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We recently moved into a townhouse in a 5 unit complex. It consists of 2 buildings, each of which has both a wet and dry system.
Our unit's basement houses the equipment for one building and we have found that the riser-mounted air compressor serving the sprinkler system goes off approximately every 3 hours for 3-4 minutes. It's incredibly noisy. The option of a Quiet-Series, tank mounted compressor is appealing, but I wonder if there's a significant leakage problem we should focus on first, given the short intervals. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe
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What is the requirement for standpipes on the top level of a fully-sprinklered, open parking garage?
On the covered levels that are sprinklered, the hose travel distance is allowed to be 200 feet based on NFPA 14-2013 Section 7.3.2.3. For levels that are not sprinklered (the top level is open to the sky), the same NFPA section states the hose travel distance is 150 feet. So, on a 6 level parking deck I've got standpipes located such that 200 foot hose travel distance is accomplished on the covered/sprinklered levels. What happens when I get to the top/open level? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe I'm building a 74" by 74" shower where there had been a tub only. The existing sprinkler serving this area is 8 feet above floor level and would now be centered in the new shower. Can it stay or does it have to be moved?
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Are you a Toolkit Member? Submit any fire protection-related question for discussion by logging in and entering your question on your Member Dashboard here!
A locker room (1050 ft²) in apartment building is divided into small storage compartments. No shelves, no lifting devices. The ceiling height is 9’.
The sprinkler system design criteria was chosen as OH II, which is adequate for miscellaneous storage of Class IV Commodities up 12 feet in height as well as Plastic up to 5 feet. Now the AHJ is requesting either design of plastic protection up 8 feet saying that some plastic may be stored - therefore we have to treat this as storage of mixed commodities - therefore it shall be protected by the requirements of highest classified commodity, or provide assurance that no plastic will be stored. Will “mixed commodities” be applicable for miscellaneous storage? Or do we not have any grounds for argument? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Is it permissible to have an NFPA 13 and 13R system in the same building, or by code is it an all-or-nothing prescriptive standard? The most common scenario we would see this apply is with first-floor retail/mixed use construction with residential above.
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe For fire sprinkler riser assemblies that include a control valve, waterflow switch, check valve, inspector's test and drain, or a dry/pre-action system valve, are there any height requirements or limits with any of these components?
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Are there any requirements for sloping drain pipe on sprinkler systems? In this case the project is just a basic wet pipe sprinkler system.
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Have a paddle flow switch for a wet system that is located on the first story riser. The riser serves the entire 3-story building.
When flowing an inspector's test on the first floor or even the third floor, the flow switch paddle only stays engaged for 10-12 seconds before cycling back and forth. Without keeping the engaged position, the alarm won't activate. Has anyone come across this before? What remedies could help the flow switch operate properly? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe The International Fire Code requires a fire flow be available for a structure that is determined with an approved method. Aside from the Appendix B guidance in the International Fire Code, there's multiple other methods for determining the amount and duration of fire flow that is required for a building.
My question is when determining whether there's enough flow available to meet this determined amount, where is it calculated relative to a building? Does there just need to be enough water available within 200 feet of the building, or at a main near the site, or perhaps on hydrants adjacent to the building? I'm very familiar with standpipe hose calculations, which seems like a similar application to this, but I'm not sure where to actually apply the fire flow to complete the calculation. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Can a municipal property - such as a fire station in this instance - have it's fire alarm system directly monitored by their own call dispatch center?
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe For those who regularly bid and/or review "performance-specification" or "delegated-design" drawings, what important pieces of information are often left out?
In other words, what should engineers always include for you to price or review a job effectively that you often don't get? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe What products/methods have you used for hanging from Cold Form Trusses and Cold Form Shapes? Looking to hang and seismically brace just the sprinkler pipe.
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe A small, wood-structure apartment complex is getting an NFPA 13R fire sprinkler system. Based on hydraulic calculations, the incoming water service only needs to be 2-inch, and the backflow can be as small as 1-1/2-inch.
Many backflow preventers with indicating butterfly valves don't get down to the 1-1/2-inch size - rather many of the small backflows only have ball valves which I'm not sure can actually be supervised. Are the valves on a backflow preventer for an NFPA 13R system required to be supervised? Is there ever a case where the backflows can use ball valves on an NFPA 13R system? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Can multiple sprinkler systems be connected to a single air compressor/nitrogen generator?
NFPA 13 states that the 30-minute fill time would be based on the single largest system; so I'm assuming it's permitted and under this arrangement an air maintenance device would be needed to maintain the pressure in each system. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe For those experienced or well-versed in site utilities, what options for underground fire service pipe would you recommend? What is currently regarded as the most common options?
I understand ductile iron, concrete, plastic, copper and stainless steel are all permitted by NFPA 24. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Can you explain how to adjust for Hydraulic Low gradient? There is nothing on the Web. No one seems to know, and I think my adjustments are too much?
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Working on a list of areas that should have or require drain connections for coordination with plumbing. Here's what I have:
(1) plumbing standpipe to accept main drain, where the main drain can't be routed to the outside, (2) floor drains in riser room as good practice; required if there's a pump or RPZ-type backflow, (3) plumbing standpipe to serve drainage from fire standpipes, where they can't be drained to the outside, and (4) standpipe or floor drain for remote inspector's tests & drains, where they can't be drained to the outside. What am I missing? Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe For a horizontal manifold that contains multiple sprinkler systems, are check valves needed for each sprinkler system? In this case there are no standpipe systems in the building.
As I understand it, NFPA 13 only requires a check valve on the incoming fire department feed, but each of the different system risers have no requirement for a check valve. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Is it necessary to provide a UL firestop for a sprinkler through a fire-rated partition?
I would think that since the penetrating item is a sprinkler that it would not require an actual UL firestop penetration, however I am having trouble finding a code reference to back up my thoughts. My scenario is a sidewall going to through a vertical double layer gypsum partition. Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe When is a relocation of an existing fire sprinkler permitted, and when must an existing sprinkler be removed and replaced with new?
Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe A big thank you to those who chimed in during this past month - thanks for making this a more positive and helpful community! Top Contributors for December:
Without access to pricing differences, it can be difficult to make informed decisions when it comes to selecting fire pump controller starting methods. What is the magnitude of cost for each of the fire pump starting methods?
Specifically, I'm interested in Across-the-Line, Wye-Delta Open, Wye-Delta Closed, Soft-Starting and Variable Frequency Drives. Thanks in advance! Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Subscribe Could someone explain the difference between the different labels of mains? I've heard the loose terms feed mains and cross mains but I can't seem to find anywhere these are defined. Any help is appreciated!
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