How many people per square foot are allowed in a club?

Answer 1

The fire codes (and building codes) that may be adopted in a particular place may vary slightly from the national codes, and there is more than one national code (not to mention numerous international codes, depending upon what country you're in).

In the USA, NFPA 101 Life Safety Code determines the maximum occupant load based upon a number of factors, primarily: the type of occupancy, the square footage of space used by customers, size and distance to means of egress, etc.

After the Station Nightclub fire in 2003 (Warwick, RI), rules were changed to require additional "main entrance" egress in new construction, as well as "crowd managers" for larger crowds.

Your local rules may vary according to many other factors, but the rule of thumb for a nightclub is a minimum of 15 square feet (net) per person (not including areas occupied by kitchens, offices, bathrooms, storage, etc) and the capacity of the egress is based upon 0.3 inch/person for unsprinklered stairways and 0.2 inches of clear width per person (or 0.15 i/p if the entire occupancy is properly sprinklered), of the narrowest places along the egress pathways.

The main entrance must have sufficient capacity for at least 50 percent of the permitted occupant load, or 2/3 of that maximum load in new construction.

For example, if the club is allowed to have 1000 people inside, then the main entrance must be large enough to accommodate 500 of them, i.e., 500 x 0.2 inches, or 8 feet 4 inches of clear exit width (at least 3 doors, each 36 inches wide). For new construction, the number would be 666 x 0.15 inches or 8 ft 4 inches of clear exit width, same as the earlier 50 percent number, but safer (in theory) because it will be required to have sprinklers. Without sprinklers it would need 11 feet of clear exit width, i.e., three 3-foot-wide doors.