sprinklernotes
Standpipes – Fire Hose Valve Connections on Roofs with Stair Access
“We have two stairs that can be used to access the roof. The other standpipe risers in the building do not penetrate to the roof level. On a roof with a slope less than 4:12, do the standpipes that do not have access to the roof need to extend to the roof level?” We have reviewed the 2019 edition of NFPA 14 and the 2015 IBC as the applicable code and standard. Our informal interpretation is all standpipe risers do not have to penetrate to the roof level. The fire hose valve connections provided for a stairway with access to a roof meet the intent of the standards. If the stairwells have roof access, both the IBC and NFPA 14 allow us to locate the connections at the highest landing in stairwells with roof access. The IBC states this in section 905.4 (5), and the text is very similar to NFPA 14 section 7.3.2.7. The understanding with this requirement is that the fire department will attach to the connection in the stairwell at the highest landing and carry the hose to the roof through the door or roof hatch to fight the fire. One of the reasons the standards are written this way is to avoid having to unnecessarily penetrate the roof membrane. If the roof were on fire, the fire department would not stand on the burning roof to connect to the connection risking injury or death. Now, if the stairwells did not have roof access, then NFPA section 7.3.2.9 would apply and require the connections to be provided on the roof. Regarding the question on both stairwells supplying connections to serve the roof, section 7.3.2.7 of NFPA 14 states, “Hose connections shall be provided at the highest landing of stairways with stairway access to a roof.” The intent of the standard is to provide connections for use on the roof at all stairways with roof access. The confusion for supplying only one stairwell having roof access with hose connections comes from section 7.3.2.9 of NFPA 14. In closing, only one fire hose connection is required at the highest landing with all stairs that have roof access.
