Temporary Sprinkler Protection in a Hospital?

1/30/2026

We have encountered a situation not fully addressed before in our jurisdiction.

Scenario: Existing fully sprinklered hospital having renovation work done in multiple areas and floors. Some phases of work take months, others take 6+ months to complete. After ICRA walls (Infection Control Risk Assessment / temporary walls to isolate construction areas) are installed, the GC will remove the existing ceilings and commence with architectural demolition.

At that time, we (sprinkler contractor) came in and removed the existing pendent sprinklers and replaced them with upright heads on short 3" sprigs (without regard to obstructions or distance down from structure). This is due to existing MEP trades yet to perform their scope of work, ie: HVAC, Plumbing demo, then new install.

NFPA 241 indicates that the temporary upright sprinklers need to be installed with regards to the obstructions per NFPA 13.

At this phase of construction, that would necessitate installing the upright sprinklers for ductwork that is scheduled to be demolished in a few weeks along with other MEP trades.

By following the sprinkler obstruction rules of NFPA 13, the net effect is that we would constantly be relocating the temporary protection at the same time each trade completes a portion of their work. This issue has just arisen recently based upon an AHCA site visit (Agency for Health Care Administration). Prior installations of the uprights without obstruction spacing rules has not been called out.

How has this issue of temporary sprinkler protection for buildings under renovation been delt with by others?

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11 Comments

Chad

1/30/2026 08:11:29 am

Depends regarding the severity obstructions IMO, need to look at it holistically. But if its a serious concern make them comply 100%.

Or offer a paid 24/7 fire watch as a compromise to that as the "reasonable degree of safety". I have have that as a stop gap in healthcare projects that cannot get ideal or consistent coverage throughout.

1/30/2026 08:27:20 am

NFPA 241, 2022 Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations §4.3.2.3 states “Systems temporarily placed in service during construction shall not be required to comply with NFPA standards.” The annex provides additional guidance in A.4.3.2.3 by saying “Whereas the permanent fire protection systems are required to meet NFPA standards, systems placed in service temporarily during construction are subject to different and varying conditions than those used in full-scale fire tests to verify the installation criteria of sprinkler systems. Conditions that differentiate the permanent protection from the temporary protection include, but are not limited to, the lack of finished ceilings, lack of finished walls, protective sprinkler caps being in place, obstructions present during construction, exposed wood construction, fuel loading of construction materials, and lack of heat.”

Joe M

1/30/2026 08:41:36 am

Based on NFPA 241, 2022 edition, what does the Fire Protection program require?

See section 4.3.2.3 for sprinkler protection that are temporarily in service. which sound like you case. they do not require to comply with NFPA 13

also if you comply with section 4.3.2.4, based on the FPP I would say you are complying with NFPA 241.

Brett

1/30/2026 08:58:25 am

They mentioned AHCA so this must be in Florida (OP correct me if I'm wrong). Florida uses the 2019 edition of NFPA 241 right now. That said, there's no harm in showing the AHCA officials this section in the 2022 edition.

1/30/2026 10:29:57 am

Correct south Florida

Anthony

1/30/2026 08:43:15 am

I think this is an instant where something is better than nothing. Get a conversation with the AHJ started. Sprinklers everywhere with some obstruction is vastly better than no sprinkler. I'd also argue temporary fire detection (alarms) would be a positive part of the plan. Probably heat detectors as many construction activates will produce dust.

Todd E Wyatt

1/30/2026 08:49:42 am

Some AHJs will permit a Construction Barrier with a 2-Hr fire-resistance rating (FRR) to separate Construction Areas that do not meet the requirements (NFPA 101 LSC-2012 + IBC) for the adjacent occupied Existing Health Care (LSC) and Group I-2 (IBC).

Jerry Clark

1/30/2026 09:30:29 am

Between NK's and Anthony's comments, you have a viable path of enforcement. Yes, we need to ensure the highest degree of safety during major renovations or reconstruction. At the same time, we must also advocate for the customer to ensure the requirements we impose on the project are not onerous or unnecessarily costly.

NFPA 241 acknowledges that temporary fire protection systems installed during construction or renovation may not always meet all provisions of NFPA 13, provided the alternative measures effectively maintain a reasonable level of safety. In this case, maintaining functional—though perhaps partially obstructed—sprinkler coverage offers meaningful protection compared to having no system in service.

The key is to verify that temporary impairments or deviations are properly documented, approved, and managed through the project’s fire safety plan. This approach supports both our duty to protect life and property and our responsibility to apply code provisions with appropriate flexibility in the interest of the customer and overall project success

Dan Wilder

1/30/2026 12:13:15 pm

So, I recently went through this for a hospital complex....and it was a fight on several fronts.

The Hospital Life Safety group wanted protection but did not specify how and deferred to the inspector. The inspector wrote up "provide protection" but did not reference any Fire Code or NFPA sections to comply with (because there is none) and as 241 does not require protection, we pushed back and said that fire watch covered it and we excluded fire watch and left it to the GC.

Our biggest issues were that once demo started, we needed protection but do to the absolute nightmare of trade installation over the years, to provide protection and comply with obstruction rules the average sq ft per sprinkler was in the 40'ish range. Then because of demo activities and eventual install for fire sprinkler and other trade work in both day and night shifts, they wanted the sprinkler system down at those times to avoid potential impact damage and water discharge. This would also require go backs to adjust protection for new or removed obstructions and we had no way to figure out what that would cost.

We proposed providing sprinkler protection within a 15' radius of any exit to the suite (stairs, elevator, horizontal exits) and along clear paths that the GC would designate for egress....denied.

We ended up placing sprinklers roughly 8' on center throughout and additional sprinkler below larger single or combined obstructions and then removed all of it at the end.

The fire alarm guys had it rough as well, having to add heats every 10-15 ft, several additional strobes, all while dealing with a lot of FA cabling not in conduit or raceways and either laid on what would be the demo'd ceiling or attached to ATR from other trades that was demo'd.

0 out of 10, would not recommend without a complete life safety document detailing means and methods that has been approved. Too many Recommended or Should and not enough Shall.

1/30/2026 01:44:52 pm

NFPA 241 (2022) section 4.2.2.3 state in part (as earlier comments attest) that "systems temporarily placed in service shall not be required to comply with NFPA standards". then the very next section 4.3.2.4 (1) (a) (b) (c)seem to provide guidelines for the temporary system. I am Somewhat confused between these 2 sections

Dan Wilder link

1/30/2026 04:25:44 pm

The start of this section 4.3.2.1 states IF an automatic sprinkler protection is provided, it shall be placed in service temporarily in accordance with 4.3.2.2 - 4.3.2.9.

The FPP should provide guidance as to sprinkler placement but that placement does not have to follow NFPA 13 guidelines if deemed alternatives are acceptable so those a-c sections may not follow NFPA 13 guidelines like ignoring certain obstructions.

Temporary Sprinkler Protection in a Hospital?

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