Not that it impacts the issue of water supply adequacy, but the current Class III (and II) standpipes are now described as "for use by trained personnel" and not occupants. I commend the query, especially on behalf of an HOA, but I would contact the serving fire department about how to proceed and what obligations there are under local laws and code WRT to retroactively upgrading the water supply. Was it inadequate to begin with, or degraded over time? Under what code was it originally installed, etc., etc. More importantly, is it connected to an FDC? Most fire departments will NOT use those hoses if they access the valves, but if there's no FDC they won't use them at all. I recommend using this opportunity to partner with the FD to make the standpipe system more responder-friendly and perhaps saving $$ by re-working the FDC instead of upgrading the water supply. Steve Leyton Protection Design & Consulting
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Mark Hasenmyer Sent: Fri 10/31/2008 6:39 AM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: RE: Building fails pressure test The Class III is for occupant use; therefore adequate pressure must be present at all times. The Class I is for FD use and they bring the pressure with them (fire truck). Therefore with Class I it doesn't matter if the water supply can meet the demand; it becomes a manual standpipe. Mark Hasenmyer, PE MEH Fire Protection Engineering LLC 1311 River Oaks Drive Flower Mound, TX 75028 Office (972) 874-2662 Fax (972) 874-5591 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pete Laszcz Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 10:46 PM To: sprinklerforum@firesprinkler.org Subject: Building fails pressure test I am the HOA president for a 4 story condominium that has a Class III standpipe system installed. The building was only required to have a Class I dry standpipe installed but for reasons not clear, we have a class III system installed. Our building can only produce 25 PSI at 375GPM on the roof instead of the 100 psi per our fire department (their email below). They say that we could remove the class III and install a class I and not worry about pressure. This seems unnecessary as a lower pressure class III must be equal or superior to a Class I dry standpipe. We are in California in a city with a full fire department. Any suggestions as to how to proceed? Thanks EMAIL FROM FIRE DEPARTMENT "When the building was constructed it was required to have a "Type I Standpipe installed" according to the 2001 Uniform Fire Code (the edition used when this structure was built). The owner at the time opted to install a Class III Standpipe System, which is an approved system. According to NFPA 14, section 7.8.1 the "minimum residual pressure of 100 at the outlet of the hydraulically most remote 2 ½ inch." This pressure is reduced to 65 psi only when the outlet is 1 ½ inch which this system is not. The XXXX cannot arbitrarily circumvent the fire code in lieu of safety standards. We have researched two viable options that will remedy the situation and still be code compliant. They are as follows: 1. Provide a vertical booster pump to supplement the loss of pressure in the sprinkler/standpipe riser. 2. Install a Class I Standpipe (Dry Pipe), which is required by the 2001 CFC for this occupancy type. This action would require submittal of plans for review, change from a Class III to a Class I Standpipe, and the addition of fire department connections. " _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum For Technical Assistance, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
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