Occupant Load Dispute in a Converted Assembly Room
A church wants to use its 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) basement fellowship hall as a banquet/assembly space. The hall has one 36-inch (914 mm) swinging exit door at the rear and a second 36-inch door that opens into a corridor shared with the kitchen. The applicant proposes 150 occupants based on tables and chairs. The building has no sprinkler system, and the corridor door swings into the corridor. The fire official must decide the allowable occupant load and whether the proposed use can be approved as submitted.
1. How should the fire official determine the occupant load, and what egress capacity results?
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Use the use-based occupant load factor for the actual arrangement, not the applicant's proposed headcount. For concentrated assembly (tables and chairs, banquet), the factor is smaller per person than for unconcentrated standing, so the computed load is likely higher than 150.
Capacity check:
- Each 36-inch (914 mm) egress door provides capacity based on the code's egress width factor for the occupancy; two doors give a combined capacity that must be compared against the computed load.
- The corridor door swinging into the corridor is a problem: egress doors generally must swing in the direction of travel when serving an occupant load of 50 or more, and a door swinging into the path of egress from the corridor can obstruct it.
Conclusion: compute the load from the factor and furniture layout, then compare to the two-door capacity. The proposed 150 may exceed what the two doors and the corridor geometry can support, and the inswinging corridor door must be corrected or the load reduced.
2. If the computed load exceeds the two-door capacity, what options can the official offer the applicant?
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Options that preserve the use while satisfying egress:
- Reduce the occupant load by limiting furniture layout (fewer tables/seats) and posting the approved load.
- Increase egress capacity - widen an existing door, add an exit, or reconfigure so both doors provide unobstructed egress.
- Correct the corridor door - reverse the swing to swing in the direction of egress travel, or provide a compliant arrangement that does not obstruct the corridor.
- Add fire protection features (e.g., sprinklers) only if the code permits them to offset specific deficiencies; sprinklers do not fix a door that obstructs egress.
Any approved reduction should be documented and posted, and the approval should state the maximum occupant load the space may be used for.