Campbell Code Consulting has extensive experience working on projects in Baltimore and across the state of Maryland. We've worked closely with Baltimore City's Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as County AHJs throughout the region, helping design teams navigate Maryland's unique code environment and achieve permitting success on complex projects.

Our Experience in the Baltimore Market

Campbell Code Consulting has delivered fire and life safety code consulting services on numerous projects in Baltimore and across Maryland. In Baltimore, we provided consulting services on Brightview NDMU, a four-story, 290,000 SF senior living facility with 165 units across independent living, assisted living, and memory care levels. Across the broader Maryland market, our work includes Oxford Hills (a six-story, 126,000 SF senior living development in Clarksville), Greystar Annapolis (a five-story, 304,000 SF senior living facility with 175 units in Annapolis), the Damascus Apartments (a four-story, 123-unit multifamily building in Damascus), the Frederick Maryland Multifamily development (306 units across three buildings in Frederick), and the Democracy Center office renovation in Montgomery County.

The Baltimore Code Environment

Maryland has one of the most complex code and regulatory arrangements of any jurisdiction in the country. On a state level, the Maryland Building Performance Standards require all jurisdictions in Maryland to use certain versions of the ICC codes. But each jurisdiction can then add their own local amendments and regulations, including requirements that are more stringent than what the State requires.

Baltimore City has adopted its own Building, Fire, and Related Codes, 2024 Edition (effective May 2024), which incorporates the 2021 IBC with additional Baltimore-specific amendments. Baltimore is also the only jurisdiction in Maryland to adopt the International Fire Code. Outside of Baltimore, the rest of Maryland must comply with the State Fire Prevention Code, which adopts the 2024 Editions of NFPA 1 and 101. (Note that the State Fire Prevention Code does apply to certain state-owned or funded projects in the City of Baltimore).

Finally, Baltimore has a unique requirement for a Fire and Life Safety Design Evaluation on many projects, which requires a registered fire protection engineer to review the design in conjunction with a permit application.

How We Can Help

● Plan Reviews: we review your design documents and identify code issues before permit submission, saving time and preventing costly revisions.
● Code Reports: a clear, project-specific summary of applicable IBC and NFPA 101 requirements so your entire team is working from the same page.
● On-Call Consulting: available throughout design for code questions via calls, emails, and meetings.
● Engineering Judgments: for conditions not covered by standard UL assemblies, we provide formal engineering judgments acceptable to Maryland AHJs.
● Code Modifications / Alternate Means & Methods: we prepare and submit code modification requests to local AHJs when your design requires an alternative approach.
● Fire Protection Design: our licensed fire protection engineers design fire sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, and standpipe systems for Baltimore-area projects, all completed in Revit for full BIM coordination.
● Accessibility Code Consulting: ADA, FHA, and Maryland Accessibility Code (MAC) compliance reviews for multifamily, senior living, commercial, and institutional projects.

The Baltimore Construction Market

Baltimore's development market includes a strong mix of urban adaptive reuse and new construction. Senior living has been particularly active, with major projects along the I-95 corridor and in the county suburbs. Higher education and healthcare construction continues at the major institutions. Mixed-use multifamily development in neighborhoods like Port Covington, Harbor Point, and Station North has kept the design and permitting pipeline busy.

Working on a Baltimore project? Let's connect and make sure your design is code-compliant from day one.

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