Excessive fire requirement or not????

[Hoagie]

I am about to begin preparing improvement drawings for an 80 lot subdivision. A condition-of-approval for the subdivision calls for each of the homes to be sprinklered.

I have spoken to the fire official about a pre-plumbed unit called Risi-Riser; I've sent him specifications for the unit and he has accepted it. However, he has come back to me asking that I add additional fire lines behind some of the homes in various locations within the subdivision; this will require me to spec about 5 seperate private fire lines and hydrants/standpipes. I am a little bewildered at this request since we are sprinkling all the homes. I don't think the extra firelines are necessary, nor does my client.

What type of changes to the architecture (on the backsides of the homes) can be made to assuage the fire official, if any? What other grounds/arguments can I make to avoid specifying the additional fire systems?

Thanks,

H.

 

[stookeyfpe]

The requirement is excessive, especially given the success of residential sprinklers in single family and multi family homes. The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition publishes on their website trade-ups that may be considered when communities are sprinklered. You can download these at:

http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/hfsc.html

You may also want to download the fire experience report of Scottsdale AZ from the indicated website. Scottsdale has over 40,000 homes protected with NFPA 13D systems. They have some impressive lost history. I've glanced at the report and I think they also detail trade-ups that are allowed when the dwellings are sprinklered.

More importantly is the efficacy of automatic sprinkler systems. NFPA has released a report titled U.S. Experience with Sprinklers and Other Fire Extinguishing Equipment . According to report sprinklers failed in only 6% of the fires that occurred in one and two family dwellings for the period of 1999-2002. The number one reason: the water was shutoff. This attributed to 61% of the failures. The code official requiring additional piping can reduce the reliability of the water supply systems because it will contain more valves that can be accidentally closed.

Residential sprinklers in one and two family homes has been statistically demonstrated at reducing civilian death. Citing the referenced NFPA report, for the period of 1989-1998, NFPA reports 9.4 civilian deaths/1,000 fires in all residential properties (this includes multi-family). In dwellings protected by sprinklers the rate of civilian deaths is reduced to 2.1 persons/1,000 fires, or a 78% reduction. Why should additional hydrants be required when these systems reduce the fire risk by over 75%?

I don't what part of the US you are located in but it most likely is an area where the International Fire Code is used. I would explain to the code official that the 2003 IFC gives a number of credits when buildings are sprinklered. For example, section 503.1.1 allows a 100% increase in the distance from a building to a FD access road when the building is fully sprinklered. Chapter 9 does not require a fire alarm system in a business, factory, institutional, mercantile or multi-family residential occupancies when protected in accordance with NFPA 13 or NFPA 13R. The building code offers similar concessions for interior finishes, construction reductions and exit travel distances. Therefore the developer should not be required to provide additional hydrants or water supply sources when the model fire code gives certain credits for buildings protected by autommatic sprinkler system. Again, this is based on the efficacy of the automatic sprinkler system.

Are these homes subject to restrictive convenants or other HOA type rules? If they are, an additional condition could be specified. To ensure the reliability of the sprinkler system, specify that before a home is sold (excluding the new homes), that the system must be inspected by a fire protection contractor with a minimum NICET Level 2 certification in sprinklers. This would improve the reliability of the sprinkler system because it be inspected before each home sale.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[firestop]

You may want to check the appendix B105 in the IFC it talks about fire-flow requirements as well as a reduction allowed when the building is sprinklerd. However the code official may not allow you to use this section unless the City or AHJ has adopted the appendix.

 

[Hoagie]

Stookey! Thanks for the time and attention. I appreciate the good advice and the quality of info, really. You too, firestop, thanks.

H.