I have been following this thread for several days now and while in general terms I believe that Craig is correct, in the specific instance Rod is describing I believe he is also correct.
3.2.2* Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). An organization, office, or individual responsible for enforcing the requirements of a code or standard, or for approving equipment, materials, an installation, or a procedure. If the building Code and by association the Fire Code and adopted standards, did not require protection for the conveyor belts in the first place, and the installation is only to satisfy the insurance underwriter, that has their own standards, they are the AHJ. Yes we could go on that same old song, "If you do it, it has to be to Code or Standard" and I would argue that this is one instance of the only one that cares is the underwriter, and he is the one covering the risk. It's not a perfect world, and in theory Craig is correct, and in practical terms rod is correct. In financial terms only a fire will tell. Thom McMahon, SET Firetech, Inc. 2560 Copper Ridge Dr P.O. Box 882136 Steamboat Springs, CO 80488 Tel: 970-879-7952 Fax: 970-879-7926 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 6:41 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Sprinkler protection below conveyors in pits There seems to be a common misconception concerning the official status of FM guidelines. NFPA is an adopted Standard which in most if not all jurisdictions is part of the legally adopted building code. When adopted as part of the code it is part of the law of that state or local jurisdiction. Any code official who's worth anything will tell you that his duty is to uphold the laws of his state when it comes to building and construction. (Ok, in a perfect world, go with me on this) FM Data sheets are tremendous tools and are used by many to determine protection criteria for those special systems that the Codes do not always address. BUT, the FM data sheets are not part of the building code. They can be used as an addition or supplement to the basic NFPA Standard but they are the guidelines from an insurance entity. The FM recommendations are typically negotiable between the insurer and the owner, Code requirements are usually non-negotiable (there are variances for certain things). I don't know of any building official that will tell you to use FM in place of NFPA. An insurance underwriter would be the one to tell you if they have recommendations beyond NFPA which they would require/request. In no way am I discrediting the FM data, it is priceless but it is not the same as NFPA from a legal standpoint. Anyway, back to the main topic................. Check out the commentary in FMDS 7-11. It addresses the air flow issue. Craig L. Prahl, CET _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [email protected] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[email protected] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
