Here in California… K-12 schools are under the jurisdictional authority of the Division of the State Architect (DSA) and my firm does a LOT of educational occupancy projects. We wrestled with the stage/platform thing too until about 10 years ago, when DSA decided that stages and platforms are equivalent if they have a curtain. High schools tend to have dedicated athletic gyms and performing arts centers with legitimate stages, but at elementary and middle schools usually have an multi-purpose room with platform on one side. A platform is decidedly NOT a stage as the ceiling of the MPR runs continuously throughout the room and there’s no fly space above.
What the agency found over the course of a year of field investigation is that if there’s a curtain, schools have a tendency to store stuff on the platform, so they decided to classify these spaces as ordinary hazard. It seemed a little far-fetched to me at first but A) Why would we object to a definitive ruling that makes sprinkler protection more robust and, B) Based on the experiences that I and staff have had doing survey’s at ES and MS campuses, we have found that their conclusion was correct and the fire loads of “platforms” can often be equal to what’s found on and even above stages in practice. I think the OP was about a gym and this particular branch in the occupancy hazard classification decision tree doesn’t really exist in such a building, but if we’re talking about splitting hairs in any of these occupancies, I don’t think it’s overkill to call it OH and move on. Steve L. From: Tony Silva <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2024 10:39 PM To: Discussion list on issues relating to automatic fire sprinklers <[email protected]> Subject: [Sprinklerforum] Re: Gym Hazard Classification There was a school that had a Gymnasium with a platform at one end. It was basically a platform, a couple of feet high, no curtains, no extra lighting but the Architect named it "stage" on the drawings. A fire started on the roof at the "stage" end of the Gymnasium and the entire school burned down. NFPA compiled a report as it was a major fire. In the NFPA report they claimed that the sprinkler system failed as the "stage" end of the Gymnasium should have been designed to Ordinary Hazard. Tony On Fri, Jul 19, 2024 at 5:51 PM Steve Leyton <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Is it just a “gym” or a multi-purpose building that will also be available for “community” uses? Gym mats are one thing, rummage sales, craft fairs, job and college recruiting expos, church and other assemblies, those are different things. I agree that an athletic/sports facility such as a high-school or college gym is light hazard in the main room, but the school or college district or municipality that will own and operate this building should provide you with an articulate owner’s certificate before it gets nailed down. Steve L. From: Adam Levine, P.E. [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] Sent: Friday, July 19, 2024 12:58 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [Sprinklerforum] Gym Hazard Classification I’ve always designed gyms as light hazard, although I’ve heard over the years that some designers increase the hazard because of the plastic mats (even if they are not stored over 5’). Assuming this is a standard gym (no foam rock walls or anything complicated), how would most of you classify a gym? Thanks! 🙌 ADAM LEVINE, P.E. PRESIDENT phone: 718.533.6800 ext 137<tel:718.533.6800%20ext%20137> email: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> | | direct: 917.818.4211 fax: 917.810.2677 [cid:[email protected]]<https://capitolfire.com/> [Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/CapitolFireSprinkler> [Twitter]<https://twitter.com/CapitolFire> [cid:[email protected]]<https://www.youtube.com/user/CapitolFireSprinkler/feed> _________________________________________________________ SprinklerForum mailing list: https://lists.firesprinkler.org/list/sprinklerforum.lists.firesprinkler.org To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
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