sprinklernotes
Occupancy Classification for a Pharmacy
You asked the following question: “For a pharmacy in a medical office building,
the engineer of record (EOR) is stating that because
the whole building is light hazard occupancy, all spaces contained within can
be designed to light hazard design criteria. Is a typical
pharmacy in a healthcare medical office building able to be classified as light
hazard?”
In response to your question, we have reviewed NFPA 13, Standard for the
Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2019 edition. Our
informal interpretation that the EOR has superior knowledge of the project and
it is within their purview to apply the requirements of
Chapter 4 to classify the occupancy or hazard; however, it is inappropriate to
apply a blanket classification to a building as each
space should be evaluated individually. Additionally, ordinary hazard (group 1)
would be more appropriate given the general
arrangement of a typical pharmacy.
According to the 2018 joint position statement from SFPE, NSPE, and NICET on
the roles and responsibilities of the engineer and
the engineering technician, the engineer is responsible for the "identification
of occupancy type(s), areas to be protected (or
omitted), and hazard classification(s).” While this position statement is in
the process of being revised and approved by additional
affected organizations, the intent of the statement is consistent. In this case
the EOR has used their judgement and applied their
knowledge of the project to classify the occupancy of the pharmacy area as
light hazard; however, when applying the
enforceable language of the standard, the EOR may want to reconsider that
classification.
As stated in NFPA 13 section 4.3.1.2, occupancy classifications are not to be
generally assigned to a building, rather to individual
spaces with specific uses within the building. Occupancy classifications are
determined by applying the requirements of section 4.3.
For light hazard, ordinary hazard (group 1) and ordinary hazard (group 2) the
requirements are as follows:
4.3.2* Light Hazard. The following shall be protected with light hazard
occupancy criteria in this standard:
(1) Spaces with low quantity and combustibility of contents
4.3.3* Ordinary Hazard (Group 1). The following shall be protected with OH1
occupancy criteria in this standard:
(1) Spaces with moderate quantity and low combustibility of contents
(2) Stockpiles of contents with low combustibility that do not exceed 8 ft (2.4
m)
4.3.4* Ordinary Hazard (Group 2). The following shall be protected with OH2
occupancy criteria in this standard:
(1) Spaces with moderate to high quantity and combustibility of contents
(2) Stockpiles of contents with moderate to high combustibility that do not
exceed 12 ft (3.7 m)
Given a typical pharmacy space with 6-ft shelves containing plastic bottles,
OH1 would be more appropriate as it meets both
qualities listed under section 4.3.3. It should be noted that this
generalization comes with the same caveat as provided in the annex
to occupancy classifications in NFPA 13:
A.4.3 Occupancy examples in the listings as shown in the various hazard
classifications are intended to represent the
norm for those occupancy types. Unusual or abnormal fuel loadings or
combustible characteristics and susceptibility for
changes in these characteristics, for a particular occupancy, are
considerations that should be weighed in the selection
and classification.
