IBC Occupancy group

Occupancy R

Residential Group R. Residential Group R includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for sleeping purposes when not classified as an Institutional Group I or when not regulated by the International Residential Code in accordance with Section 101.2. Residential occupancies shall include the following:

Occupancy R-2

Residential occupancies containing sleeping units or more than two dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature, including: -Apartment houses -Boarding houses (nontransient) -Convents -Dormitories -Fraternities and sororities -Hotels (nontransient) -Live/work units -Monasteries -Motels (nontransient) -Vacation timeshare properties -Congregate living facilities with 16 or fewer occupants are permitted to comply with the construction requirements for Group R-3.

Occupancy R-1

Residential occupancies containing sleeping units where the occupants are primarily transient in nature, including: -Boarding houses (transient) -Hotels (transient) -Motels (transient) -Congregate living facilities (transient) with 10 or fewer occupants are permitted to comply with the construction requirements for Group R-3.

Occupancy R-4

Residential occupancies shall include buildings arranged for occupancy as residential care/assisted living facilities including more than five but not more than 16 occupants, excluding staff. Group R-4 occupancies shall meet the requirements for construction as defined for Group R-3, except as otherwise provided for in this code or shall comply with the International Residential Code provided the building is protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section 903.2.8.

Occupancy R-3

Residential occupancies where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature and not classified as Group R-1, R-2, R-4 or I, including: -Buildings that do not contain more than two dwelling units. -Adult care 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. -Adult care and child care facilities that are within a single-family home are permitted to comply with the International Residential Code.

Occupancy S

Storage Group S. Storage Group S occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for storage that is not classified as a hazardous occupancy.

Occupancy U

UTILITY AND MISCELLANEOUS GROUP U 312.1 General. Buildings and structures of an accessory character and miscellaneous structures not classified in any specific occupancy shall be constructed, equipped and maintained to conform to the requirements of this code commensurate with the fire and life hazard incidental to their occupancy. Group U shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Agricultural buildings -Aircraft hangars, accessory to a one- or two-family residence (see Section 412.5) -Barns -Carports -Fences more than 6 feet (1829 mm) high -Grain silos, accessory to a residential occupancy -Greenhouses -Livestock shelters -Private garages -Retaining walls -Sheds -Stables -Tanks -Towers

Occupancy I-2

308.3 Group I-2. This occupancy shall include buildings and structures used for medical, surgical, psychiatric, nursing or custodial care for persons who are not capable of self-preservation. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Child care facilities -Detoxification facilities -Hospitals -Mental hospitals -Nursing homes

Occupancy A

Assembly Group A occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the gathering of persons for purposes such as civic, social or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption or awaiting transportation.

Occupancy A-2

Assembly uses intended for food and/or drink consumption -Banquet halls -Night clubs -Restaurants -Taverns and bars

Occupancy A-5

Assembly uses intended for participation in or viewing outdoor activities -Amusement park structures -Bleachers -Grandstands -Stadiums

Occupancy A-4

Assembly uses intended for viewing of indoor sporting events and activities with spectator seating -Arenas -Skating rinks -Swimming pools -Tennis courts

Occupancy A-3

Assembly uses intended for worship, recreation or amusement and other assembly uses not classified elsewhere in Group A -Amusement arcades -Art galleries -Bowling alleys -Community halls -Courtrooms -Dance halls (not including food or drink consumption) -Exhibition halls -Funeral parlors -Gymnasiums (without spectator seating) -Indoor swimming pools (without spectator seating) -Indoor tennis courts (without spectator seating) -Lecture halls -Libraries -Museums -Places of religious worship -Pool and billiard parlors -Waiting areas in transportation terminals

Occupancy A-1

Assembly uses, usually with fixed seating, intended for the production and viewing of the performing arts or motion pictures. -Motion picture theaters -Symphony and concert halls -Television and radio studios admitting an audience -Theaters

Occupancy B

Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. -Airport traffic control towers -Ambulatory health care facilities -Animal hospitals, kennels and pounds -Banks -Barber and beauty shops -Car wash -Civic administration -Clinic-outpatient -Dry cleaning and laundries: pick-up and delivery stations and self-service -Educational occupancies for students above the 12th grade -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

Occupancy E

Educational Group E occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, by six or more persons at any one time for educational purposes through the 12th grade. Religious educational rooms and religious auditoriums, which are accessory to places of religious worship in accordance with Section 303.1 and have occupant loads of less than 100, shall be classified as Group A-3 occupancies. for educational, supervision or personal care services for more than five children older than 21/2 years of age, shall be classified as a Group E occupancy.

Occupancy F-1

Factory Industrial F-1 Moderate-hazard Occupancy. Factory industrial uses which are not classified as Factory Industrial F-2 Low Hazard shall be classified as F-1 Moderate Hazard and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Aircraft (manufacturing, not to include repair) -Appliances -Athletic equipment -Automobiles and other motor vehicles -Bakeries -Beverages: over 16-percent alcohol content -Bicycles -Boats -Brooms or brushes -Business machines -Cameras and photo equipment -Canvas or similar fabric -Carpets and rugs (includes cleaning) -Clothing -Construction and agricultural machinery -Disinfectants -Dry cleaning and dyeing -Electric generation plants -Electronics -Engines (including rebuilding) -Food processing -Furniture -Hemp products -Jute products -Laundries -Leather products -Machinery -Metals -Millwork (sash and door) -Motion pictures and television filming (without spectators) -Musical instruments -Optical goods -Paper mills or products -Photographic film -Plastic products -Printing or publishing -Recreational vehicles -Refuse incineration -Shoes -Soaps and detergents -Textiles -Tobacco -Trailers -Upholstering -Wood; distillation -Woodworking (cabinet)

Occupancy F-2

Factory Industrial F-2 Low-hazard Occupancy. Factory industrial uses that involve the fabrication or manufacturing of noncombustible materials which during finishing, packing or processing do not involve a significant fire hazard shall be classified as F-2 occupancies and shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Beverages: up to and including 16-percent alcohol content -Brick and masonry -Ceramic products -Foundries -Glass products -Gypsum -Ice -Metal products (fabrication and assembly)

Occupancy F

Factory Industrial Group F occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for assembling, disassembling, fabricating, finishing, manufacturing, packaging, repair or processing operations that are not classified as a Group H hazardous or Group S storage occupancy.

Occupancy I-1

Group I-1. This occupancy shall include buildings, structures or parts thereof housing more than 16 persons, on a 24-hour basis, who because of age, mental disability or other reasons, live in a supervised residential environment that provides personal care services. The occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from staff. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Alcohol and drug centers -Assisted living facilities -Congregate care facilities -Convalescent facilities -Group homes -Halfway houses -Residential board and care facilities -Social rehabilitation facilities

Occupancy I-3

Group I-3. This occupancy shall include buildings and structures that are inhabited by more than five persons who are under restraint or security. An I-3 facility is occupied by persons who are generally incapable of self-preservation due to security measures not under the occupants' control. This group shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Correctional centers -Detention centers -Jails -Prerelease centers -Prisons -Reformatories

Occupancy I-4

Group I-4, day care facilities. This group shall include buildings and structures occupied by persons of any age who receive custodial care for less than 24 hours by individuals other than parents or guardians, relatives by blood, marriage or adoption, and in a place other than the home of the person cared for. A facility such as the above with five or fewer persons shall be classified as a Group R-3 or shall comply with the International Residential Code in accordance with Section 101.2. Places of worship during religious functions are not included. 308.5.1 Adult care facility. A facility that provides accommodations for less than 24 hours for more than five unrelated adults and provides supervision and personal care services shall be classified as Group I-4. Exception: A facility where occupants are capable of responding to an emergency situation without physical assistance from the staff shall be classified as Group R-3. 308.5.2 Child care facility. A facility that provides supervision and personal care on less than a 24-hour basis for more than five children 21/2 years of age or less shall be classified as Group I-4.

Occupancy H-1

High-hazard Group H-1. Buildings and structures containing materials that pose a detonation hazard shall be classified as Group H-1. Such materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following: [F] -Detonable pyrophoric materials -Explosives: -Division 1.1 -Division 1.2 -Division 1.3 Exception: Materials that are used and maintained in a form where either confinement or configuration will not elevate the hazard from a mass fire to mass explosion hazard shall be allowed in H-2 occupancies. -Division 1.4 Exception: Articles, including articles packaged for shipment, that are not regulated as an explosive under Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulations, or unpackaged articles used in process operations that do not propagate a detonation or deflagration between articles shall be allowed in H-3 occupancies. -Division 1.5 -Division 1.6 -Organic peroxides, unclassified detonable -Oxidizers, Class 4 -Unstable (reactive) materials, Class 3 detonable and Class 4

Occupancy H-2

High-hazard Group H-2. Buildings and structures containing materials that pose a deflagration hazard or a hazard from accelerated burning shall be classified as Group H-2. Such materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following: [F] Class I, II or IIIA flammable or combustible liquids which are used or stored in normally open containers or systems, or in closed containers or systems pressurized at more than 15 psi (103.4 kPa) gage. -Combustible dusts -Cryogenic fluids, flammable -Flammable gases -Organic peroxides, Class I -Oxidizers, Class 3, that are used or stored in normally open containers or systems, or in closed containers or systems pressurized at more than 15 psi (103 kPa) gage -Pyrophoric liquids, solids and gases, nondetonable -Unstable (reactive) materials, Class 3, nondetonable -Water-reactive materials, Class 3

Occupancy H-3

High-hazard Group H-3. Buildings and structures containing materials that readily support combustion or that pose a physical hazard shall be classified as Group H-3. Such materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following: [F] Class I, II or IIIA flammable or combustible liquids that are used or stored in normally closed containers or systems pressurized at 15 pounds per square inch gauge (103.4 kPa) or less -Combustible fibers, other than densely packed baled cotton -Consumer fireworks, 1.4G (Class C, Common) -Cryogenic fluids, oxidizing -Flammable solids -Organic peroxides, Class II and III -Oxidizers, Class 2 -Oxidizers, Class 3, that are used or stored in normally closed containers or systems pressurized at 15 pounds per square inch gauge (103 kPa) or less -Oxidizing gases -Unstable (reactive) materials, Class 2 -Water-reactive materials, Class 2

Occupancy H-4

High-hazard Group H-4. Buildings and structures which contain materials that are health hazards shall be classified as Group H-4. Such materials shall include, but not be limited to, the following: [F] -Corrosives -Highly toxic materials -Toxic materials

Occupancy H-5

High-hazard Group H-5 structures. Semiconductor fabrication facilities and comparable research and development areas in which hazardous production materials (HPM) are used and the aggregate quantity of materials is in excess of those listed in Tables 307.1(1) and 307.1(2) shall be classified as Group H-5. Such facilities and areas shall be designed and constructed in accordance with Section 415.8. [F]

Occupancy H

High-hazard Group H. 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 complying with Section 414, based on the maximum allowable quantity limits for control areas set forth in Tables 307.1(1) and 307.1(2). Hazardous occupancies are classified in Groups H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4 and H-5 and shall be in accordance with this section, the requirements of Section 415 and the International Fire Code. Hazardous materials stored, or used on top of roofs or canopies shall be classified as outdoor storage or use and shall comply with the International Fire Code. [F]

Occupancy I

Institutional Group I. Institutional Group I occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, in which people are cared for or live in a supervised environment, having physical limitations because of health or age are harbored for medical treatment or other care or treatment, or in which people are detained for penal or correctional purposes or in which the liberty of the occupants is restricted. Institutional occupancies shall be classified as Group I-1, I-2, I-3 or I-4.

Occupancy S-2

Low-hazard storage, Group S-2. Includes, among others, buildings used for the storage of noncombustible materials such as products on wood pallets or in paper cartons with or without single thickness divisions; or in paper wrappings. Such products are permitted to have a negligible amount of plastic trim, such as knobs, handles or film wrapping. Group S-2 storage uses shall include, but not be limited to, storage of the following: -Asbestos -Beverages up to and including 16-percent alcohol in metal, glass or ceramic containers -Cement in bags -Chalk and crayons -Dairy products in nonwaxed coated paper containers -Dry cell batteries -Electrical coils -Electrical motors -Empty cans -Food products -Foods in noncombustible containers -Fresh fruits and vegetables in nonplastic trays or containers -Frozen foods -Glass -Glass bottles, empty or filled with noncombustible liquids -Gypsum board -Inert pigments -Ivory -Meats -Metal cabinets -Metal desks with plastic tops and trim -Metal parts -Metals -Mirrors -Oil-filled and other types of distribution transformers -Parking garages, open or enclosed -Porcelain and pottery -Stoves -Talc and soapstones -Washers and dryers

Occupancy M

Mercantile Group M. Mercantile Group M occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure or a portion thereof, for the display and sale of merchandise and involves stocks of goods, wares or merchandise incidental to such purposes and accessible to the public. Mercantile occupancies shall include, but not be limited to, the following: -Department stores -Drug stores -Markets -Motor fuel-dispensing facilities -Retail or wholesale stores -Sales rooms

Occupancy S-1

Moderate-hazard storage, Group S-1. Buildings occupied for storage uses that are not classified as Group S-2, including, but not limited to, storage of the following: -Aerosols, Levels 2 and 3 -Aircraft hangar (storage and repair) -Bags: cloth, burlap and paper -Bamboos and rattan -Baskets -Belting: canvas and leather -Books and paper in rolls or packs -Boots and shoes -Buttons, including cloth covered, pearl or bone -Cardboard and cardboard boxes -Clothing, woolen wearing apparel -Cordage -Dry boat storage (indoor) -Furniture -Furs -Glues, mucilage, pastes and size -Grains -Horns and combs, other than celluloid -Leather -Linoleum -Lumber -Motor vehicle repair garages complying with the maximum -allowable quantities of hazardous materials listed in Table 307.1(1) (see Section 406.6) -Photo engravings -Resilient flooring -Silks -Soaps -Sugar -Tires, bulk storage of -Tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and snuff -Upholstery and mattresses -Wax candles