I swear I must have this conversation about once a week if not more sometimes with those who have the perception of sprinkler systems as drippy, false tripping deluge systems of destruction. So any room with anything electronic in it is cause for omission of sprinklers in their eyes. When you explain the difference between a sprinkler discharging 15-20 gpm and the average being maybe 2 or 3 on the high end for an occupancy like this (so 30-60 gpm) versus 250+ gpm from a hose stream and the outcome from relying on that for your fire suppression they sometimes see the advantages of the sprinkler. They can dry out a wetted computer but you can't put it back together after it's a melted blob of plastic. False trips of heads is like 1 in 6 million. If they are concerned with tampering, install institutional style in those areas. But if they think they can leave them out they need to prove in the applicable codes where it says they can. They also need to comprehend that smoke detectors are not fire Protection, they are just Detection. That's another misconception.
One other thing is #4 in the list below. If you've ever been in a school any room or space is a candidate for doubling as a storage closet. I've even seen the riser rooms loaded with junk to the point you couldn't get to the riser. Also be sure they totally understand #3. Often they'll say they've got 2hr walls but fail to complete the envelope with a 2hr ceiling/floor system including sealing all openings in and out with a U.L. approved method and material equal to the rating of the wall/floor/ceiling, plus they'll leave out the fire dampers in the ductwork. What they fail to understand is like I said above, if there is a short in a piece of equipment which would start a fire, smoke detectors won't put it out, they'll call the FD and notify someone that something is happening. There is a time delay which can result in greater damage and loss and may hamper evacuation depending on the severity of the situation. Then there's the whole blob and hose issue. In a worst case if a sprinkler did leak and dripped into a computer and shorted it out, a breaker should trip and that's the end of the story. If the same short happens and it escalates into something big enough to cause a head to open, it does so automatically, and while the head is working to extinguish/control the fire the FD is on the way. Take a shop vac or squeegee and clean up the water, dry things out and you're back in business the next day. With scenario #1, you're not going to be back in business any time soon. You're going to be looking at those blobs and playing the "I wonder what that was" game. In order to omit sprinklers from electrical rooms. Note that ALL the requirements must be met. NFPA 13, 2007, 8.15.10 Electrical Equipment 8.15.10.1 Unless the requirements of 8.15.3 are met, sprinkler protection shall be required in electrical rooms. 8.15.10.3 Sprinklers shall not be required in electrical equipment rooms where all of the following conditions are met: (1) the room is dedicated to electrical equipment only. (2) Only dry-type electrical equipment is used. (3) Equipment is installed in a 2-hour fire-rated enclosure including protection for penetrations. (2-hour rating for walls, doors, ceilings, fire dampers in ceiling, wall penetrations, etc) (4) No combustible storage is permitted to be stored in the room Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Group Mechanical Department CH2MHILL Lockwood Greene 1500 International Drive PO Box 491, Spartanburg, SC 29304-0491 Direct - 864.599.4102 Fax - 864.599.8439 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.lg.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Harris Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 8:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Telecom & Data Rooms I'm being told by an Architect we are doing a school with that I need to remove any heads from the Telecom & Data rooms and that I'm not allowed to run any pipe above those ceilings either. He is basing it on the provisions for eliminating heads in and Electrical room with a 2 hour fire wall, am I missing something? I am not aware of Telecom & Data rooms falling into the same category as an Electrical room. I have approved plans from the AHJ with the heads shown in those rooms and omitted from the Electrical rooms. Any thoughts? _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
