Occupant Load Determination for Retail and Business - and A Thank You

As many cities prepare to start the process of reopening, public safety officials — particularly fire chiefs and fire marshals — are being asked to determine the occupancy load for retail buildings.

The Stay Safe Minnesota directive from May 20 allows for some opening of retail businesses with capacity restrictions and if additional criteria is met, as outlined in Minnesota’s Stay Safe Plan.
 
The Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division is providing helpful guidance. The Occupant Load Determination Information Sheet provides a straightforward process on how this is determined. The second page of the document has an example with a diagram of retail space (including a storage room) and the corresponding calculations.

Additional League of Minnesota Cities resources on COVID-19 can be found here.

You Are Appreciated

Signs of support for the first responder community are continuing to appear on front lawns, billboards, and at EMS, fire, and police stations. Your communities appreciate your work and take comfort in knowing you will respond if they need help. Some of the appreciation is in the form of food, or a thumbs up from a jogger as a police car passes by. Here are a couple of signs I came upon recently.

Up next: More COVID-19 Updates

Stay safe and stay healthy,
Rob