I was looking through the International Building Code and have not found a requirement for a fire sprinkler riser room to be enclosed by a fire-rated wall.

Are there any requirements other than clearances to service the equipment for this room?

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We are designing a residential building that will have a manual wet standpipe in a fully-sprinklered building. The building itself is less than 75-feet high.

I need to calculate the wet manual standpipe but would like to check my approach. 

Do I need to calculate the remote standpipe at the two most remote hose valves at 100 psi, 250 gpm each, plus one more hose valve closer to the source at 250 gpm all the way back from a supply at the fire truck?

​Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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I have a question regarding the need to provide electrical classification for a building using Class 1A flammable liquids.

For this building, 4 gallons could be out in use (located anywhere in the building). The MAQ is 10 gallons. I have discussed this with NFPA 30 committee, the manufacturer, and the AHJ (who is a knowledgeable FPE). They have all determined that even if the MAQ is not exceeded, electrical classification is required if a flammable/explosive mixture could be present.

The NFPA 30 staff directed me to a provision in NFPA 497, Section 5.5, that if the materials will not reach 25% of the lower flammable limit (LFL), this could be utilized to justify not providing classified electrical fixtures.

Does anyone know how to do this calculation, or know of firms that can be hired to do this?

I am an FPE and do not know how to perform it, and I have spoken with other FPE’s who also are not aware. The gentleman I spoke with at NFPA 30 agreed it would be by an industrial hygienist or a chemical engineer and not an FPE.

But does anyone know any that can be hired for a one-off calculation, or have a place where I could learn how to perform it myself (NFPA reference, SFPE article, course, etc.?).

Thank you!

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We have an existing building were the highest occupied floor is less than 30'-0 above fire vehicle access. This building is being renovated.

Part of the renovation involves the construction of a new building to be connect to the existing building. The new building is higher than 30'-0 above fire vehicle access. The exit stairwells in the new building need a standpipe system.

Does the existing building need a standpipe system since it is connected even though the existing building stairways and floors are not higher than 30'-0 above fire vehicle access?​

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Have a project at a local grocery store that has an end cap kiosk with a Class 1 commercial kitchen hood. The kiosk is 6-foot wide by 8-foot long and has one means of egress out of the kiosk. The kiosk is used for cooking demonstrations and to hand out food samples to the customers.

​The predicaments we (AHJ, owner, designer of record, and contractor) are having is the location of the manual release station. There are no structural columns or architectural surfaces that are within the minimum distance of 10 feet or a maximum of 20 feet from the cooking surface to mount the manual release stations that are within the means of egress.

Any thoughts or suggestions on where to mount the manual release station?

Thanks in advance.

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At our site I'm dealing with personnel wanting to park small vehicles (Gem carts and forklifts) inside the building.

I know this is clearly not allowed in an egress corridor (where it was) but I'm having trouble finding parts of the code addressing storage in mechanical rooms or similar space. I know NFPA 101 has rules for high hazard contents but not sure if I can make that argument for the vehicles.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

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Has anyone seen the International Fire Code Chapters 53 and 58 applied to natural gas installations in addition to the Fuel Gas Code?

IFC Chapter 53 is Compressed Gasses and Chapter 58 is Flammable Gasses.

It's technically a gas at standard temperature and pressure with a boiling point below 68 deg F at 14.7 psi and flammable range of 5% to 17% by volume in air. Natural gas appears to be subject to these requirements, but I've never seen it this way in practice. 

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We have a closed ammonia refrigeration system for a large cooler/freezer. The refrigeration equipment is located in a separate mechanical room. Total amount of ammonia is less than 10,000 lbs.

My question is explosion control per Section 911 of the International Fire Code required for the refrigeration mechanical room?

I am reading different interpretations on whether ammonia is considered a flammable gas, most say it is technically not a flammable gas but can burn and/or explode.

I'm interested in hearing everyone's take. Thanks.

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I'm an AHJ and I know many plan reviewers and inspectors in my area are new to the trade. 

Does anyone have recommendation(s) for good plan review checklists or tools for plan review that would be helpful to rookie and intermediate-level plan reviewers?

Thanks in advance.

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Working with a 10,500 square foot building that is primarily a wood shop (as the AHJ, fire official). In this building they basically saw cut raw lumber on a large gasoline powered (vented) saw mill inside of the building (this is an issue I question as well). This is a two-part question, at the least!

The occupants claim they are a E occupancy (based on the 2012 IBC/IFC) and that they fall under the 12,000 square feet for automatic fire sprinkler requirements in chapter 9.

I look at this as a woodworking facility over 2,500 square feet per 903.2.4.1, that would require automatic fire sprinklers.

The organization is not a school, but rather consider themselves as a vocational school that serves students working on their G.E.D. along with troubled students needing extra guidance, and they pay these students. They teach life/work skills and help with job placement.

I feel this would either fall under a B-Occupancy for training and skill development not within a school or academic program, or an F-1.

Thoughts on this part?

Next, even if we would call this an E-Occupancy, would sprinklers be required since it is under the 12,000 square feet? I would think yes because of section 903.2.4.1, however the organization says no because they believe they are an E.

​I know where I am leaning on this issue, but would welcome any other input. ​I am all about helping this organization out, but also need to take safety and property preservation into account. This place keeps me up at night with all of the students and hazards present.

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I am a municipal fire inspector. We have a new high school, fully sprinklered, that has residential stoves in a classroom. These are protected with UL300A hoods.

Are these hoods required to be connected to the fire alarm?

Common sense would indicate that if there was a fire hot enough to release the UL300A system, that the building occupants could be in danger and the fire alarms should activate, however, I cannot find a code reference for this. The architect is saying the stoves are residential so only residential requirements apply.

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Is there a standard spacing for private fire hydrants?

No applicable code for this project, but looking for guidance in what would be common under NFPA 24, NFPA 1 / 101, and/or the IBC. Thanks in advance.

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A building owner has an existing mixed-use building which has approximately 6,000 sqft of storage space (S-1 Occupancy) and offices (larger than 6,000 sqft). The offices and storage appear to have a rated separation (steel studs, 2x gypsum on at least one side of the wall) in-between them.

The owner is looking to store new product in the warehouse, but would like for it to be sprinkler protected. This building, if new, would be under the 2015 International Building Code. 

As the building currently stands, it is a code-compliant mixed-use separated, non-sprinklered occupancy. 

Can the owner voluntarily provide a sprinkler system above code, but only for the warehouse portion?

If so, does anything with the fire barrier between the warehouse and office need to change?

As this is only a voluntary improvement to the property and life safety systems, I could see it being an alternative design method and seek approval from the AHJ under IBC Section 104.11 as a partially-protected building - I just wasn't sure if it even needed to come to that. Would be interested in other opinions, thank you in advance!

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We are working on an 8-unit, 4-story apartment building in the City of Chicago. It's an NFPA 13R system, with two units on each floor level. The entire building (all floor levels combined) is about 14,000 sqft.

Are floor-level control valves required?

Under NFPA 13R there doesn't appear to be a requirement for floor-level control valves like there is in an NFPA 13 system (NFPA 13-2016 8.2.4.3). Even still, in NFPA 13 still allows a single control valve and flow switch when the entire building is less than the system limits of 8.2.1 (52,000 sqft for a Light Hazard system). 

Chicago has a Chicago Fire Prevention Code that requires "each floor and level of a building" with a separate control valve (15-16-400), but this and several other sections within the Fire Prevention Code apply only to NFPA 13 systems, not 13R systems.

Might be a shot in the dark but was curious if anyone has ran into this before. Thanks in advance.

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An existing F1 occupancy with no high-piled storage is getting an addition, resulting in the total square footage for the entire F-1 area (all open) being over 50,000 ft sq, thus requiring smoke and heat vents per the 2012 IBC and IFC.

The question was asked if smoke and heat vents can just be added to the new addition and install a draft curtain to separate the existing from new, so smoke and heat vents will not be required in the existing space.

My question is, would a draft curtain be sufficient for creating a divided area in this regard?

There is no true definition of a divided area in either the building or fire codes. I wouldn’t think it would necessarily need to have a fire barrier or partition. I would assume a properly sized trap curtain would be sufficient?

Does anybody have any experience with this unique type of issue, or have any comments or suggestions?

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I recently investigated some fire doors at one of our older buildings and saw they have an FM Approved label on them instead of a common UL Listing. I'm used to the UL listing label which clearly states the fire rating in minutes or hours. The FM label I saw gives some outdated ASTM standards and references a CABO report but doesn't clearly state the fire rating.

Does anyone have experience with the FM Approved fire door labels?

Based on my research, FM stopped approving fire doors a while ago. Thanks in advance.

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Design criteria for storage occupancies have changed substantially over the years from pipe schedules to the NFPA 231's to NFPA 13, 2016. Everyone talks about "grandfathering" old system designs, but no one can ever point out any specific codes, standards, or formal documents that give any solid guidance on this matter.

In our state, this situation varies by jurisdiction, but the opinions are all over the place and usually wind up at the classic "ask the AHJ". This is very time consuming and often times not very helpful since most of them enforce the newest NFPA editions when unless you can provide as-built documentation which we can't do 95% of the time for old buildings. We all know that it depends on the situation, but there has to be some level of formalized consistency out there to start with.

As a NICET certified Fire sprinkler designer, I have my own professional opinions on the matter based on my understanding of the intent of grandfathering and my own project experiences.

​That said, can anyone point me to specific codes, standards, or formal documents that I can utilize to create a formalized opinion that can be submitted to local AHJ's for a more "standardized" understanding?

I'm pretty well versed in NFPA 13 so I'm really looking for IBC, NFPA 101, NFPA 1 references, but all feedback is appreciated.

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Are isolation valves allowed to be installed after dry valve for a standpipe system?

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We're determining fire sprinkler hazard classification for a cannabis grow facility. It is under International Fire Code occupancy F-1 and I would lean to Ordinary Hazard Group II as an Agricultural facility. However, I'm concerned with 23' high racks with three level of ABS plastic pans containing the plants in the flower rooms.

Would this are be considered storage and more specifically rack storage exceeding the OH II classification?

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Hello Fire Pro People! I am retrofitting an existing stand alone fire pump room.

The existing design had both an electric fire pump and diesel fire pump for back up. We are getting rid of the diesel, and going with just one electric fire pump. The existing building has a sprinkler system, fed from the piping in the Fire Pump room. We would like to get rid of sprinklers. Are they required by code? And can anyone tell me what classification this building is by IBC standards? I read through them all, and I didn't feel that the Fire Pump building fit into any of the categories. Thanks for any love you can send my way!

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I haven't had any experience doing site calculations before, but I'm curious how it works from a practical standpoint. Fire Flow is required by the International Fire Code here locally, and there's guidance (albeit not formally adopted) in Appendix B of the IFC for a total demand. Additionally, there's hydrant spacing requirements for any particular building, and guidance on how far the hydrants can be from a building.

In order to determine how the hydrants are fed (dead-end vs. looped and size of pipe), are there specific flow and pressure amounts that each hydrant has to be calculated at?

Is it similar to a standpipe calculations where each hydrant has to have a specific flow?

I'm not performing the design work myself, but I'm just curious how that is typically done and pipe size determined.

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Does an elevator require sprinkler protection if the building is not required to have sprinklers? 

We had an electric traction unit with rated belts in a non-combustible shaft that just changed to a hydraulic elevator in a non-combustible shaft. Would ASME A17.1 or the elevator material itself mandate sprinkler protection? This project is under 2018 IBC and 2018 IFC. Thanks in advance.

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Would a mechanical penthouse be considered a “story” in terms of the 30-ft. standpipe threshold?

If the mechanical penthouse is not occupied, does it still apply for the 30-ft limit? Although that would be logical, I can’t the word “occupied” used anywhere except related to high-rise.  I suppose a mechanical penthouse could be considered a mezzanine, I see some commentary that a mezzanine should be no more than 1/3 of the related floor.

The project has three floors where the top classroom floor is 28 feet above fire department access.  But, there’s a mechanical level above that is much higher. It’s accessible, is it a “story” in terms of standpipe?  It would seem logical that this penthouse doesn’t count.  But I’m not 100% sure code backs me up on this.

Of course the thing that bites us, is whether or not the standpipe is manual or automatic – we have fond this to be totally up to the discretion (sometimes whim), of the AHJ.  Sometimes based on good reasoning, sometimes it has causes the unnecessary (IMHO) requirement for a fire pump.

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Have a project that is a large ESFR warehouse with many storage bays and many zoned systems. About every 150 to 200 feet is a 1-1/2 inch hose valve that is tied to the overhead system with 1-inch pipe drops.

What is the purpose for these? Where is the code basis?

We may be modifying some of these areas with new work and I want to be sure we're upkeeping code, but I'm not familiar with the purpose of these hose valves. Thanks in advance.

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