--- title: Miscellaneous Storage in NFPA 13 description: The concept of Miscellaneous Storage first introduced in the 1991 edition of NFPA 13 seems to be widely misapplied by sprinkler contractors, fire prevention officers, competitors, and colleagues. The article goes into a quick summary of the five of these conditions to satisfy in order to properly identify storage areas as Miscellaneous Storage. image: https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC-c-notagline%20-%20FB%20Test-2.png --- [![PLC Fire Safety Solutions](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC_Fire_January2018/Images/plclogo_retina.png)](http://www.plcfire.com/) ###### [1 800 675 2755](tel:18006752755) #### [postmaster@plcfire.com](mailto:postmaster@plcfire.com) [![ISO registered](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC_Fire_January2018/Images/BSILogo.png?t=1516171393793)](https://www.bsigroup.com/en-CA/) [![email icon](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC_Fire_January2018/Images/emailicon.png)](mailto:postmaster@plcfire.com) [![phone](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC_Fire_January2018/Images/phoneicon.png)](tel:18006752755) View Menu - [About Us](http://www.plcfire.com/#) - [History](http://www.plcfire.com/History) - [Mission, Vision, Values](http://www.plcfire.com/Mission-Vision-Values) - [Quality Program](http://www.plcfire.com/Quality-Program) - [Project Gallery](https://blog.plcfire.com/project-gallery) - [Sectors](http://www.plcfire.com/#) - [Nuclear](http://www.plcfire.com/petroleum) - [Health Care](http://www.plcfire.com/health-care) - [Transportation](http://www.plcfire.com/transportation#) - [Industrial](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-industrial) - [Petroleum and Petrochemical](http://www.plcfire.com/petroleum) - [Institutional](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-Institutional) - [Heritage Building](http://www.plcfire.com/Heritage%20Buildings) - [Assembly](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-Assembly) - [Educational](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-Educational) - [Commercial](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-Commercial) - [Residential](http://www.plcfire.com/Industries-Residential) - [Services](http://www.plcfire.com/#) - [Hazard Assessment](http://www.plcfire.com/Code-Compliance) - [Code Compliance](http://www.plcfire.com/Code-Compliance) - [3rd Party Reviews](http://www.plcfire.com/independent-3rd-party-reviews) - Fire System Design - [Fire Alarm System](http://www.plcfire.com/fire-alarm-systems) - [Sprinkler Systems](http://www.plcfire.com/sprinkler-systems) - [Smoke Management Systems](http://www.plcfire.com/smoke-management-systems) - [Special Extinguishing System](http://www.plcfire.com/water-supply-systems) - [Fire Pumps](http://www.plcfire.com/Extinguishers) - [Fire Extinguishers](http://www.plcfire.com/Extinguishers) - [Emergency Response](http://www.plcfire.com/Emergency-Response) - [Loss Investigation](http://www.plcfire.com/Loss-Investigation) - [Research and Testing](http://www.plcfire.com/Research-and-Testing) - [Explosion Protection](http://www.plcfire.com/Explosion-Protection) - [Resources](http://www.plcfire.com/#) - [PB Fans](http://www.plcfire.com/PB%20Fans) - [PLC-Brochures](http://www.plcfire.com/Videos) - [Videos](http://www.plcfire.com/Videos) - [Links](http://www.plcfire.com/Links) - [Library](http://www.plcfire.com/Library) - [News](https://blog.plcfire.com/news) - [Test Equipment](http://www.plcfire.com/Test-Equipment) - [Software](http://www.plcfire.com/Software) - [Staff](http://www.plcfire.com/#) - [Management Team](http://www.plcfire.com/Corporate-Services) - [Senior Technical Team](http://www.plcfire.com/Principal-Engineers) - [Careers](http://www.plcfire.com/careers%20form) - [Contact Us](http://www.plcfire.com/Contact-Us) ## Fire Program Audit ### Go beyond fire compliance achieve better fire safety protocols [GET STARTED](http://www.plcfire.com/Fire-Protection-Audit) ## FIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT ### From modeling to reporting accurately assess fire hazards [KNOW YOUR RISK](http://www.plcfire.com/fire-hazard-assessment) ## FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS ### Diverse solutions tailored to your industrial needs [FIND YOUR SYSTEM](http://www.plcfire.com/Protection-System-Design) # Miscellaneous Storage in NFPA 13 Posted by [Larry Keeping](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/author/larry-keeping) on Sep 13, 2018 2:25:16 PM ![](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC%20Staff%20Headshots/Professional%20Staff%20Pics/Larry%20-%20Edited.jpg) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) The concept of Miscellaneous Storage was first introduced in the 1991 edition of NFPA 13, the Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, but still seems to be widely misunderstood, even today. Just within the last few years, I have seen the term misapplied by sprinkler contractors, fire prevention officers, competitors and colleagues within my own company. The concept of Miscellaneous Storage was originally developed to address situations where a small area in a building is used for storage that is secondary to the general occupancy. An example of this is when a manufacturing facility uses part of the floor space of the production line for the storage and ready access of raw materials and/or finished goods.  However, the term Miscellaneous Storage is often mistakenly applied for situations where there is a diverse variety of products being stored, such as in a self-storage facility with rental lockers. Also, since the criteria for Miscellaneous Storage is covered in the same chapter of NFPA 13 as that for Low-Piled Storage, it is sometimes incorrectly interpreted that Miscellaneous Storage is any storage where the pile heights do not exceed 3.7 m (12 ft). ![shutterstock_6854614](https://blog.plcfire.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_6854614.jpg?width=600&name=shutterstock_6854614.jpg)   The definition for Miscellaneous Storage in Section 3.9.1.8 of the 2013 and 2016 editions of NFPA 13 is quite specific: Miscellaneous Storage.   Storage that does not exceed 12 ft (3.66 m) in height, is incidental to another occupancy use group, does not constitute more than 10 percent of the building area or 4000 ft² (372 m²) of the sprinklered area, whichever is greater, does not exceed 1000 ft² (93 m²) in one pile or area, and is separated from other storage areas by at least 25 ft (7.62 m). Thus, to qualify as Miscellaneous Storage, five conditions must be met: 1. The storage height cannot exceed 3.7 m (12 ft) in height; 2. The storage must be incidental to another occupancy use group; 3. The storage area cannot exceed either 10% of the building area or 372 m² (4000 ft²) of the sprinklered area, whichever is greater; 4. Each storage pile cannot exceed 93 m² (1000 ft²); and 5. Each storage pile must be separated from other storage by at least 7.6 m (25 ft). If all five of these conditions are satisfied, the storage area can be protected as Miscellaneous Storage. However, if any one of the conditions is not met, then the sprinkler design criteria must be determined from other applicable storage chapters of NFPA 13. [![Contact Larry for a Free Consultation](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3787830/5b0bdafb-3f7a-4ad4-855b-0238433a8327.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3787830/5b0bdafb-3f7a-4ad4-855b-0238433a8327)   Topics: [Fire Hazard Assessment](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/tag/fire-hazard-assessment), [NFPA 13](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/tag/nfpa-13), [Miscellaneous Storage](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/tag/miscellaneous-storage) --- ![Picture of Larry Keeping](https://blog.plcfire.com/hubfs/PLC%20Staff%20Headshots/Professional%20Staff%20Pics/Larry%20-%20Edited.jpg) ### Written by [Larry Keeping](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/author/larry-keeping) Mr. Keeping has a Ba Sc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a Professional Engineer in the Provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, North West Territories and Nunavut. Mr. Keeping is a Professional Engineer with over 40 years of experience in sprinkler system plus other water-based fire protection systems design. Previously in his career, Mr. Keeping worked as a designer, a design manager, and for many years he served in the position of Corporate Engineer for a national sprinkler contractor. He has acted as a consultant on technical issues and fire protection codes and standards for engineers, architects, insurance representatives and building/fire department officials. Mr. Keeping is actively NFPA Technical Committees for NFPA Standards 25 (Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems), NFPA 13 (Sprinkler System Installation Criteria and Sprinkler System Discharge Criteria) and NFPA 24 (Private Water Services). > **PLC Fire Safety Solutions consistently scores over 90% in our overall Client Satisfaction surveys.** ## News 04/03/2020 The Parallels Between Limiting Risk From Fire and COVID-19 One of the things that COVID-19 has made me realize is that the world is a small place. At the time... [Read More >>](https://blog.plcfire.com/technical/parallels_btw_limiting_risk_from_fire__covid19) 04/23/2019 Applying the National Building Code to Historical Buildings Open to the Public In the past few years, PLC Fire Safety Solutions have been involved in numerous fire and life... 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