Well, not necessarily. A ships ladder is a stairway by definition yes, but is it a "required exit stair" as defined by the building code, that would require a standpipe hose connection? The provision to provide a hose valve at the uppermost landing or roof is often misinterpreted. It's only required that there be one standpipe connection at the roof and that's for testing. Many AHJ's go further and want roof connections at each standpipe because they can use the water supply in fire fights and I totally respect that, but the book says only at the stops of standpipes in stairs that serve the roof or have roof access.
So if the ships ladder is at the top of a stairwell and accesses a roof that is flat enough for people to safely move around on, then yes the intent is to put a roof outlet or manifold there. But if it's just a ships ladder that accesses the roof in ... let's say a mechanical penthouse or elevator equipment loft at the top of a building then I'd say no. The foregoing is MY opinion only and does not represent an interpretation of the NFPA 14 standard by NFPA or the technical committee. Steve Leyton Protection Design & Consulting San Diego, CA ________________________________________ From: Sprinklerforum <[email protected]> on behalf of Matthew J Willis <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, March 11, 2016 2:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Class I standpipe Stairwell VS Ship Ladder?? Technically, Yes. Ship's Ladder is a type of stairway. Not sure if this is the intent though.. R/ Matt -----Original Message----- From: Sprinklerforum [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tony Eggster Sent: Friday, March 11, 2016 3:16 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Class I standpipe Stairwell VS Ship Ladder?? Ref: NFPA 14:7.3.2 Class I standpipe (2013 ed) #5 Hose valve is required on roof or at the highest landing if you have 'stairway' access to a roof. My question is does a ship ladder qualify as a stairway? _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
