Assembly: Groups A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, and A-5Structures or portions of structures need to be classified in regards to the occupancy of one or more groups. A room or space that is intended to be occupied at different times for different purposes must comply with all of the requirements that are applicable to each of those purposes. These structures that you have identified as having multiple uses, or occupancies, must comply with the code book. You may have questions about a structure that is proposed for a purpose that is not found in the code book. In this event, each structure must be classified in the group that the occupancy most nearly resembles, according to the fire safety and hazard involved. The 2009 International Code Book lists ten categories or groups that a structure or portion of a structure must be classified as. You will find clarification on these classifications as we go through this chapter.
Assembly: Groups A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, and A-5
Business: Group B
Educational: Group E
Factory and Industrial: Groups F-1 and F-2
High Hazard: Groups H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4, and H-5
Institutional: Groups I-1, I-2, I-3, and I-4
Mercantile: Group M
Residential: Groups R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4
Storage: Groups S-1 and S-2
Utility and Miscellaneous: Group U.
Group A occupancy includes, among other things, using a building or structure or even a portion of building or structure for purposes such as a civic, social, or religious functions; recreation, the consumption of food or drink; or for those waiting for transportation, such as a bus or taxi. There are exceptions in the classification of Assembly Group A:
A building used for assembly purposes that has occupancy of less than 50 persons must be classified as Group B occupancy.
A room or space used for assembly purposes that is less than 750 square feet in area and is also accessible to another occupancy must be classified as a Group B occupancy.
A-1 Group assemblies provide fixed seating and are intended for the use of producing and viewing performing arts and movies. This group includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Motion picture theaters
Symphony and concert halls
Television and radio studios that include live audiences
Theaters.
A-2 Group assemblies are intended for the consumption of food and/or drink and include, but are not limited to, the following:
Banquet halls
Night clubs
Taverns and bars.
A-3 Group assemblies are intended for worship, recreation, or amusement or other assembly uses but are not classified elsewhere in Group A, and include:
Amusement arcades
Art galleries
Bowling alleys
Places of religious worship
Community halls
Courtrooms
Dance halls (without food or drink)
Exhibition halls
Funeral parlors
Gymnasiums (without spectator seating)
Indoor swimming pools (without spectator seating)
Indoor tennis courts (without spectator seating)
Lecture halls
Libraries
Museums
Waiting areas in transportation terminals
Pool and billiard parlors.
A-4 Group assemblies are those with the intended use for viewing indoor sporting events and activities that allow for spectator viewing. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
Arenas
Swimming pools
Tennis courts.
A-5 Group assembly uses are intended for participation in or viewing outdoor activities. Some of these include, but are not limited to, the following:
Amusement part structures
Bleachers
Grandstands
Stadiums.
Many buildings may have multiple uses of occupancies and are referred to as mixed occupancies. In cases with mixed occupancies, they are required to meet the codes for those specific areas. Simply put, this means that occupancy of one group may also qualify for another. When this occurs, the stricter code is usually enforced by code officials.
Business Group B occupancy is the use of a building or structure for office, professional, or service-type transactions. Even if a person is using partial space of a building for an office, it would fall into this group. The storing of records and/or accounts is included in this as well. Below is a list of business occupancies for group B. Keep in mind, there may be more that qualify that are not listed here.
Airport traffic control towers
Animal hospitals, kennels, and pounds
Banks
Barber and beauty shops
Car washes
Clinic-outpatient
Dry cleaning and laundries: pick-up and delivery stations and self-service
Educational occupancies for students above grade 12
Electronic data processing
Laboratories: testing and research
Motor vehicle showrooms
Post offices
Print shops
Professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, engineers, etc.)
Radio and television stations
Telephone exchanges
Training and skill development not within a school or academic program.
Educational Group E occupancy is the use of a building or structure, and again, this can even be a portion of a structure, for educational purposes through grade 12. However, there must be six or more people at any one time for this structure to be classified as this group. You should note that religious education rooms and religious auditoriums which are accessory to places of worship fall under A-3 occupancies.
CODE UPDATE |
Mercantile Group M applies to buildings where merchandise is displayed and the sale of goods occurs. |
Day care and child care or personal care services for a group of five children who are over the age of two and a half is also placed in the Group E occupancy.
The following list describes Group F, Factory Industrial Group that do not qualify as a Group H hazard or Group S storage.
Assembling
Disassembling
Fabricating
Finishing
Manufacturing
Packaging
Repairing
Processing.
Group F-1 describes the moderate-hazard occupancy of the factory industry. F-2 (low factory hazards) occupancies must never be included in this list and are in a league of their own which will be described in the next section. The following are included in the F-1, Moderate-hazard Occupancy Group:
Aircraft
Appliances
Athletic equipment
Automobiles and other motor vehicles
Bakeries
Beverages: over 12-percent alcohol content
Bicycles
Boats
Business machines
Cameras and photo equipment
Canvas or similar fabric
Carpets and rugs, this includes cleaning
Clothing
Construction and agricultural machinery
Disinfectants
Dry cleaning and dyeing
Electric generation plants
Electronics
Engines, this includes rebuilding
Food processing
Furniture
Hemp products
Jute products
Laundries
Leather products
Machinery
Metals
Millwork (doors and sash)
Motion pictures and television filming (without spectators)
Musical instruments
Optical goods
Paper mills and products
Photographic film
Plastic products
Printing or publishing
Recreational vehicles
Shoes
Soaps and detergents
Textiles
Tobacco
Trailers
Upholstering
Wood: distillation
Woodworking (cabinet).
F-2, Low-hazard Occupational Industry, are uses that involve the fabrication of noncombustible materials. The following materials do not involve a significant fire hazard:
Beverages: containing up to 12-percent alcohol
Brick and masonry
Ceramic products
Foundries
Glass products
Gypsum
Ice
Metal products.
Group H is classified as a high-hazard group that involves the manufacturing, processing, generation, or storage of materials that have a physical or health hazard. Hazardous uses are classified in Groups H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4, and H-5. Keep in mind that these groups not only have to comply with the code, but also the International Fire Code. There are exceptions to Group H and the following are not to be classified as Group H, but must be classified in the occupancy that they most nearly resemble.
Wholesale and retail sales and storage of flammable and combustible liquids in mercantile occupancies conforming to the International Fire Code
Closed piping containing flammable and/or combustible liquids or gases that is used to operate machinery or equipment
Cleaning establishments that use combustible liquid solvents having a flash point of 140°F (60°C) or higher in closed systems employing equipment listed by an approved testing agency, provided that this occupancy is separated from all areas of the building by one-hour fire barriers or one-hour horizontal assemblies, or both.
Cleaning establishments that utilize a liquid solvent having a flash point at or above 200°F (93°C)
Liquor stores and distributors without bulk storage
Refrigeration systems
The storage or utilization of materials for agricultural purposes on the premises
Stationary batteries used for emergency power, provided that the batteries are provided with safety venting caps (note that ventilation is in accordance with the International Mechanical Code)
Corrosives cannot and do not include personal or household products in their original packaging used for retail or commonly used building materials.
CODE UPDATE |
An outpatient clinic is a building or a portion of a building that is used to provide medical care on less than a 24-hour basis to individuals who are not rendered incapable of self-preservation by the services provided. |
All buildings and structures occupied for aerosol storage must be classified as Group S-1, and again, must meet the requirements of the International Fire Code.
The storage of black powder, smokeless propellant, and small arms primers in Groups M and R-3 and special industrial explosive devices in Groups B, F, M, and S must conform to the quantity limits and the International Fire Code.
Institutional Group I occupancy is the use of a building or structure in which people are cared for. This can also be a live-in supervised environment as well. People who qualify for this group have physical limitations due to health or age. Some may need medical treatment or other care. Institutional occupancies are classified as Group I-1, I-2, I-3, or I-4. Qualifications for Group I are housing of more than 16 people on a 24-hour basis, including those receiving personal care because of age, mental disability, or other reasons, but capable of responding to an emergency situation with physical assistance from staff. These residencies include, but may not be limited to, the following:
Residential board and care facilities
Assisted living facilities
Halfway houses
Group homes
Congregate care facilities
Social rehabilitation facilities
Alcohol and drug centers
Convalescent facilities.
If any of the facilities above have five or fewer residents, then the facility must be classified at a Group R-3 and must comply with the International Residential Code. If one of the facilities above has at least six, but not more than 16 persons, then it must be classified as Group R-4. Group I-2 occupancy includes buildings and structures that are used for medical, psychiatric, nursing, or custodial care on a 24-hour basis for more than five persons. Care must be available on a 24-hour basis and the persons are not capable of self-preservation. This group can include hospitals, nursing homes (to include intermediate and skilled care), mental hospitals, and detoxification facilities. A facility such as these that has five or fewer persons must be classified as Group R-3. One thing that you must remember is this: All facilities that provide 24-hour care and are considered to be live-in care, must comply with the International Residential Code. Please note that the above facilities do not include children under the age of 2½. A child care facility that provides care to five or more children in this age bracket need to be classified as Group I-2. There is an exception to this classification: A child-care facility that provides care to more than five, but no more than 100 children, and when the rooms in which the children are cared for are located on the same level as an exit and each of those rooms has a door directly to the outside shall be classified as Group E.
I-3 facilities are occupied by persons who are generally incapable of self-preservation due to security measures that the occupants have no control over. This group may include:
Prisons
Jails
CODE UPDATE |
High-hazard Group H occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, that involves the manufacturing, processing, generation or storage of materials that constitute a physical or health hazard in quantities in excess of those allowed in control areas. |
Detention centers
Correctional centers
Prerelease centers.
Buildings that qualify for Group I-3 must be classified as one of five occupancy conditions. The first condition includes buildings in which free movement is allowed from sleeping areas and other spaces where access or occupancy is permitted to the outside of the building by means of an exit without having to be restrained. The code allows for a Condition I facility to be constructed as Group R. Condition II includes buildings which allow free movement from sleeping areas to an occupied smoke compartment to one or more other smoke compartments. Any outside exits are locked. Condition III allows free movement within smoke compartments to group activity spaces, but the means of exit are impeded by remote-control devices. Condition IV includes buildings in which free movement is restricted from an occupied space. Remote-controlled releases are used to allow movement from sleeping units, activity spaces, and other occupied areas within the smoke compartment to other smoke compartments. If your facility is classified with a Condition V then free movement is restricted from an occupied space. Staff control the door locks and a manual release is needed to permit movement from sleeping areas to other occupied areas within the smoke compartment.
The next section that I want to focus on is day care facilities. These buildings are of the Group I classification.
CODE UPDATE |
A physical hazard is known as a chemical for which there is evidence that it is a combustible liquid, cryogenic fluid, explosive, flammable, organic peroxide, oxidizer, oxidizing gas, pyrophoric, unstable material, or water-reactive material. |
Group I-4 is a building or structure that is used as a day care facility. These can be used or occupied by persons of any age who are receiving custodial care for less than 24 hours by individuals other than parents or guardians, blood relatives, marriage, or adoption. A facility such as above with five or fewer persons is classified as Group R-3 and must comply with the International Residential Code. Places of worship during religious functions are not included.
This group also includes adult care facilities. These provide accommodations for less than 24 hours and have five or more unrelated adults who need supervision and personal care. Take note that there is an exception to this group: A facility where occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from the staff is to be classified as Group A-3.
Group M is for Mercantile. Mercantile groups consist of buildings that display and sell merchandise. They include stocking of goods, wares, and merchandise for purchase from the public. These buildings can include:
Department stores
Drug stores
Markets
Motor fuel-dispensing facilities
Retail or wholesale stores
Sales rooms.
Group R is for residential groups that include the use of a building for sleeping purposes that are not classified as an Institutional Group I or when not regulated by the International Residential Code. R-1 residential occupancies include boarding houses, hotels, and motels that are transient in nature. R-2 residential occupancies are those that contain sleeping units or more than two living units. These are primarily permanent in nature and include:
Apartment houses
Boarding houses
Convents
Dormitories
Fraternities and sororities
Hotels
Monasteries
Motels
Vacation timeshare properties.
R-3 residential occupancies are those that are permanent in nature and are not classified as R-1, R-2, R-4, or I. These include the following:
Buildings that do not contain more than two living units
Adult facilities that provide accommodations for five or fewer persons of any age for less than 24 hours
Child care facilities that provide accommodations for five or fewer persons of any age for less than 24 hours
Congregate living facilities with 16 or fewer persons.
R-4 is defined as residential occupancies that include buildings arranged for occupancy as residential care/assisted living facilities including more than five, but not more than 16 occupants, including staff. All R-4 occupancies must meet the requirements for construction as defined for Group R-3, except as otherwise provided in this book or the International Residential Code.
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There are many groups and many qualifying information that you need to refer to. Always check with the codes to make sure that your facility has the correct qualifications or you may lose any special licensing that allows you to provide such care. |
Group S is the storage group. This group will tell you what you may store in your building or structure that is not classified as a hazardous occupancy. Group S-1 is moderate-hazard storage and includes, but is not limited to aerosols of levels 2 and 3, baskets, boots and shoes, furs and leathers. Group S-2 includes buildings used for the storage of noncombustible materials such as products on wood pallets or in paper cartons with or without divisions and products such as knobs, handles, or film wrapping. Storage uses include, but are not limited to, storage of the following:
Aircraft hangar
Beverages containing up to 12-percent alcohol in metal, glass, or ceramic containers
Chalk and crayons
Dry cell batteries
Empty cans
Food products
Glass
Gypsum board
Inert pigments
Ivory
Meats
Metal parts.
You can see that buildings and structures of an accessory character and miscellaneous structures not classified in any specific occupancy must be constructed, equipped, and maintained to conform to the requirements of this code with the fire and life hazard to their occupancy.
There is one more group that is called Group U, a miscellaneous group that can include the following:
Agricultural buildings
Aircraft hangars
Barns
Carports
Fences more than 6 feet high
Grain silos, accessory to a residential occupancy
Greenhouses
Livestock shelters
Private garages
Retaining walls
Sheds
Stables
Tanks
Towers.
This brings us to the close of Chapter 1 and the occupancy classification of all buildings and structures. As you can see there are many exceptions that you must be aware of when constructing your building or structure. Read the code book, follow and implement the code, and if you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your building official. They are there to help you.
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Take note that adult and child care facilities that are within a single-family home are permitted to comply with the International Residential Code. |
