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Keith Lane: Lighting, especially in high-end stores, plays a major role in the design.

From a fire protection standpoint, malls are the most complicated retail structures they require zoned sprinklers, smoke-control systems, secondary power supplies, fire-resistive compartmentalization, and a fire alarm system sufficiently complicated to provide the required communication between active systems. Big-box stores frequently require specialized sprinklers to protect the rack storage areas. This typically includes oxidizing materials, such as chlorine, as well as flammable and combustible liquids. Some retail stores stock products that are regulated as hazardous materials. Firewalls, also known as maximum foreseeable loss walls, are common in strip malls to limit increased fire-resistive construction aspects of contiguous structures. In addition to sprinklers, this may include increasing fire-resistive construction, egress systems, and the complexity of the fire alarm system. As structures increase in height and size, the complexity increases accordingly. Evans: The most common active fire protection system required for retail stores is automatic sprinklers. Current building and life safety codes attempt to address these concerns, and having experience with these code stipulations can assist with developing layouts that meet consensus standards.ĭouglas H. Often the fronts of stores have configurations that funnel occupants through check-out counters, which also can inhibit egress. Often, back-of-house doors are provided with delayed locking mechanisms to prevent theft, which can slow exiting. Cappuccio: From a fire protection viewpoint, egress may be one of the more challenging aspects to retail occupancies.