Covered Mall Fire Protection

[odelgado]

Greetings,

I have a three story covered mall with a combined standpipe system. It's in Puerto Rico so the governing codes are NFPA and UBC with the approval of the AHJ. As far as I know, the building should be sprinklered throughout, yet the unoccupied tenant spaces are not. They were left with a 4" capped provision to allow the future tenants to install their own sprinklers system with individual control valve. The lease contract requires the tenant to do so, so at 100% occupancy the building should be sprinklered throughout. Is this allowed by code, or must the owner install sprinklers in the unoccupied tenant spaces and then require the tenant to modify the layout as necessary?

Thanks for your time.

 

[cdafd]

Sounds like a question to local ahj

Sounds like they are allowing it

Should not be that way

 

[odelgado]

Do you know where in the NFPA Code can I find this information?

 

[stookeyfpe]

Sprinkler protection is required throughout the building. Every covered mall I've ever been in was constructed as a unlimited area building and under the legacy Uniform Building Code, sprinkler protection is required throughout the building.

When a tenant moves in it's their responsibility to modify the sprinkler protection based on the requirements in NFPA 13.

 

[NJ1]

This is much of a tenant vs jurisdiction period. I am Puertorican myself and never seen anything like this in the past. I think the AHJ should have required the full installation completed at once and not the way is done. If I am the AHJ I would have required at least uprights until tenant moves and relocates/cutback sprinkler heads to new ceiling elevation if required.
As far as NFPA goes it only indicates that building must be sprinkler throughout but the AHJ can always supersede the code or standard.

 

[odelgado]

Thanks everyone, I thought so myself. I will pass this information to the owner citing the UBC.

 

[stookeyfpe]

Regardless of your ethnicity NJ1, the current design in Puerto Rico violates the nation's building code.

Ethnicity never asks if the building is involved in fire. You sir are wrong in your interpretation of the model building code.

 

[NJ1]

stookeyfpe

I know what you are saying. What I meant is that being puertorican I worked in the island in the past and never seen such set up.
It amaze me that AHJ did not required what the current building codes and national codes requires.