Hi All,

I think Debbie is correct. But, I run into the situation where we had basement, 1^st & 2^nd floor lab spaces that were originally designed for low-hazard (agricultural) laboratories. In the center of the building was an open staircase that went from the basement to the 2^nd floor. The FD inspector was considering having the whole building considered one control area. This was due to the building construction lacking the ability to limit the spread of a fire between floors WITH the current use being considered high-hazard due to the significant amount/classification of flammables located on the 1^st & 2^nd floors, which contained chemical synthesis, analytical chemistry and even a kilo lab!

I did not disagree with the conclusion. The laboratories were designed to be on the interior spaces, with one or more exterior walls occupied by HR, Accounting, etc. A significant fire would have blocked egress from the administrative areas.

BruceV

P.S. It is worth noting that building use classifications may change over time and if a company is not willing to upgrade the fire protection, then future use will be limited - and the space may not be upgraded to a higher risk classification without upgrades.

Hi Monique:

It depends on the construction of the space.  If the space has full-height walls, fire-resistive walls and doors, then the space could be considered a control area - a lab room or suite.  If the space is not constructed in that way or if the building was built before the control area was developed in the Code, then the Authority Having Jurisdiction has to make a judgement about what constitutes a control area, based on construction and the like.  Default is a building floor.  We recently were able to divide one floor into two control areas by the addition of a fire door between two halves of the floor.

The concept of a "laboratory suite" is a relatively new (20 years is new) development in the Fire Code - H Occupancy (thank California for this one).  Limited to 10,000 sq ft, with fire resistive wall construction, fire-rated door assembly, monolithic and sealed flooring, full-height walls, and no penetrations out of the suite, fire sprinklers - the Maximum Allowable Quantities are pretty generous because the lab suite is the control area.  As you might imagine, it's expensive to construct but really flexible as to lab activities and chemical load in the suite.  For a B occupancy, the MAQs are lower and control areas are typically a building floor.  As you go higher in the building (or further below grade for multiple basements), the MAQs get really strict, until it's virtually impossible to do chemistry in a high-rise building (ask UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco about those challenges).

This is based on California Fire Code, where the code is based on the ICBO model code - not NFPA.  Your mileage with NFPA may differ.

Does this help?

Debbie

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow

Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety

Councilor and Programming Co-Chair

University of California, Davis

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Monique Wilhelm
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2019 12:44 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Fire Code Help

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