Is it legal to have a single bed in an office zoned commercial? (Seattle: apartment, homes)

[honeybadgers]

I work for an ambulance company whose station is in what is basically a strip mall out in Sammamish. I am wondering if it is legal to put a single bed in one of the rooms for an off duty crew member to occasionally catch a few z's between close shifts. Since the station is not "lived in" per se, as all we have is a fridge and coffee maker, and nobody stays there more than a few hours at the very most in any point of time (the main purpose of the station is for ambulance supplies, lockers and crew changes, the bed would only be for short, occasional use) does this violate the zoning? Further concerns are that there are no extra points of egress in the office. We have one way in and out, with no windows, so that would be another question if the bed itself was not illegal, but would the lack of an emergency exit in any of the rooms make it illegal? Crew members already sleep on the couch.

I'm guessing the answer is no, but I really don't know. Our supervisor is concerned about the zoning and lack of second egress, and the bed was my idea, so I figured I'd ask.

[Hemlock140]

I can’t imagine why that would be illegal. Many businesses have a bed or cot, it’s not a bedroom for living, just a bed for resting. We have them in “quiet rooms” in our downtown Seattle office, no windows. Some ambulance companies have an apartment, others like yours use a commercial building, its normal. What about the fire stations, where people do live there for several days at a time, in commercial and industrial areas?

[homesinseattle]

I think you should be fine, as long as you keep a low profile and no one moves in permanently.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

I think you should be fine, as long as you keep a low profile and no one moves in permanently.

Typically ambulance garages, fire stations, hospitals will have a bunk room for the on duty crew to rest (these would be those that have 24 hour or more work shifts). I doubt that it would be a code violation but jurisdictions will vary.

If it is transitioned to a crash pad for the guy whose wife kicked him out then there might be an issue (which sometimes happens at volunteer facilities).

[myname_isborat]

Probably not but why would anyone hassle you, especially considering you are serving the community!? Is there a window and a smoke detector?

[honeybadgers]

It's mostly just a concern from my supervisor. There are no 24 hour crews at this location (they have separate stations that are zoned correctly) but I was just curious if a bed somehow made it different than a couch when they're both being used for a 45 minute power nap. Someone will occasionally (occasionally = once every month or two) sleep there for 4-6 hours if they have back to back shifts, sleeping on the couch, but there is no shower, no amenities to cook with beyond said coffee maker and fridge, it is just a small dark room that I want to set up a twin bed in for very occasional use.

[honeybadgers]

Originally Posted by myname_isborat

Probably not but why would anyone hassle you, especially considering you are serving the community!? Is there a window and a smoke detector?

No windows, we only have the one front door. It is up to code with smoke detectors and such.

[Hemlock140]

I know that both Rural Metro and Falck did/do it, there is no reason why AMR would be any different.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by honeybadgers

It's mostly just a concern from my supervisor. There are no 24 hour crews at this location (they have separate stations that are zoned correctly) but I was just curious if a bed somehow made it different than a couch when they're both being used for a 45 minute power nap. Someone will occasionally (occasionally = once every month or two) sleep there for 4-6 hours if they have back to back shifts, sleeping on the couch, but there is no shower, no amenities to cook with beyond said coffee maker and fridge, it is just a small dark room that I want to set up a twin bed in for very occasional use.

If by chance a Code Enforcement officer should do an inspection (we inspect all businesses every 3 years) a couch in a break room would raise fewer questions than a bed.

[jdhpa]

Have you asked the city?