New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
Chapter 70 - UNIFORM FIRE CODE
Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 5:70-1.5 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
The following terms shall have the meaning indicated, except where the context clearly requires otherwise. All definitions found in the Uniform Fire Safety Act, P.L. 1983, c. 383, 52:27D-192 et seq., shall be applicable to this chapter. Where a term is not defined in this section or in the Uniform Fire Safety Act, then the definition of that term in the Uniform Construction Code at 5:23-1.4 shall govern.
"Act" means the Uniform Fire Safety Act, P.L. 1983, c.383, 52:27D-192 et seq., and includes all acts amendatory and supplementary thereto and all regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
"Atrium" means a floor opening or series of floor openings connecting two or more stories that is covered at the top of the series of openings and is used for purposes other than an enclosed stairway; elevator hoistway; escalator opening; or utility shaft used for plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, or communication facilities.
"Bed and breakfast" means a facility providing sleeping or dwelling accommodations to transient guests which:
1. Is comprised of a structure originally constructed as a private residence or a bed and breakfast;
2. Includes individual sleeping accommodations for 50 or fewer guests;
3. Has at least one dwelling unit occupied by the owner of the facility or his agent as his place of residence during any time that the facility is being used for the lodging of guests or has an owner or agent of the owner within 15 minutes travel distance of the facility while guests are lodging there;
4. Has not less than 300 square feet of common area for the exclusive use of the guests, including, but not limited to, parlors, dining rooms, libraries, porches, verandas, and solariums for occupancies with more than 10 guests or not less than 150 square feet of common area for occupancies with 10 or fewer guests;
5. Prohibits cooking and smoking in guest rooms;
6. Provides a meal to the guests in the forenoon of each day but does not operate as a restaurant open to the general public;
7. Is not a "rooming house" or "boarding house" as defined in 55:13B-3; and
8. Does not allow:
"Bed and breakfast guesthouse" means a bed and breakfast designed to accommodate at least six guests, but not more than 25 guests.
"Bed and breakfast homestay" means a bed and breakfast designed to accommodate five or fewer guests.
"Bed and breakfast inn" means a bed and breakfast designed to accommodate at least 26 guests, but not more than 50 guests.
"Boarding school" means a public or private residential educational facility, where students are taught a curriculum equivalent to an elementary or secondary school education, which provides lodging services, and that is registered with and certified by the State pursuant to 18A:69-2 and N.J.A.C. 6:34.
"Carnival" means a traveling circus or other traveling amusement show having one or more of the following:
1. Mobile enclosed structures used for human occupancy; or
2. Tents or temporary membrane structures requiring a permit in accordance with 5:23-2.14.
"Day" means a calendar day, unless otherwise specified.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs or his delegate.
"Common Areas", when used with reference to a covered mall building, shall include all areas not included within any retail establishment and shall also include the required means of egress from all retail establishments. When used with reference to buildings of use groups R-1 and R-2 shall mean all areas accessible to, and which may be utilized by, either the building occupants or the general public and shall include, but not be limited to, vestibules, hallways, stairways, landings and occupiable rooms and spaces not part of any dwelling unit; and shall also include any area accessible to the owner or manager or any person employed in the maintenance of the building which area is not part of any dwelling unit.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Fire Safety.
"Division" means the Division of Fire Safety of the Department of Community Affairs.
"Dormitory" means a building, or portion thereof, containing rooms which are provided as residences or for overnight sleeping for individuals or groups, and includes those residences utilized by fraternities or sororities which are recognized by or owned by a school or institution of higher education, but does not include those residences or multiple dwellings utilized by students which are not recognized by or owned by a school or institution of higher education. "Dormitory" is not to include a building used primarily to house faculty or a multiple dwelling in which occupancy of each dwelling unit is limited to persons who are members of a single family group.
"Fire barrier" means a continuous membrane, either vertical or horizontal, such as a wall or floor assembly, that is designed and constructed with a specified fire resistance rating and located to limit the spread of fire and restrict the movement of smoke. Such barriers may have protected openings when a specific fire resistive rating is indicated by this Code. When a rating is required, existing walls, columns and floor/ceiling assemblies meeting the requirements of Federal Housing and Urban Development Rehabilitation Guidelines #8 or of Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Appendix B of the BOCA Basic/National Existing Structures Code, 1984 Ed., shall be acceptable.
"Fire Inspector" means a person working under the direction of the fire official who is certified by the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and appointed or designated to enforce the Code by the appointing authority of a local enforcing agency.
"Fire Official" means a person certified by the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and appointed or designated to direct the enforcement of the Code by the appointing authority of a local enforcing agency. This term shall also include "Fire Marshal" where the fire official has been appointed pursuant to 5:71-3.2.
"Floor area, gross" means the floor area within the perimeter of the outside walls of the building or use under consideration, without deduction for hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of walls, columns or other features.
"Floor area, net", for purposes of determining occupant load, means the actual occupied floor area and shall not include unoccupied accessory areas or thickness of walls.
"Fraternity" or "sorority" means an organization or chapter primarily composed of students enrolled in a college or university or any student organization recognized as such by a school or institution of higher education that occupies a building used by its members as a dormitory, whether or not owned by the school or institution of higher education.
"High-rise structure" means any building or structure having floors used for human occupancy located either more than six stories or more than 75 feet above the lowest level accessible to a fire department vehicle.
"Incidental use" means a use supplemental to the main use of a building where the area devoted to such use does not occupy more than 10 percent of the area of any floor.
"Institution of higher education" means a public or private college or university incorporated and located in New Jersey, as defined in 18A:62-1, 18A:68-1, or any equivalent college or university incorporated and located in New Jersey, which, by virtue of law or character or license, is a nonprofit educational institution authorized to grant academic degrees.
"Life hazard use" means a building or structure, or part thereof, classified in any of the use groups in the building subcode of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code and defined as such in subchapter 2 of this chapter. "Life hazard use" shall also mean and include high rise structures as defined in this section.
"Local enforcing agency" means a municipal agency, fire department, fire district or county fire marshal authorized by municipal ordinance to enforce the act within a specific local jurisdiction or, where such authorization has not been granted by local ordinance, it means the Department of Community Affairs. "Local enforcing agency" shall also mean and include a county fire marshal authorized by ordinance or resolution of the board of chosen freeholders to enforce the act in county facilities. With regard to enforcement of the act in premises owned or maintained by the State of New Jersey or any of its boards, commissions, agencies or authorities, "local enforcing agency" shall mean the Division.
"Lumber" means boards, dimension lumber, timber, plywood, pressure treated wood, fencing and fence posts, and other similar wood products.
"Maximum permitted occupancy" means the maximum number of persons which can be permitted in a building or portion thereof as established in accordance with 5:70-4.11(e).
"Nursing home" means a building used for nursing or custodial care on a 24-hour basis for more than five persons where evacuation is impractical (a group that, even with staff assistance, cannot reliably move to a point of safety in a timely manner) as defined in Section 22-1.3 of NFPA 101-97. This shall include intermediate care facilities, skilled nursing facilities and long term care facilities.
"Owner" means a person who owns, purports to own, manages, rents, leases or exercises control over a building, structure, premises, or use, or a portion thereof.
"Owner-occupied" when used in conjunction with one- and two-family or attached single family means a building serving as the residence of at least one holder of record of title to the property.
"Premises" means a specific locality, area of land or portion thereof, and shall include any buildings, structures or portions of buildings or structures thereon.
"Protective equipment" means any equipment, device, system or apparatus permitted or required by the commissioner to be constructed or installed in or upon a building, structure or premises for the purpose of protecting the occupants or intended occupants thereof, fire fighters or the public generally from fire or products of combustion.
"Retreat lodging facility" means a building or structure, including, but not limited to, any related structure, accessory building, and land appurtenant thereto, and any part thereof, owned by a nonprofit corporation or association which has tax-exempt charitable status under the Federal Internal Revenue Code and which has sleeping facilities used exclusively on a transient basis by persons participating in programs of a religious, cultural or educational nature, conducted under the sole auspices of one or more corporations or associations having tax-exempt charitable status under the Federal Internal Revenue Code, which are made available without any mandatory charge to such participants.
"Smoke barrier" means a continuous membrane, either vertical or horizontal, such as a wall, floor, or ceiling assembly, that is designed and constructed to restrict the movement of smoke. A smoke barrier may or may not have a fire resistance rating. Such barriers may have protected openings. When a fire resistive rating is required, existing walls, columns and floor/ceiling assemblies meeting the requirements of Federal Housing and Urban Development Rehabilitation Guidelines #8, or of Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Appendix B of the BOCA Basic/National Existing Structures Code, 1984 Ed., shall be acceptable.
"State Fire Prevention Code" means the model code of the International Code Council, known as the International Fire Code/2015, adopted by reference in 5:70-3.1(a) as the State Fire Prevention Code for New Jersey, subject to the modifications set forth in 5:70-3.2.
"Story above grade" means any story having its finished floor surface entirely above grade except that a story which is partly or completely below grade (basement) shall be considered as a story above grade when the distance from grade to the finished surface of the floor above the basement is more than six feet for more than 50 percent of the total perimeter or more than 12 feet at any point.
"Uniform Construction Code" or "Construction Code" means the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23-1 et seq.).
"Unoccupied," as applied to a building, premises, or structure, means not occupied, not currently put to use, or in which no one is living. A building may be deemed to be unoccupied even if all of the furniture and fixtures have not been removed.
"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 code, with the exception of N.J.A.C. 5:70-3, where the use group designations contained in the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23, shall be used.
1. "Use Group A-1-A": This Use Group shall include all theaters and other buildings used primarily for theatrical or operatic performances and exhibitions, arranged with a raised stage, proscenium curtain, fixed or portable scenery loft, lights, motion picture booth, mechanical appliances or other theatrical accessories and equipment, and provided with fixed seats.
2. "Use Group A-1-B": This Use Group shall include all theaters without a stage and equipped with fixed seats used for motion picture performances.
3. "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.
4. "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.
5. "Use Group A-4": This Use Group shall include all buildings used as churches and for similar religious purposes.
6. "Use Group A-5": This Use Group shall include grandstands, bleachers, coliseums, stadiums, tents and similar structures for outdoor assembly uses.
7. "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.
8. "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.
9. "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.
10. "Use Group H": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, shall be classified in Use Group H which 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.
11. "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 less occupants shall be classified as a residential Use Group.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. "Use Group M": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, shall be classified in Use Group M which 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.
15. "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.
16. "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 which do not meet the definition for Use Group R-3.
17. "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:
18. "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.
19. "Use Group S-1": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, which 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.
20. "Use Group S-2": All buildings and structures, or parts thereof, which 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.
"Vacant," as applied to a building, premises, or structure, means an unoccupied building, premises, or structure from which enough of the furniture and fixtures have been removed, so as to render the building, premises, or structure unusable for its otherwise intended purpose.
