Under NFPA 101 (2012), the currently adopted code for health care, the maximum smoke compartment size is 22,500 sq. ft.. Each floor in a healthcare occupancy is required to have at least two smoke compartments to allow for horizontal evacuation.
Beginning in the 2018 Edition of NFPA 101, the smoke compartment size was increased to 40,000 sq. ft. to align with the maximum travel distance in new construction, which is 200 ft. Until a newer edition is adopted by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), hospitals must not exceed 22,500 sq. ft.