The below message is found online via the MN - DPS - Fire Marshal website.
Group A-2 occupancies are defined as those assembly uses intended for food and/or drink consumption including, but not limited to:
· Banquet halls (barn venue or wedding venue)
· Casinos (gaming areas)
· Night clubs
· Restaurants, cafeterias and similar dining facilities (including associated commercial kitchens)
· Taverns and bars
The Minnesota State Fire Code requires that Group A-2 occupancies be sprinkler-protected if they exceed certain thresholds. Here is the language from the MSFC:
903.2.1.2 Group A-2. An automatic sprinkler system shall be provided for Group A-2 occupancies where one of the following conditions exists:
1. The fire area exceeds 5,000 square feet (464 m2).
2. The fire area has an occupant load of 100 or more. <-- 99.99% of venues meet his one and require a fire sprinkler system!
3. The fire area is located on a floor other than a level of exit discharge serving such occupancies.
MSFC Chapter 9 applies to new buildings and buildings that have undergone a change in use (converted from one use to another – such as an agricultural barn converted to a wedding event venue). This is spelled out in MSFC Chapter 1:
102.3 Change of use or occupancy. No change shall be made in the use or occupancy of any structure that would place the structure in a different division of the same group or occupancy or in a different group of occupancies, unless such structure is made to comply with the requirements of this code and the International Building Code. Subject to the approval of the fire code official, the use or occupancy of an existing structure shall be allowed to be changed and the structure is allowed to be occupied for purposes in other groups without conforming to all of the requirements of this code and the International Building Code for those groups, provided the new or proposed use is less hazardous, based on life and fire risk, than the existing use.
These requirements have been in the MSFC since July 10, 2007 (the effective date of the 2007 MSFC). Any building that exceeds the thresholds above that was constructed or changed since July 10, 2007 should have met these sprinkler requirements. The date when the facility in question was constructed was on or after 7/10/2007, it should have been protected with fire sprinklers (assuming it is over 100 people – which is typically around 1,000 sq. ft.).
The occupant load of 100 is determined by the square footage of the space, not by what the owner says it will hold.