Most of the time it's best to go around just for the simple reason being that these rooms can get very crowded overhead with cable trays, conduit banks and the like. No point fighting for space for a main if you can avoid it.
Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Specialist 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.ch2m.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bobby Gillett Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:01 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? We sprinkle them all the time, they allow us to enter to protect the room but not pass through. My experience in various states all had the same results. Now it's general practice here to go around them with all piping and only enter to protect the room. Our field men will even all us on it if we missed it or the room was labeled as storage and came up later to be an electrical room, because they have had to change it in the past. Bobby Gillett Sr. Project Manager Key Fire Protection, Inc. (731) 424-0130 office (731) 424-9285 fax (731) 267-4853 cell [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:54 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? There is no wording for such a requirement. Only exception in the NEC is for Vaults but if you read the handbook commentary you'll see that sprinkler piping is exempt from that requirement there as well. If you read section 110.26(F)1.C of the NEC you you'll get a bunch of circular wording but the basic intent is spelled out. The majority of the electrical inspectors are making things up as they go based on old wives tales and something someone else did decades ago because he could, not because it was a code requirement. Make them show you the text reference. Electrical equipment rooms, telecom rooms, computer rooms, etc are no different than any other room in the building when it comes to requiring sprinklers. There are some exceptions to the requirement in NFPA 13 with parallel wording in some building codes but to not sprinkler the room requires other construction and operation measures to be adhered to in order to be compliant. In a lot of commercial and residential bldgs. the electrical room could be the room where the greatest chance for fire is present. Yet it is the one room that is most often left unprotected due to someone's boogie-man fears of water and electricity. Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Specialist 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.ch2m.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bobby Gillett Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? In NFPA 70, somewhere. Every electrical inspector I have had will let us enter a room but not exit, with main, branch line, etc. (any piping). I'll try to put my finger on it. Bobby Gillett Sr. Project Manager Key Fire Protection, Inc. (731) 424-0130 office (731) 424-9285 fax (731) 267-4853 cell [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Fletcher, Ron Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:30 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? Where does it say "not exit electrical rooms"? I know about the restricted space limitations and the required clearances. Ron Fletcher Aero Automatic Phoenix -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bobby Gillett Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:25 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? I think what is flagging you is the fact the electrical code causes us to enter and not exit electrical rooms and has restrictions on placement of pipe. You might check with the electrical inspector, or whoever would have that jurisdiction ,and see if it applies to the telecomm room as well. Bobby Gillett Sr. Project Manager Key Fire Protection, Inc. (731) 424-0130 office (731) 424-9285 fax (731) 267-4853 cell [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brown, Mike Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 8:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? Also, I forgot to mention the telecomm room has no ceiling. Mike Brown Project Designer Sunland Fire Protection 1218 Elon Place High Point, NC 27263 Ph. 336.886.7027 Ext. 140 Fax: 336.886.7024 WWW.SUNLANDFIRE.COM -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? Nothing prevents you from running it above the room unless there's some military spec saying you can't. NFPA doesn't prevent it. Are you providing a sprinkler in the room? Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Specialist 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.ch2m.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brown, Mike Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:10 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Water Filled Pipe in Telecomm Room? I working on a design for an existing military barrack... and the FPE is directing us to run our main through a telecomm room? I am trying to find something saying that I can or can't do this? Any thoughts? Thanks in advance. Mike Brown Project Designer Sunland Fire Protection 1218 Elon Place High Point, NC 27263 Ph. 336.886.7027 Ext. 140 Fax: 336.886.7024 WWW.SUNLANDFIRE.COM <http://WWW.SUNLANDFIRE.COM> _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.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)
