File Room

[Sprinklerfitter]

We have an existing two storey office building classified as Light Hazard, within one of the tenant spaces is a small 125sq' file storage room. Tenant space was renovated around 2009, the file room room has shelf storage of "bankers boxes" along three walls and three 4-0 high metal cabinets in the middle. It is currently protected by one fire sprinkler spaced 6-4x6-7.5 off one corner (room is basically square but has one irregular corner)
A subsequent site review of the building as requested by the owner has tagged this room as deficient per NFPA 13 2007.My question is what is the forums general consensus on these spaces and should this head be relocated per minimum sxl spacing rules.

Thanks,
Jamey

 

[cdafd]

small room rule apply?

also there is the angled or irregular rule in 2010 it is 8.6.3.2.3, not sure if it is in 07, but will look

clearance problems??? or no clearance problem?

 

[cdafd]

same in the 2007


8.6.3.2.3* The requirements of 8.6.3.2.1 shall not apply where walls are angled or irregular, and the maximum horizontal distance between a sprinkler and any point of floor area protected by that sprinkler shall not exceed 0.75 times the allowable distance permitted between sprinklers, provided the maximum perpendicular distance is not exceeded

 

[Sprinklerfitter]

No clearance problems, I think the problem lies in the room being considered by the inspector as ordinary hazard and thus small room does not apply. While technically the room may be considered as such I have a hard time grasping how this head would not cover the space.

 

[cdafd]

so does the inspector want another head??

is this a sprinkler inepsctor or fire inspector??

not a designer, but library falls under light,

 

[Sprinklerfitter]

Yes he has asked for another sprinkler, the gentleman that performed the inspection is actually a designer who was contracted by the owner to perform a design review of the entire building do to the large number of code violations noted by the Fire Inspector in other tenant spaces.

I find it hard to understand how a library or rolling file storage room can be deemed light hazard but a small storage space such as this would be considered ordinary hazard because of the storage arrangement, am I grasping at straws? Is this situation specifically addressed anywhere in NFPA?

 

[cdafd]

not sure if this helps


Note that it is not the committee’s intent to automatically equate library bookshelves with ordinary hazard occupancies or with library stacks. Typical library bookshelves of approximately 8 ft (2.4 m) in height, containing books stored vertically on end, held in place in close association with each other, with aisles wider than 30 in. (762 mm) can be considered to be light hazard occupancies. Similarly, library stack areas, which are more akin to shelf storage or record storage, as defined in NFPA 232, should be considered to be ordinary hazard occupancies.