Section 27-547. F-1b places of assembly

F-1b places of assembly shall comply
  with all of the requirements of article two of this subchapter, and with
  the following:
    (a)  Certificate  of  occupancy. The certificate of occupancy for F-1b
  places of assembly shall specifically note the prohibition  against  the
  use or placement of scenery or scenic elements on or above the stage.
    (b) Stage requirements.
    (1) DEFINITION. For the purposes of this section, the stage in an F-1b
  place  of assembly shall be the area where the principal activity viewed
  by the audience takes place.
    (2) CONSTRUCTION. Raised platforms may be  built  as  stages  in  F-1b
  places  of  assembly  when  they  are  supported  on  floors  having the
  fire-resistance ratings required by table 3-4, in  accordance  with  the
  following:
    a.  The  area  below  the platform shall be enclosed on all sides with
  solid construction.
    b. The horizontal area of stage  construction  shall  not  exceed  the
  following:
    Wood frame: maximum area-- four hundred square feet.
    Fire  retardant  treated  wood:  maximum  area-- twelve hundred square
  feet.
    Noncombustible frame: maximum area--unlimited.
    c. The floor of the stage, when wood is used, shall be  at  least  one
  inch  nominal  thickness,  and  shall be laid on a solid, noncombustible
  backing, or all spaces between supporting members shall be  fire-stopped
  with noncombustible material.
    d.  In  all  F-lb  places of assembly providing live entertainment, at
  anytime, the stage, dressing rooms and property rooms shall be  provided
  with  automatic  sprinkler and fire alarm protection in conformance with
  the  provisions  of  subchapter  seventeen  of  this  chapter.  Existing
  premises shall be required to conform with this requirement on or before
  January  twelfth,  nineteen  hundred eighty. However, existing sprinkler
  systems which have been previously accepted by the department or by  the
  fire department shall be deemed in compliance with this requirement.
    (3)  EXITS FROM THE STAGE. At least two exits, remote from each other,
  shall be available from every point on a stage,  each  within  a  travel
  distance  limitation  of one hundred fifty feet The occupant load of the
  stage shall be based upon one person  per  twenty-five  square  feet  of
  area.  When  any  portion of a stage is used for audience seating at any
  time, exits of adequate capacity shall be  provided  for  that  portion,
  within  the travel distance limitations for assembly space seating. Exit
  openings serving a stage directly shall have a capacity of  one  hundred
  persons per unit of exit width.
    (4)  EMERGENCY  CONTROL  PANEL.  In  F-1b places of assembly having an
  occupant load over six hundred persons, an emergency control panel shall
  be provided, as follows:
    a. It shall be located so as to have a view of the audience and  stage
  areas,  and  shall be manned during the presentation of a performance to
  an audience, by a competent person instructed in its use.
    b. It shall be equipped with tell-tale lights to indicate when feeders
  and sub-feeders of emergency light and power circuits are  in  operation
  in assembly spaces and all exits, including safe areas.
    c.  It  shall  be  equipped  with  a  public  address  system  serving
  loudspeakers in the assembly space. The public address system  shall  be
  connected to both the normal and emergency light and power circuits.