How to Know If Your Buildout Needs Sprinklers
Whether your buildout needs sprinklers is set in Chapter 9 of the Florida Building Code, Building, by occupancy group, fire area, occupant load and floor level.
At Reach Commercial Real Estate, we represent tenants. We help you find locations, compare costs, investigate property questions and negotiate the lease. You bring your business plans. We help you evaluate where those plans fit.
Sections 903.2.1.2, 903.2.1.3 and 903.2.7 set the sprinkler triggers for Group A-2, Group A-3 and Group M, and Table 1004.5 gives the floor area per occupant used to count occupant load.
1. Find out when your buildout needs sprinklers: start with your use group
A restaurant, cafeteria or similar dining facility with its associated commercial kitchen is Group A-2, along with taverns and bars, nightclubs and banquet halls (section 303.3). A gymnasium without spectator seating is Group A-3 (section 303.4). A retail or wholesale store is Group M (section 309.1).
A building or tenant space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons is classified as Group B (section 303.1.1).
2. Read the sprinkler triggers for restaurants, taverns and bars
A fire area on a floor other than the level of exit discharge needs them too (section 903.2.1.2).
Florida adds an exception. A restaurant, cafeteria, or similar dining facility, including an associated commercial kitchen, is required to have sprinklers only if it has a fire area occupancy load of 200 patrons or more.
3. Read the Group A-3 and Group M triggers
Section 903.2.1.3 sets two numbers for a Group A-3 fire area: over 12,000 square feet, or an occupant load of 300 or more. A fire area on a floor other than the level of exit discharge is a third trigger.
Section 903.2.7 requires sprinklers throughout a building containing a Group M occupancy in four cases:
The M fire area exceeds 12,000 square feet.
The building is more than three stories above grade plane.
The combined M area on all floors, including mezzanines, exceeds 24,000 square feet.
The display of upholstered furniture or mattresses exceeds 5,000 square feet.
4. Count your occupant load
Table 1004.5 sets the floor area per occupant. Find your use and read across:
Assembly without fixed seats, tables and chairs: 15 net square feet.
Assembly without fixed seats, chairs only: 7 net square feet.
Assembly without fixed seats, standing space: 5 net square feet.
Commercial kitchens: 200 gross square feet.
Exercise rooms: 50 gross square feet.
Mercantile: 60 gross square feet.
Business areas: 150 gross square feet.
For a dining area with tables and chairs at 15 net square feet per occupant, 1,500 net square feet counts 100 occupants and 3,000 net square feet counts 200. A coffee shop dining area of 600 net square feet counts 40 occupants.
5. Check what a change of occupancy brings
If your use changes the occupancy of the space, the Florida Building Code, Existing Building, section 1001.2 applies. The same section covers a change of occupancy within a space where there is a different fire protection system threshold requirement in Chapter 9 of the Florida Building Code, Building. Neither can be made to a structure without the approval of the code official.
A certificate of occupancy is issued once the requirements for the change have been met. Section 1004 of the same chapter covers fire protection.
6. Plan for sprinkler permits and fire review
Melbourne's Building Section FAQ says building permits are required to ensure that the construction meets the requirements of all state, city and fire prevention codes. Fire System Permits (Alarms, Sprinklers, etc.) typically average 7 to 10 working days for approval or response on a single review. Commercial Construction Permits typically average 14 to 21 working days. The city's Fire Prevention Office reviews fire and evacuation plans for facilities including commercial and medical/health.
Brevard County Fire Rescue's Fire Safety Inspectors conduct plan reviews and inspections during the commercial building permitting process to verify compliance with Florida State Statutes, the Florida Fire Prevention Code and local ordinances. Chapter 633 of the Florida Statutes has its own contractor categories for fire protection. Section 633.102(3)(b) defines a Contractor II as a contractor whose business is limited to contracts requiring the ability to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter, repair, and service water sprinkler systems, water spray systems, foam-water sprinkler systems, foam-water spray systems, standpipes, and combination standpipes and sprinkler risers.
Our role is to help bring these findings into your property decision. Your qualified professionals and reviewing agencies determine the requirements.
7. Put the sprinklers into the lease
Once you select a property, we negotiate the business terms. Ask for landlord work versus tenant work, a TI allowance, free rent during the buildout and a permit contingency.
Extra items to check
Locker rooms and stages. Table 1004.5 counts locker rooms at 50 gross square feet per occupant and stages and platforms at 15 net square feet per occupant.
A free courtesy fire inspection. Brevard County Fire Rescue's Office of Fire Prevention offers free courtesy inspections for businesses with fire and life safety questions about a potential new location or changes to an existing business. You can request one at (321) 637-5660.
The Fire Prevention Review fee. The Commercial New Construction and Commercial Renovation pages list a Fire Prevention Review fee of $52.00 + .0034 x the job value.
Start your search with Reach
You do not need to find the property before calling us. Helping you find and evaluate the property is part of our work.
Bring your seating goal, your busiest hours and expected staffing, your preferred areas, your opening budget, your monthly occupancy budget and your target opening date. We will use those details to build your search, compare locations and negotiate the lease. In most deals the landlord pays our fee.
Already found a space? Send me the address and listing. We will start with the property questions and deal terms you need to investigate.
Cassandra Hartford, Reach Commercial Real Estate, 321-514-0876, cassandra@reachcommercialre.com, 909 E New Haven Ave #300, Melbourne, FL 32901.
Related: the Brevard County Commercial Rent Guide and the leasing guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a certificate of occupancy say about sprinklers?
Where a sprinkler system is provided, the certificate states whether the system is required (section 111.2).
Which group is a small assembly tenant space?
A building or tenant space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons is classified as a Group B occupancy (section 303.1.1).
Sources
Written by Cassandra Hartford, founder and CEO of Reach Commercial Real Estate. She has worked in Brevard County commercial real estate for 17 years, representing buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants across Florida's Space Coast.
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