Sprinkler Protection Required for Mamava?

4/11/2019

Does anyone have experience with a mamava (mobile lactation room/pod) being placed in a commercial business occupancy?

The square footage is approximately 50 sqft. It is composed of only Class A rated materials (flame spread index).

From a practical perspective it does not make sense to me to drop a sprinkler in. However, I'm hard-pressed finding an exemption from code (NFPA 13 or 101) to not sprinkler the space since it's inhabitable and not a bathroom or closet (which I know they are exceptions for sprinklering based on size).

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11 Comments

Kelly

4/11/2019 10:20:18 am

I would be interested to see what others think about this too. I have seen these in airports and convention centers but have not had to deal with it in a design yet.

Since it is a moveable fixture, not unlike a conference table or something similar, could that be why they don't have sprinkler drops?

Don Pierce

4/11/2019 11:10:22 am

The NFPA Journal published an article in September of 2018 that provided guidance for how I treat all "privacy pods." The title, "Navigating the sprinkler requirements for office pods," by Brian O'Conner.

JOE

4/11/2019 11:19:28 am

Here's a link to that article: https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/NFPA-Journal/2018/September-October-2018/In-Compliance/NFPA-13

Maggie

4/11/2019 11:52:21 am

I think, since it is not fixed, then it should be treated like a movable object therefore no sprinkler head.

Sean

4/11/2019 12:25:44 pm

Don't assume it's movable. The question does say room.

Sue

4/11/2019 12:55:28 pm

The building code requires anything that weights more than 400 lbs to be anchored. It also requires anything over 5'9" be secured from seismic movement. So we (at least in earthquake country) would put a fire sprinkler in because it is now a fixed room.

Sean

4/11/2019 12:27:39 pm

Bathrooms are only exempt within some dwelling units. If they build out a room for it I would require a fire sprinkler head inside it.

If its more like a premade phone booth/picture booth then I would put it as furniture and exempt

WES

4/11/2019 12:33:26 pm

It seems as though the potentially portable/moveable feature could make it similar to furniture and the limited-combustible nature of the outside helps.

In my opinion it would be a good conversation to have with the AHJ.

What type of delay would the sprinkler system above have if the interior contents burned? Is that delay and larger growth acceptable for the sprinkler system compared to other nearby contents?

I suspect an attached fire extinguisher and/or smoke detector within would go a long way towards early detection and manual intervention. Not a true substitute for automatic sprinkler protection of course, but it could be an alternative that all parties could be on board with and potentially less costly.

Evan

4/11/2019 12:39:54 pm

This intrigued me so I went and looked at one of these units at the airport today. It looks like the only services connected to the unit is a single 120v circuit. This powers 6 can lights, a quad power receptacle, and a small exhaust fan. No fire protection and no fire alarm. Inside the unit the 'ceiling' is partially open to the area above. There is an approximate 2'x6' grid that exposes the interior to the ceiling above. My thought is that possibly because of the size of the solid ceiling compared to the grid ceiling it could be viewed as less than 48" in width and therefore is not an obstruction to sprinkler flow?

Sue

4/11/2019 12:44:28 pm

As the AHJ our ordinance requires all "rooms" in a fully sprinklered building to have a fire sprinkler in it. We have them in small walk in freezers and refrigerators. We have modified our requirements to include bathrooms, closets, etc to have fire sprinklers.

Similarly if you have a shipping container being used as an office in a fully sprinklered warehouse, do you add fire sprinklers to the shipping container? We would require it because it is now a room inside the building.

However, after having said all of this, I have not seen a "pod" type room that is dropped into the building so for me I would need a lot more information.

Dean Melanson

4/12/2019 12:09:33 pm

Since it is in a commercial occupancy, occupied, not furniture, and if it has a ceiling that would obstruct sprinkler spray into the space it would be required by code to be protected.
The easiest way to provide protection and not have to have a fixed attached sprinkler pipe or drop is to have no ceiling in the space.
This is a long standing recognized practice often use for kiosks in a mall.

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