One thing you need to consider is who has the jurisdiction with regard to strobe lights. You need to remember that the requirements for strobes originally stems from the ADA. Because ADA is federal, local jurisdictions don't have the authority to enforce the ADA. Fire inspectors will enforce the fire codes, however many states have their own "Accessibility requirements" and will enforce them. These requirements are equal to, or more restrictive than federal requirements. They may not care what the fire inspector has to say about your planned location for strobes. The proof of this is that you'll never find a state agency issuing a citation for a federal violation (i.e. ADA). It's more of a matter where the case goes to court...Federal or State. If your in federal court, drag out your copy of the CFR's...if your in State court, drag out your copy of the State Accessibility requirements. Remember ADA is a public law not restricted to Federal Property. There isn't a "Federal ADA" inspector that cites you, it's Joe citizen...that's how ADA gets enforced. Joe Citizen can take the building owner to Federal or State court, depending on what's been violated or where he stands the greatest chance to win the case.
In the state of Texas, for new construction, you'll have a state "Accessibility" inspector visit your building. Besides looking at ramps, bathroom and the like, he'll look at strobe lights. Not all states do this but the state your working in might.
On a project that involved Labs for an oil company in the city of Houston, the labs were classed as hazardous locations (class I, Div 2) by the oil company due to their own risk assessment, even though NFPA didn't require them to be. As a result the strobe lights had to be Class I, Division 2. The only manufacture of a Class I, Div 2 strobe light, that's compliant with ADA issues, is Federal Signal. But they don't have a nice easy form to reference relative to light dispersion. As a result, I had to do the calculations myself and demonstrate to the "Accessibility" inspector (not the fire inspector) that they conformed with the State "Accessibility" code.
Regards,
Dan