Section BC 509: Incidental Uses

509.1 General.

Incidental uses listed in Table 509 and located within single occupancy or mixed occupancy buildings shall comply with the provisions of this section. Incidental uses are ancillary functions associated with a given occupancy that generally pose a greater level of risk to that occupancy and are limited to those uses listed in Table 509.

   Exception: Incidental uses within and serving a dwelling unit are not required to comply with this section.

Table 509 c
Incidental Uses

Room or Area	Separation and/or Protection
Furnace room where any piece of equipment is over 350,000 Btu per hour input	2 hour; or 1 hour and provide automatic sprinkler system a
Furnace room where any piece of equipment is 350,000 Btu per hour input or less, except in R-3 occupancy	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system a
Rooms with a high pressure steam or water boiler that exceeds 350,000 Btu per hour input	2 hour; or 1 hour and provide automatic fire-extinguishing system a
Rooms with a high pressure steam or water boiler that is 350,000 Btu per hour input or less	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system a
Rooms that contain a low pressure steam or water boiler regardless of Btu per hour input	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system a, b
Refrigerant machinery room	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system
Hydrogen fuel gas rooms, not classified as Group H	2 hours in all occupancies
Incinerator rooms	2 hours and automatic sprinkler system
Paint shops, not classified as Group H, located in occupancies other than Group F	2 hours; or 1 hour and provide automatic sprinkler system
In Group E occupancies, laboratories and vocational shops not classified as Group H	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system
In Group I-2 occupancies, laboratories not classified as Group H	1 hour and provide automatic sprinkler system
In ambulatory care facilities, laboratories not classified as Group H	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system
Laundry rooms over 100 square feet	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system
In Group I-2, laundry rooms over 100 square feet	1 hour
Group I-3 cells and Group I-2 patient rooms equipped with padded surfaces	1 hour
In Group I-2, physical plant maintenance shops	1 hour
In ambulatory care facilities or Group I-2 occupancies, waste and linen collection rooms with containers that have an aggregate volume of 10 cubic feet or greater	1 hour
In other than ambulatory care facilities and Group I-2 occupancies, waste and linen collection rooms over 100 square feet	1 hour or provide automatic sprinkler system
In ambulatory care facilities or Group I-2 occupancies, storage rooms greater than 100 square feet	1 hour
Stationary storage battery systems having an energy capacity greater than the threshold quantity specified in Table 608.9.1.1 of the New York City Fire Code	1 hour in group B, F, M, S and U occupancies; 2 hours in Group A, E, I and R occupancies
Rooms containing fire pumps in non-high-rise buildings	2 hours; or 1 hour and provide automatic sprinkler system throughout the building
Rooms containing fire pumps in high-rise buildings	2 hours

 

For SI: 1 square foot = 0.0929 m 2 , 1 pound per square inch (psi) = 6.9 kPa, 1 British thermal unit (Btu) per hour = 0.293 watts, 1 horsepower = 746 watts, 1 gallon = 3.785 L, 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 m 3 .

a.   Boilers servicing more than one dwelling unit in Multiple dwellings shall also comply with Section 65 of the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law.

b.   Sealed combustion direct vent boilers shall comply with Section 303 of the New York City Mechanical Code and Section 303 of the New York City Fuel Gas Code, as applicable.

c.   For mechanical and/or electrical equipment rooms not identified in this table, see Section 508.1.

(Am. L.L. 2023/077, 6/11/2023, eff. 6/11/2023)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2023/077.

509.2 Occupancy classification.

Incidental uses shall not be individually classified in accordance with Section 302.1. Incidental uses shall be included in the building occupancies within which they are located.

509.3 Area limitations.

Incidental uses shall not occupy more than 10 percent of the building in which they are located.