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International Fire Code

SUBJECT: Occupant Load Determination for Day Care Uses

CHANGE TYPE: Addition

TABLE 1004.1.21
MAXIMUM FLOOR AREA ALLOWANCES PER OCCUPANT

CHANGE SIGNIFICANCE: Previously, there was no guidance in the code for the determination of the design occupant load in a day care facility. Where such uses occurred, it was difficult to determine an appropriate factor from Table 1004.1.1 because day care was not specifically addressed, and none of the listed functions had similar density characteristics. The factor of 35 square feet per occupant is appropriate to address the anticipated number of children, furnishings and equipment typically found in day care facilities. The “net floor area” of the day care facility is the value to be used in applying the 35-square-foot-per-occupant factor, which is limited to only the actual occupied area of the day care use. The floor areas of normally unoccupied spaces, such as toilet rooms, closets and corridors, are not required to have a calculated occupant load in day care occupancies based on the definition of “floor area, net.”