OCCUPANCY GROUP
§ 50.1. Occupancy groups.
(a) Class of building. The Department will classify each building into one or more of the following occupancy groups according to the building use and the characteristics of the occupants.
(b) Group A—Assembly. Buildings primarily used or designed for the purpose of assembly of persons for amusement, entertainment, worship, transportation, recreation, sports, military drilling, dining or similar purposes shall be classified as Group A—Assembly Occupancies. Group A is divided into the following division:
Division Capacity A-1 (Chapter 51) 501 or more A-2 (Chapter 52) 101 thru 500 A-3 (Chapter 53) 4 thru 100 (c) Group B—Educational. Buildings primarily used or designed for the purpose of education or instruction shall be classified as Group B—Educational Occupancies. Schools for business or vocational training shall be classified in the same occupancies and conform to the same requirements as the trade, vocation or business being taught. Nursery schools, day care centers, group day care homes and the like shall be classified as B occupancies. However, they may be housed in a building which has an A, C-1 or C-2 occupancy permit without submission of plans or approval as a B occupancy. Group day care homes and family day care homes may use the C-3 regulations for occupancies of eight or less children without a B occupancy approval. See Chapter 54 (relating to Group B—Educational).
(d) Group C—Group habitation. Buildings primarily used or designed for the purpose of habitation by four or more persons shall be classified as Group C—Group Habitation. Group C is divided into the following divisions:
(1) Division C-1. Health care institutions include buildings that provide sleeping facilities for four or more persons who are mostly incapable of self-preservation because of physical or mental illness or disease, or persons convalescing from physical or mental illness or disease. Hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, convalescent homes, rest homes, and the like shall be classified as health care institutions. Personal care homes licensed by the Department of Public Welfare will not be considered health care institutions. Health care institutions shall comply with the following:
(i) Health care institutions which have plans approved by the Department after May 19, 1986, shall comply with NFPA-101, Life Safety Code, 1985 Edition published by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269.
(ii) Health care institutions or portions of health care institutions which have had plans approved by the Department from June 1, 1976, to May 19, 1986, shall be considered in compliance with this chapter as long as compliance is maintained in accordance with the provisions in force on the date of approval by the Department.
(iii) Health care institutions or portions of health care institutions which complied on May 31, 1976, with the requirements of NFPA-101, Life Safety Code, 1967 Edition will be considered in compliance with this chapter as long as compliance is maintained in accordance with NFPA-101, Life Safety Code, 1967 Edition published by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269.
(iv) Plan approval and field inspections for health care institutions, Division C-1, are conducted by the Department of Health.
(2) Division C-2. This division applies to a building, or a part thereof, where the occupants are in group habitation and are not included under Division C-1, C-3, C-4 or C-5. Hotels, apartment buildings, multiple dwellings, dormitories, lodging houses, orphanages, children’s residential institutions, large personal care homes, group homes, group foster homes, and the like, shall be in this classification. See Chapter 55 (relating to Division C-2).
(3) Division C-3. This division applies to a building which only has a single living unit where four through eight residents are in group habitation. Small personal care homes, dormitories, lodging houses, orphanages, children’s residential institutions, group homes, group foster homes, and the like having four through eight residents shall be in this classification. See Chapter 56 (relating to Division C-3).
(4) Division C-4. This division applies to apartment units which qualify for a single means of egress. See Chapter 57 (relating to Division C-4).
(5) Division C-5. This division applies to a building, or a part thereof, where the occupants are in group habitation, and are mostly incapable of self-preservation, because they are under restraint. Prisons, jails, reformatories, houses of correction and the like shall be in this classification. C-5 occupancies which have plans approved on or after November 30, 1998, shall comply with Chapters 3, and 14, and all other sections specifically referred to in Chapters 3 and 14 of NFPA-101, Life Safety Code, 1997 Edition published by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269.
(e) Group D—Commercial, Office, Industrial. Buildings primarily used or designed for the purpose of commercial, storage, office or other like purposes shall be classified as Group D—Commercial, Office, Industrial Occupancies. Group D is divided into the following divisions:
(1) Division D-O (ordinary occupancy) includes occupancies involving the manufacture, assembling, warehousing, use, sale or storage of combustible but not highly flammable products and materials and buildings used for offices and the like. See Chapter 58 (relating to Division D-O).
(2) Division D-H (hazardous occupancies) includes occupancies involving highly combustible, explosive or unstable products or materials that constitute a special fire, life or toxic hazard because of the forms, characteristics or volume of the materials used. A building, structure or a part thereof used for storage, warehousing, manufacturing, processing, use or sale of highly combustible products or materials, including the following and those of equal fire and life hazard shall be classified under D-H hazardous occupancies. See Chapter 59 (relating to Division D-H).
(i) Chemicals which pose serious flame or explosive hazards upon coming into contact with water or moisture, such as aluminum powder, calcium carbide, red phosphorous, metallic sodium, metallic potassium, sodium peroxide, calcium phosphide, yellow phosphorous and metallic magnesium powder.
(ii) Processes which produce dust, lint or other particles or matter liable to instantaneous ignition or explosion.
(iii) Ammonia, chlorine, phosgene, carbon bisulphide and other toxic irritants or corrosive and fume hazard gases such as acetylene, ether, ethyl chloride, ethylene, liquified hydrocarbons, ethyl chloride gas and similar gases.
(iv) Naptha, ether, benzol, styrene, butadiene, collodion, ethyl, acetate, amyl acetone, amyl alcohol, kerosene, turpentine, petroleum paint, including paint mixing and spraying rooms, varnish, dryer, gasoline, alcohol, oil in bulk quantities and similar highly inflammable liquids. Paint spray booth approved by the Department will be classified as D-O occupancies.
(v) Manufacture and processing of imitation leather, paint and other pyroxylin products.
(vi) Storage of nitrocellulose, or products composed in whole or in part of nitrocellulose or similar flammable materials, such as films, combs, pens.
(vii) Hydrocloric, nitric, sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids.
(viii) Asphalt, tar pitch, resin, waxes and fats, either alone or combined with other materials.
(ix) Flammable fibrous materials such as hay, straw, broomcorn, hemp, tow, jute, sisal, excelsior, kapok, hair, oakum, and the like.
(x) Processing or storing of artificial flowers, matches, mattresses, rubber, cork, brooms, carpet linings, paper, pasteboard, feathers, cotton, including cotton rag sorting rooms, shoddy mills, oil refineries, distilleries, sugar refineries, cereal, flour, grist and starch mills, rendering plants, drying rooms, and occupancies of equal fire and life hazard.
Source The provisions of this § 50.1 amended December 26, 1986, effective December 27, 1986, 16 Pa.B. 4973; amended November 27, 1998, effective November 28, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 5867. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (211213) to (211214) and (207379) to (207380).
Notes of Decisions The guests of a ‘‘bed and breakfast’’ were ‘‘residents’’ for purposes of defining the use of the property and the building was used primarily as a bed and breakfast establishment. Orth v. Department of Labor and Industry, 588 A.2d 113 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1991) appeal denied 596 A.2d 801 (Pa. 1991).
Cross References This section cited in 34 Pa. Code § 49.2 (relating to jurisdiction and effective dates).
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