Franklin United Methodist Church planned accessibility and daycare-related renovations at its existing facility at 82 W. Central Street in Franklin, Massachusetts. The building includes approximately 10,000 square feet across a basement, first floor, and second floor, with assembly, classroom, activity, office, kitchen, and sanctuary-related spaces. The project involved an existing mixed-use building with A-3 assembly and I-4 daycare occupancy considerations, requiring careful coordination of existing building code requirements and fire/life safety upgrades.

Engineering Fire Protection, LLC provided existing building code consulting, fire protection design, and fire alarm design services to support the renovation. EFP’s work included due diligence review, hydrant flow test coordination, field survey of existing building and fire alarm conditions, and preparation of Tier 1 fire sprinkler and fire alarm design documents for permitting.

EFP helped the project team evaluate how the proposed renovation could be supported within the existing building while meeting current Massachusetts building and fire code requirements. The design included a new NFPA 13 sprinkler system, a new addressable fire alarm system, fire protection narratives, hydraulic calculations, battery calculations, voltage-drop calculations, and construction control documentation. EFP’s involvement helped establish a clear code-compliant path for the renovation, support permit review, and provide the contractors with coordinated fire/life safety design criteria for implementation.