Oregon, OH Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered shafts
- Elevator hoistways, stairways, utility shafts
- Enclosure standard
- Ohio Fire Code, Chapter 11
- New floor openings
- Must meet Ohio Building Code
- Out-of-service systems
- Immediate notice to fire department
- Enacted by
- Ordinance 081-2024, 5-13-24
Summary
The City of Oregon, Ohio requires interior vertical shafts, including elevator hoistways, stairways and utility shafts connecting two or more stories, to be enclosed or protected under the locally amended Property Maintenance Code, Section 1335.03 (IPMC-703.7). The enclosure standard follows Chapter 11 of the current Ohio Fire Code, and any new floor openings created in existing buildings must meet the current Ohio Building Code.
IPMC-703.7 Vertical shafts (Amended): Interior vertical shafts, including stairways, elevator hoistways and service and utility shafts, which connect two or more stories of a building shall be enclosed or protected as required in Chapter 11 of the most current edition of the Ohio Fire Code. New floor openings in existing buildings shall comply with the most current edition of the Ohio Building Code.
Full Breakdown
03. 7, requires interior vertical shafts, a category that expressly includes elevator hoistways along with stairways and service and utility shafts, connecting two or more stories of a building to be enclosed or protected as required by Chapter 11 of the current Ohio Fire Code; new floor openings cut into existing buildings must instead comply with the current Ohio Building Code. 3 requires the fire department and fire code official be notified immediately, with a building evacuation or fire watch ordered, whenever a required system goes out of service.
2 treats components that no longer function as intended, or that lack the fire resistance required when the building was built or altered, as unsafe conditions to be repaired or replaced under the current Ohio Fire Code. Because these are local amendments enacted by Ordinance 081-2024, passed May 13, 2024, they are enforced by the same code official and Nuisance Hearing Appeal Board process that governs the rest of Chapter 1335, including its notice, appeal and daily-offense penalty structure.
Violations & Fines
Leaving an elevator hoistway, stairway or utility shaft unenclosed in violation of amended IPMC-703.7, or letting a required fire or life safety system connected to it sit out of service without notifying the fire department under amended IPMC-704.3, is a Chapter 1335 violation. The code official can issue a notice and order, and amended IPMC-109.4 makes each day of continued noncompliance a separate offense prosecuted under Section 1321.99.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oregon, Ohio require elevator shafts to be enclosed?
What if a building's elevator fire safety system fails?
Who enforces elevator and vertical-shaft maintenance rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oregon
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