The occupant load is calculated based on the provisions of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. A retail bicycle shop is classified as a Mercantile Occupancy. According to NFPA 101, Table 7.3.1.2, the occupant load factor for a street-level floor in a mercantile occupancy is 30 gross square feet per person. The calculation is performed by dividing the total area by the occupant load factor:

3,240 ft² / 30 ft² per person = 108 people.

This calculation determines the minimum number of occupants for which the building's means of egress must be designed.

A. 32 people: This would result from using an incorrect occupant load factor of approximately 101 ft² per person, which is not applicable to mercantile occupancies.

C. 124 people: This result does not correspond to the standard occupant load factor for a mercantile sales floor as defined in NFPA 101.

D. 126 people: This result is mathematically incorrect and does not align with any standard occupant load factor for this type of space.

1. National Fire Protection Association. (2021). NFPA 101, Life Safety Code. Quincy, MA: NFPA.

Section 6.1.10.1: Defines Mercantile Occupancies as "an occupancy used for the display and sale of merchandise."

Section 7.3.1.2: States that "The occupant load, in number of persons for any building or portion thereof, shall be determined by dividing the floor area assigned to that use by the occupant load factor for that use as specified in Table 7.3.1.2."

Table 7.3.1.2 "Occupant Load Factor": Specifies for "Mercantile" use on the "Street floor and sales basement," a factor of 30 ft² (2.8 m²) gross per person.