el decreto número 30383, así como los reglamentos y disposiciones internas referidas al Cuerpo de Bomberos que se le opongan, pero sin derogar número 37615 del 04 de marzo del 2013, que derogó posteriormente el 34768, estableció al respecto idéntica regulación en los mismos numerales 65 y 66. En razón de ello, revisada la normativa NFPA 101, denominado Código de Seguridad Humana, en sus diferentes ediciones, dictada por la National Fire Protection Associatión, es coincidente en que los medios de egreso para los edificios nuevos y los ya existentes deberán cumplir en materia de escaleras con lo dispuesto en tal normativa. Así las cosas, revisada tales disposiciones, se establece que las escaleras que sirvan como medios de egreso deberán ser de construcción fija, no combustible en su totalidad, además deben existir al menos dos salidas separadas en cada piso, y accesibles desde cualquier parte de un piso o entrepiso. Por otro lado se dispone que cuando la carga de ocupantes sea de más de 500, pero no más de 1000 deben existir una cantidad no menor de tres medios de egreso y si la carga de ocupantes es de más de mil, deberá ser no menor de cuatro. Finalmente, el Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, dictó el denominado Manual de disposiciones técnicas generales sobre seguridad humana y protección contra incendios, publicado en en la gaceta número 125 del 29 de junio del 2010, en el cual se dispuso en los ordinales 2 y 3, que será de aplicación obligatoria para las obras civiles, el propio manual, las normas de la NFPA, las aplicables en Costa Rica y las que resulten concordantes y accesorias, con lo cual se determina que la dispuesto en el Reglamento de Construcciones del INVU y las normas del Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos, no se excluyen entre sí, sino que se complementan y si existiere alguna contradicción, deberá optarse por aplicar en forma prevalente y jerárquica, por la especialidad de la materia, por estar vigente, por no haber sido derogado por norma posterior, y por estar sustentado en las leyes 1788 y 4240, el Reglamento de Construcciones. Ello así, en tanto y cuanto se garantice y salvaguarde la seguridad humana ante situaciones de emergencia, tomando en cuenta que el fin primordial de tales disposiciones no es darle prioridad a una norma sobre la otra, sino más bien garantizar con su aplicación en conjunto la seguridad de la vida humana […].”