There are two main categories of day cares, those providing services for children and those providing services for adults. While the educational definitions are closely aligned between NFPA and IBC, the major difference is the NFPA occupancy classification of day care. It should be noted that prior to the 2021 Edition, the age was 24 months. However, when you look more closely at Chapter 16 and 17 of NFPA 101 you find that occupancies in which the primary purpose is education for children 30 months of age or older must comply with the educational occupancy requirements. At first glance it may seem like some occupancies that would be classified as educational per the IBC would actually be day care occupancies per NFPA. The NFPA and IBC definitions for educational occupancies are fairly similar. NFPA 101 separates day care occupancies from educational occupancies. It is worth mentioning that per NFPA a traditional doctor’s office or an urgent care center where patients are still capable of self-preservation would be considered business occupancies. Therefore, these types of facilities would not be considered business occupancies but would be considered ambulatory health care occupancies per NFPA. ![]() NFPA 1 create a distinction between business occupancies and ambulatory health care facilities based on the occupants’ ability of self-preservation. Per the IBC, these types of facilities would be considered business occupancies. Although not a separate occupancy classification, the IBC does have a definition for “Ambulatory Care Facility” which closely resembles the NFPA ambulatory health care occupancy. Ambulatory health care occupancies per the Life Safety Code are those occupancies in which four or more patients are being treated simultaneously and are incapable of self-preservation because of (1) the treatment (2) anesthesia or (3) the nature of the injury/illness. It is important to understand what types of facilities we are discussing before we get into how these are classified differently. One major difference between the NFPA 101/5000 occupancy classifications and the IBC classifications is the ambulatory health care occupancy classification. (divided into subcategories H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4, and H-5) No equivalent occupancy classification (see paragraph below for additional information) (divided into subcategories R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4) (divided into subcategories I-1, I-2, I-3, and I-4) (divided into subcategories A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5) One thing to note is that although some of the occupancies seem to correlate obviously, there may be differences between details within the definitions, such as minimum number of occupants, that could result in a different classification. ![]() Below is a table comparing the different occupancy classifications between the IBC and NFPA 101/5000. Perhaps one of the more common scenarios is when both the International Building Code (IBC) and the Life Safety Code apply. This can create challenges for the designer when multiple codes and standards are applicable and enforced in a jurisdiction. While the majority of the NFPA developed codes and standards use occupancy classifications consistent with the Life Safety Code, including NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code, other organizations’ codes and standards may differ. Improperly classifying a building or space risks over- or under-applying necessary code requirements, resulting in buildings lacking fire and life safety features, or containing additional fire and life safety features that are not required by the Code. These requirements reflect the unique and expected characteristics of the anticipated occupants of that space such as, capability of self-preservation, familiarity with the space, age, and alertness. The occupancy classification drives the requirements for many different fire and life safety features. One of the most critical steps in applying NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, and other building and fire codes to a space is identifying the correct occupancy classification.
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