In Canada, buildings/occupancies are listed in the Building Code as Groups and Divisions. To identify your type of building/occupancy, the examples listed are the same as in the Building Code. There are many examples, which cover most building/occupancy types, however, if you don’t see your type of building/occupancy exactly, just compare it to those that are listed.
Your building will then belong to that Group and/or Division.
The Building Fire Safety Planning System
is applicable to most of the listed building types.
This is an unofficial version of Government of Canada legal materials.
You should review the official documents.
Examples of Assembly Occupancies Group A, Division 1
Motion picture theatres, Opera houses, Television studios admitting a viewing audience and Theatres including experimental theatres.Group A, Division 2
Art galleries, Auditoria, Bowling alleys, Churches and similar places of worship, Clubs non-residential, Community halls, Courtrooms, Dance halls, Exhibition halls (other than classified in Group E Occupancies), Gymnasia, Lecture halls, Libraries, Licensed beverage establishments, Museums, Passenger stations and depots, Recreational piers, Restaurants, Undertaking premises and Schools and colleges non-residential.Group A, Division 3
Arenas, Indoor swimming pools with or without spectator seating and Rinks.Group A, Division 4
Amusement park structures (not elsewhere classified), Bleachers, Grandstands, Reviewing stands and Stadia.
Examples of Detention and Care Occupancies Detention Occupancies
Group B, Division 1
Jails, Penitentiaries, Police stations with detention quarters, Prisons, Reformatories with detention quarters and Psychiatric hospitals with detention quarters.Care Occupancies
Group B, Division 2
Children’s custodial homes, Convalescent homes, Hospitals, Infirmaries, Nursing homes, Orphanages, Psychiatric hospitals without detention quarters, Reformatories without detention quarters and Sanitoria without detention quarters.
Examples of Residential Occupancies Group C
Apartments, Boarding houses, Clubs Residential, Colleges Residential, Convents, Dormitories, Hotels, Houses, Lodgings houses, Monasteries, Motels and Schools Residential.
Examples of Business and Personal Services Occupancies Group D
Banks, Barber and Hairdressing shops, Beauty offices, Laundries self service, Medical offices, Dry cleaning establishments self-service not using flammable or explosive solvents or cleaners, Offices, Police stations without detention quarters, Radio stations, Small tool and appliance rental and service establishments.
Examples of Mecantile Occupancies Group E
Department stores, Exhibition halls, Markets, Shops, Stores and Supermarkets.
Examples of Industrial Occupancies High Hazard
Group F Division 1
Bulk plants for flammable liquids, Bulk storage warehouses for hazardous substances, Distilleries, Cereal Mills, Chemical manufacturing or processing plants, Dry cleaning plants, Feed mills, Flour mills, Grain elevators, Lacquer factories, Mattress factories, Paint Varnish and pyroxylin product factories, Rubber processing plants, Spray painting operations and Waste paper processing plants.
Medium Hazard
Group F Division 2
Aircraft hangers, Box factories, Candy plants, Cold storage plants, Electrical substations, Dry cleaning establishments not using flammable or explosive solvents or cleaners, Factories, Freight depots, Helicopter landing areas on roofs, Laboratories, Laundries except self-service, Mattress factories, Planning mills, Printing plants, Repair garages, Salesrooms, Workshops, Television studios not admitting a viewing audience, Warehouse, Wholesale rooms and Woodworking factories.
Low Hazard
Group F Division 3
Creameries, Factories, Laboratories, Power plants, Salesrooms, Sample display rooms, Workshops, Storage garages including open air parking garages, Storage rooms and Warehouses.
