• Assembly: Occupancies that generally house large groups of people who are generally unfamiliar with the space and therefore subject to indecision regarding the best means of egress in an emergency. Generally 50 or more people. It can be an entire building or a portion there of. Examples include the following:
• Educational: Buildings used for school purposes by six or more people. Generally pertains to preschool through 12th grade. Examples include the following:
• Health care: Facilities used for overnight medical care and/or treatment of four or more occupants. Examples include the following:
• Limited-care facilities
• Detention/correction facilities: Facilities used for the overnight housing of prisoners. Examples include the following:
• Juvenile residential facilities
• Substance abuse centers
• Residential: Facilities used to provide overnight sleeping accommodations and residential use. Examples include the following:
• One- or two-family dwellings
• Mercantile: Facilities used to buy and sell merchandise or services. Examples include the following:
• Business: Facilities used for the transaction of business other than those specified by mercantile. Examples include the following:
• Industrial: Facilities used for factories, processing, assembling, mixing, packaging, finishing, decorating, repairing, etc. Examples include the following:
• Storage: Facilities and structures used for the storage and sheltering of goods, merchandise, products, vehicles, animals, etc. Examples include the following:
Hazard of contents
For the purpose of this code, the hazard of contents relates to the relative danger of fire, smoke, explosion, etc. that could potentially endanger the lives and safety of the occupants of a building or structure.
The hazard of contents, as defined by the NFPA Life Safety Code Handbook, is the relative danger of the start and spread of fire, the danger of smoke or gas generation, and the danger of explosion of other occurrence potentially endangering the lives and safety of the occupants of the building or structure.
Hazard of contents is determined on the basis of the character of the contents and the processes or operations conducted in the building or structure.
Where different degrees of hazard of contents exists in different parts of a building or structure, the more hazardous situation will govern the classification. Hazardous areas include, but are not limited to, areas for general storage, boiler or furnace rooms, fuel storage, chemical storage, janitor closets, maintenance shops (including woodworking and painting areas), and kitchens.
The hazards of contents are grouped three ways: low, moderate, and high:
Low hazard: Low hazard contents are classified as those of such low combustibility that no self-starting fire can occur.
Ordinary hazard: Ordinary hazard contents are classified as those that are likely to burn with moderate speed or to give off a considerable volume of smoke.
High hazard: High hazard contents are classified as those that are likely to burn with extreme speed or from which explosions are likely.