Hazard Classification for Golf Cart Storage Area?

10/11/2022

We're being asked to design a fire sprinkler system to protect a golf cart storage area.

We're debating whether the protection should be Ordinary Group I or Ordinary Group II hazard.

NFPA 13 (2019) calls both auto parking & showrooms a Group I hazard, and the 2022 edition continues to call showrooms a Group I, but calls auto parking garages a Group II.

What do you all think?

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12 Comments

Dan Wilder

10/11/2022 07:49:27 am

Are they just parking them there or is there active charging in the area?

Per the letter of NFPA (not sure what edition you need to follow), use that - OH1 or OH2 depending...

If there is active charging, I would recommend a discussion with the FD for clarity prior to design (so there are no surprises) as they may want a different design approach.

I don't want to go super heavy on this, however we had a charging tent with solar panels on top catch and burn destroying 90+ carts within the last month here (fairly confident unsprinklered but cannot confirm).

Tony

10/11/2022 08:09:38 am

Done several and was able to use OH1. For the most part it was strictly storage.

RayJ

10/11/2022 08:18:41 am

Kinda late to the show, but I believe there would be a difference in classifications as to either electric carts or gas carts. The person with the question doesn't address this issue.

Glenn Berger

10/11/2022 08:19:26 am

Concur with Dan's comments. The FP community has learned a lot about battery-operated vehicles in recent years.

The use of design criteria for automotive display/storage may not be applicable to this application.

Jesse

10/11/2022 08:31:26 am

Are these gasoline or electric golf carts? If electric, are they being charged in the space?

I'd consult the AJ and see what they'd like to see.

Franck

10/11/2022 08:35:28 am

The issue might be related to the presence of batteries + charging stations (if Electric Vehicles) and the content of plastic (could be quite significant) which could result in a quick fire spread.

Depending on the number of carts and how they are parked, I would go to OH gr 2.
Especially if it presents an exposure to other buildings/structures.

Franck

10/11/2022 08:40:15 am

with electric vehicle (EV) and significant amount of plastic, I would even go to EH gr 1
For a small area, if the water supply is sufficient, the extra cost is not huge but would provide more flexibility depending on future requirements for EV.

Franck

10/11/2022 08:42:48 am

There are already discussions to move parking structures to EH gr 1 in the next future

Franck

10/11/2022 08:46:42 am

For a showroom, the hazard is different: cars are not parked close together and they normally have not tanks full of gasoline. The expected fire load and fire spread is not the same.

Brian Cockburn

10/11/2022 04:14:04 pm

Normally this would be OH1 but as others have said, recent experience suggests it might be better to use OH2.

How big is the space? If the floor area isn't too big then there wouldn't be much difference and you might as well go with OH2. You can use 8.0k sprinklers if the water pressure is low.

Alex

10/12/2022 10:35:45 am

Hi,

Sadly late to the game here!

Like others mentioned, we would want to understand if the carts are gas or electric. Either way, I believe you fall under OH1. If you have the water supply, its worth going OH2.

Alex

Carlos E. Jara

10/13/2022 10:59:46 am

Check which edition of NFPA #13, are the local AHJ, have adapted.

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Hazard Classification for Golf Cart Storage Area?

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