N.J. Admin. Code § 5:70-4.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 5:70-4.1 - Code adopted; scope

(a) Pursuant to authority of the Uniform Fire Safety Act ( P.L. 1983, c.383, 52:27D-192 et seq.), the Commissioner hereby adopts this subchapter as the State Fire Safety Code.

(b) All buildings for which requirements are established in this subchapter shall be in compliance with such applicable requirements of this subchapter, unless a date for compliance is set forth in this subchapter.

1. One- and two-family or attached single family structures used exclusively for dwelling purposes shall not be subject to any requirements of this subchapter other than 5:70-4.19.

2. Use Group A-2 (nightclubs) shall be in compliance with the applicable requirements of 5:70-4.7, 4.9 and 4.11 effective on February 5, 2007 by February 5, 2009.

(c) For purposes of this subchapter, the following Use Group designations shall apply:

"Use" or "Use Group" means the use to which a building, portion of a building, or premises, is put as follows. It shall also mean and include any place, whether constructed, manufactured, or naturally occurring, whether fixed or mobile, that is used for human purpose or occupancy that would subject it to the provisions of this Code if it were a building or premises. The Use Group designations below shall be used for all Use Group references in this subchapter.

1. "Use Group A-1 theaters": This Use Group shall include all theater and all other buildings and structures, or parts thereof, intended for the production and viewing of performing arts or motion pictures; and which are usually provided with fixed seats--including theaters and television and radio studios admitting an audience.

2. "Use Group A-2 (nightclubs)": This Use Group shall include all buildings and places of public assembly, designed for use as dance halls, nightclubs, eating, and/or drinking establishments, and similar occupancies, in which the established maximum permitted occupant load exceeds the number of seats provided by more than 30 percent or which affords less than 12 square feet net area per occupant. For purposes of determining the net area per occupant, only the actual public assembly room or rooms shall be considered. For purposes of applying the requirements of this chapter, the nightclub shall include all rooms, lobbies, and other spaces connected thereto with a common means of egress and entrance.

3. "Use Group A-3": This Use Group shall include all buildings with or without an auditorium in which persons assemble for amusement, entertainment, or recreation, and incidental motion picture, dramatic or theatrical presentations, lectures, or other similar purposes without theatrical stage other than a raised platform; and principally used without permanent seating facilities, including art galleries, exhibition halls, museums, lecture halls, libraries, restaurants other than night clubs, and recreation centers; and buildings designed for other similar assembly purposes including passenger terminals.

4. "Use Group A-4": This Use Group shall include all buildings used as churches and for similar religious purposes.

5. "Use Group A-5": This Use Group shall include grandstands, bleachers, coliseums, stadiums, tents, and similar structures for outdoor assembly uses.

6. "Use Group B": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, shall be classified in Use Group B, which are used for the transaction of business, for the rendering of professional services, or for other services that involve stocks of goods, wares, or merchandise in limited quantities for use incidental to office uses or sample purposes.

7. "Use Group E": This Use Group shall include all buildings and structures used for educational purposes serving six or more students in any or all of the grades from kindergarten through grade 12.

8. "Use Group F": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, in which occupants are engaged in performing work or labor in the fabricating, assembling, or processing of products or materials shall be classified in Use Group F; including, among others, factories, assembling plants, industrial laboratories, and all other industrial and manufacturing uses, except those of Use Group H involving highly combustible, flammable, or explosive products and materials.

i. "Use Group F-1": Factory and industrial uses that are not otherwise classified as low-hazard Use Group F-2, shall be classified as a moderate-hazard factory and industrial use, Use Group F-1.

ii. "Use Group F-2": Factory and industrial uses that involve the fabrication or manufacturing of noncombustible materials that, during finishing, packing, or processing, do not contribute to a significant fire hazard, shall be classified as Use Group F-2. The following manufacturing processes are indicative of, and shall be classified as, Use Group F-2: beverages, nonalcoholic; brick and masonry; ceramic products; foundries; glass products; gypsum; ice; metal fabrication and assembly; and water pumping plants.

9. "Use Group H": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, shall be classified in Use Group H that are used for the manufacturing, processing, generation, or storage of corrosive, highly toxic, highly combustible, flammable, or explosive materials that constitute a high fire or explosion hazard, including loose combustible fibers, dust, and unstable materials.

10. "Use Group I-1": This Use Group shall include buildings housing six or more individuals who, because of age, mental instability or other reasons, must live in a supervised environment but who are physically capable of responding to an emergency situation without personal assistance. Included in this group are uses such as facilities for children, aged persons, mentally impaired, and convalescents including: convalescent facilities, group homes, homes for the aged, mentally retarded care facilities, orphanages, and residential care facilities. Occupancies such as the above with five or fewer occupants shall be classified as a residential Use Group.

11. "Use Group I-2": This Use Group shall include all buildings used for housing people suffering from physical limitations because of health or age, including, among others, day nurseries, hospitals, sanitariums, infirmaries, orphanages, and homes for aged and infirm.

12. "Use Group I-3": This Use Group shall include all buildings designed for the detention of people under restraint, including, among others, jails, prisons, reformatories, insane asylums, and similar uses.

13. "Use Group M": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, shall be classified in Use Group M that are used for display and sales purposes involving stocks of goods, wares, or merchandise incidental to such purposes and accessible to the public; including, among others, retail stores, motor fuel service stations, shops and salesrooms, and markets.

14. "Use Group R-1": This Use Group shall include all hotels, motels, retreat lodging facilities, and similar buildings arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations and in which the occupants are primarily transient in nature, making use of the facilities for a period of less than 30 days. This definition shall also mean and include bed and breakfast guesthouses and bed and breakfast inns.

15. "Use Group R-2": This Use Group shall include all multiple family dwellings having more than two dwelling units and shall also include all dormitories, rooming houses, group rentals where the occupants are living independently of each other, and similar buildings arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations in which the occupants are primarily not transient in nature. This Use Group shall also include attached one- and two-family dwelling units that do not meet the definition for Use Group R-3.

16. "Use Group R-3": This Use Group shall include all buildings arranged for the use of detached one- and two-family dwelling units, including, but not limited to, buildings with not more than five lodgers or boarders per family, and excluding buildings designed in accordance with the one- and two-family subcode of the State Uniform Construction Code. This Use Group shall also mean and include:

i. Bed and breakfast homestays; and

ii. Attached one- and two-family dwellings constructed in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code requirements for multiple single family dwellings.

17. "Use Group R-4": This Use Group shall include all buildings arranged for use as detached one-and two-family dwelling units, including, without limitation, buildings occupied by not more than five lodgers or boarders per family and buildings used as bed and breakfast homestays, that are designed in accordance with the one- and two-family dwelling subcode of the State Uniform Construction Code.

18. "Use Group S-1": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, that are used primarily for the storage of moderate hazard contents, which are likely to burn with moderate rapidity, but which do not produce either poisonous gases, fumes, or explosives, including, among others, warehouses, storehouses, and freight depots.

19. "Use Group S-2": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, that are used primarily for the storage of noncombustible materials, and of low hazard wares that do not ordinarily burn rapidly such as products on wood pallets or in paper cartons without significant amounts of combustible wrappings, including, among others, warehouses, storehouses, and freight depots. Such products may have a negligible amount of plastic trim such as knobs, handles, or film wrapping.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:70-4.1

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 729(a), effective 2/5/2018