It doesn't help either, that there is potentially no limit to building height with an M occupancy.
Instead of looking at the examples in 13, I like to refer back to the descriptions. What is the difference between "High" and "Very High"? R/ Matt -----Original Message----- From: Sprinklerforum <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Fpdcdesign via Sprinklerforum Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2021 11:55 AM To: Sprinklerforum <[email protected]> Cc: Fpdcdesign <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Display vs. storage I think I have posted on this in the past. “Mercantile” is too broad a term for today’s environment and does not reflect what is going on. You almost need to have a Mercantile 1, Mercantile 2 and Mercantile 3 to adjust for different hazards > > On Oct 28, 2021 at 1:48 PM, <Steve Leyton via Sprinklerforum > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > > > Here's a discussion topic: Today's Retail Environment As "stores" morph into > "boxes", we are seeing more and more "industrial" displays, with unadorned > shelving and in some cases rack fixtures (I'm thinking PetSmart among others) > where merchandise is displayed for sale within reach of customers on the > floor, but also where backstock is kept above those levels, sometimes driving > up the interpreted "height of storage" to the point where the question arises > as to whether this is still OH2 mercantile use or if we've pushed into > Chapters 14-17. PetSmart uses racking, Bed Bath & Beyond is one of many who > use wide gondolas, Party City is just a box full o' plastic... there are > seemingly endless permutations of "retail" and of course we now have §20.3 as > an option where it applies. But what about stores on the lower end of the > occupancy hazard class where it may or may not be so cut and dried? Discount > shoe stores, loaded with synthetics for sure, but if they display shoes in > boxes on shelves to 8'-0" or 10'-0" in only part of the store, does this > retail store (that doesn't have a stockroom and keeps all its merch on the > sales floor) really represent a "storage" use? What triggers the post is a > Burlington store in SoCal where the fire authority has requested a technical > report to justify keeping an older OH 2 or 3 system in place in lieu of > upgrading to protect "storage of plastics to 8'-0" AFF". There are just a few > shelving fixtures in this 40,000+ sq. ft. store that hold merch up to that > level and not all of it will be synthetics. It begs the question: When does > retail display become storage when it's not exclusively representative of the > use? Does a row of comforters at 7'-0" in the bedding section require > specific address? Or the closeout wall in the shoe department? It's much > easier when the entire store is typically fixturized (back to PetSmart) to > say, "storage" but what if it's mostly on floor and low fixtures? For new > builds it's easier because we can use EC-25 options, higher densities, > whatever but the impact to existing stores is potentially significant and > intrusive. I'm not saying we should look the other way because of concerns > over cost or convenience but these are often last-minute catches on > inspection and schedules can get vaporized in an instant. I've proposed a > double-density approach in the past for uses like self-storage and §20.3 > suggests that's a sound approach, but what in retail stores that may only > have a handful of locations where this is even an issue? I'm curious as to > whether there are regional best practices that have been undertaken or > whether there's been any additional work done by consultants or industry to > help establish a lucid benchmark for when a "store" crosses the line with > regard to occupancy hazard class. Steve Leyton, President Protection Design > and Consulting T | 619.255.8964 x 102 (tel:619.255.8964;102) | > www.protectiondesign.com > (http://www.protectiondesign.com)<http://www.protectiondesign.com/> 2851 > Camino Del Rio South | Suite 210 | San Diego, CA 92108 > (x-apple-data-detectors://6) Fire Protection System Design | Consulting | > Planning | Training _______________________________________________ > Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] > (mailto:[email protected]) > http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org > > > _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
