Ok just to follow up with the outcome. Had our meeting with the client, explained access issues and Code requirement of "Approved access".
Our 2nd foam room will be at grade level in one of two decent locations. They may even push Process guys out of the way for this FP system. That's a huge thing in the industrial world. A win for fire protection this early in the day has me cautious about the rest of the day. ;) Thanks guys for all the shared input and insight. Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Group Lead CH2MHILL Lockwood Greene 1500 International Drive Spartanburg, SC 29304-0491 Direct - 864.599.4102 Fax - 864.599.8439 CH2MHILL Extension 74102 [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mark A. Sornsin, P.E. Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 9:44 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Location of foam system valve room on 2nd floor - permitted? Just to reiterate Scott's point: Maintenance is huge and his examples are extremely valid. We were once painted into a corner on our first foam job many years ago. The foam tanks were put on a mezzanine above the risers. But we ensured there was plenty of room on the mezzanine for bladder removal, and double doors on the exterior wall of the mezzanine for better access to remove/replace bladders or tanks (via fork lift). Not ideal, but serviceable. (BTW - my favorite example of lack of maintenance foresight is a foam job (by others) which included a vertical bladder tank located below a second level - with about 2 ft. of clearance above the tank. When the bladder needs replacement, the entire tank will have to be disconnected and removed from the building. There may also be some other piping that needs removal to allow this to happen. Of course, this is a non-issue if you simply blow-off maintenance...). Mark A. Sornsin, P.E. | Karges-Faulconbridge, Inc. | Fire Protection Engineer | Fargo, ND | direct: 701.552.9905 | mobile: 701.371.5759 | http://www.kfiengineers.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Location of foam system valve room on 2nd floor - permitted? I have two possible Aces up my sleeve. IFC 2009 509.2: Equipment Access. Approved access shall be provided and maintained for all fire protection equipment to permit immediate safe operation and maintenance of such equipment. This site has a dedicated fire service who act as first response to all the client facilities who occupy this industrial park. They are the AHJ for the park. They will be contacted to get their input. There is also the State Fire Marshal's office that also has input. Second is the fact that the proposed location provides no way to bring (6) 4" lines into the building. So I've got some ammo to shoot down this concept. Craig L. Prahl, CET Fire Protection Group Lead CH2MHILL Lockwood Greene 1500 International Drive Spartanburg, SC 29304-0491 Direct - 864.599.4102 Fax - 864.599.8439 CH2MHILL Extension 74102 [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Scott A Futrell Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 8:21 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Location of foam system valve room on 2nd floor - permitted? No code restrictions, but certainly foam systems concerns. 55 gallon drums to second floor with stairs? Bladder tanks? Lay 'em down to replace bladder that gets torn. Craig, am I missing something? If not, I've seen this before and it gets ugly real fast. I've worked on an existing hanger that they buried the big tanks in a corner, tore the bladder and have to cut the roof open to lift them out, to lay it down, to replace it. Scott Futrell _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/listinfo.cgi/sprinklerforum-firesprinkler.org
