Gem Carts & Forklifts Allowed in Mech Rooms?

10/1/2020

At our site I'm dealing with personnel wanting to park small vehicles (Gem carts and forklifts) inside the building.

I know this is clearly not allowed in an egress corridor (where it was) but I'm having trouble finding parts of the code addressing storage in mechanical rooms or similar space. I know NFPA 101 has rules for high hazard contents but not sure if I can make that argument for the vehicles.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Submitted anonymously and posted for discussion. Discuss This | Submit Your Question | Subscribe

12 Comments

Jonathan Sullivan

10/1/2020 10:07:56 am

How are the vehicles powered?

Jonathan Sullivan

10/1/2020 10:13:12 am

I ask because IFC 315.3.3 prevents combustible storage in these types of rooms.

Daniel Garcia

10/1/2020 12:09:16 pm

Electric (cart) and lpg (forklift)

Jonathan Sullivan link

10/1/2020 12:50:56 pm

What codes are locally adopted?

Daniel Garcia

10/1/2020 01:30:18 pm

Jonathan - IFC 2015 version is adopted. I haven't seen anything saying it's ok to store this type of equipment in a non-warehouse location but just looking for the "smoking gun" to show the people who want to do this. I may have to settle for the code excerpt you mentioned.

Jonathan Sullivan

10/2/2020 04:10:43 pm

Daniel -

IFC Chapter 61 directs you to use sections 11.13 and 11.14 of NFPA 58 for LP gas containers on vehicles. Hopefully these sections will be helpful.

10/1/2020 11:03:37 am

NFPA 505 via NFPA 1:10.17 & 34.6.

Daniel Garcia

10/1/2020 12:41:17 pm

Thanks. So I suppose industrial trucks also can apply for a forklift? I did a word search for forklift in the document but nothing came up in the code. I'm also thinking a small person only (non-industrial) mobile vehicle like a Gem cart would not meet the definition of an industrial truck?

10/1/2020 01:36:05 pm

The definitions has lpg powered vehilces and E for electric powered vehicles.

10/1/2020 01:40:24 pm

forklifts are covered in the standard.
It does not appear that electrical carts are under the scope.

Michael Major

10/1/2020 02:36:50 pm

Also IFC 309 on industrial powered trucks and carts is a great section for fire safety requirements.

Bruce Verhei

11/2/2020 02:44:37 pm

https://youtu.be/vq8uuAKEVZg

A mobility scooter fire in a hallway, courtesy of our Rotterdam colleagues.

Best.

Free Signup

Subscribe and learn something new each day:

Community

Thank You to Our Top
October '20 Contributors!

1. SK
2. Franck
3. Dan W.
4. Jonathan 5. Casey M.

6. Sean
7. Colin L.
8. Mike
9. Jonathan J
10. Daniel G.

Your Post

SUBMIT A QUESTION

The Toolkit

Sprinkler Designer or Engineer?

Get all of our tools, including the Sprinkler Database, Friction Loss Calculator, Fire Pump Analyzer and more:

FREE 30-DAY TRIAL

GET THE TOOLKIT

Filters

Exam Prep

2020 PE Prep Guide
(Available Now!)

PE Prep Series
(Available Now!)

2020 PE Prep Series
Current Leaderboard
(Click to enlarge)

PE Problems

Visit July-October for daily Fire Protection PE Exam sample questions.

Solutions are posted the day after posting.

Comment with your solutions, questions or clarifications.

Please note that questions posted are unofficial and in accordance with NCEES rules are intended to be similar to actual exam questions, not actual exam questions themselves.

RSS Feed

Home - About - Blog - Contact - Exam Prep - Store

Copyright © 2020 MeyerFire, LLC
The views, opinions, and information found on this site represent solely the author shown and do not represent the opinions of any other party, nor does the presented material assume responsibility for its use. Fire protection and life safety systems constitute a critical component for public health and safety and you should consult with a licensed professional for proper design and code adherence. Some (not all) outbound links on this website, such as Amazon links, are affiliate-based where we receive a commission for orders placed elsewhere.