I dissent a bit on the hazard and sprinkler design being a building code issue. We protect the hazard, period. Yes, whether it's a B or an M is considered but it certainly is not the end of the consideration. How about a grocery store with HPS around the perimeter or a single aisle? Ever seen a 12' high aisle with plastics (paper plates) and encapsulated class III (toilet paper and paper towels in bulk) in a grocery. We don't ignore that. We do ignore minor quantities of things including flammable liquids but I can't tell you I have a solid code to say how much we can ignore. When the building code says it's an H then yes we jump.
But I'd contend whether it's storage or a Sam's we should be treating the vegetable oil the same as far as sprinkler design. A single pallet in either case we can probably ignore. 10 pallets, both should be the same sprinkler design. True the building code doesn't treat them the same but that doesn't mean anything to us again IMHO. How about a small rack of tires in a repair garage? We go to the tire section for storage and the occupancy is an F or H. How about a museum with paintings vs. a children's or science museum? Both A's one LH and the other OH. And as far as out guessing future occupancies I'm just not that good. All the salons I've been in are LH IMHO. In some cases the existing system and which hazard the base is may not make a difference when changing. If the base is BUP shell and they are dropping a new ceiling it can make one hell of a cost difference to maintain OH when LH is required. Another case is when you come to a new wall. If the OH spacing is 10'x12' and the new wall is 7.5' from a wall move on in LH. If you cut in a new head to maintain the 5' or 6' to a wall you might have just added an extra head to the calcs on a BL. Chris Cahill, P.E. Fire Protection Engineer Sentry Fire Protection, Inc. 763-658-4483 763-658-4921 fax Email: [email protected] Mail: P.O. Box 69 Waverly, MN 55390 Location: 4439 Hwy 12 SW Waverly, MN 55390 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 3:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Occupancy If this is a strip shopping center it's in the owner's best interest to treat the entire shell as Mercantile and be done with it. That way any retail or service type business can occupy the space. If you try to dissect the categories of the occupants as to whether they may actually be a "B" or "M" occupancy it will only create problems down the road when the "B"/LH beauty shop moves out and the "M"/OH Granny's Knick-Knacks and Haberdashery goes into the space. And yes, this is a Building Code issue, not an NFPA 13 issue. The NFPA part is secondary to the BC issue. But if the system is existing, leave it alone. But personally, shouldn't most beauty salons be considered an "H" occupancy and protected with foam-water deluge systems, I mean look at the chemical list, the smells make me think there are some serious toxics involved.............. ;) 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 Bob Caputo Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 3:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Occupancy In my opinion, the question isn't directly an NFPA 13 issue but rather Building and Fire Code issues in terms of occupancy and allowable amounts of chemical or hazardous materials within a control area. Normally, the code exempts (to a degree) mercantile occupancies where products containing flammables, combustibles or hazardous materials (irritants, toxics, carcinogens, etc) are stored in the same containers they are sold in. That's why Costco, Sams, BJ's and similar can store more vegetable oils in quantity than a manufacturing or storage use building could have in storage of a product with the same flash point. That said, at some point in the process of analysis someone has to decide what the corresponding NFPA 13 occupancy use group or commodity and storage arrangement is, so sprinkler design criteria can be established... I suggest this is a job for a consultant or an engineer of record - not the contractor. (again - just stating my opinion) Bob Caputo, CFPS, CET 657 Cantara Lane - Vista, CA 92081 Fire & Life Safety America Company 3017 Vernon Rd - Richmond, VA 23228 Office: (804) 222-1381 Cell: (804) 263-1577 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Pepin Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 8:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Occupancy I am working on a project that doesn't have an Eng of Record. The building contains large individual shell spaces. The original sprinkler system was designed for a mercantile occupancy. A tenant has purchased a couple of spaces and is opening a beauty/hair salon. I don't see the fuel load as a normal mercantile occupancy would have. Light or ord. 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