You’re dealing with exposure protection between and one bldg. being considered 
the “Exposed Bldg” and the other the “Exposing Bldg” using a water curtain.

NFPA 13, 2013 7.8.

These are sometimes designed as open head deluge systems to create the curtain 
effect to provide separation.  Depending on the length of area you can create 
zones with separate controls to minimize the total system flow if the water 
supply is an issue.

I have had to provide these in cases where two buildings did not meet the 
required code separation distances or in your case where the fire separation 
required by code cannot be accomplished due to one bldg. being an open 
structure.

You would basically provide a line of closely spaced sprinklers along the 
garage for the distances mentioned in the IBC.  In 2012 Ed. 3104.5, Exception 
1.1 talks about wetting of  glazing of which you have none.  So 8 ft spacing 
along the length.  You can only cover two stories with one array of sprinklers.


Looks like someone will have some reading to do.


Craig L. Prahl
Fire Protection Group Lead/SME
CH2M
200 Verdae Blvd.
Greenville, SC  29607
Direct - 864.920.7540
Fax - 864.920.7129
CH2MHILL Extension  77540
[email protected]



On Nov 4, 2016, at 12:44 PM, David Williams 
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

We have an newly constructed open parking garage with a surrounding skywalk. 
The building official is now asking for fire barriers complying with Chapter 31 
between the two and the owner and architect want to deal with this using the 
exception that uses fire protection sprinklers for equivalency. It appears to 
me that the Code is asking us to protect the parking garage from the skywalk as 
the Code says to install fire protection sprinklers on the “interior” of the 
wall (which is the garage side) that fully wet the wall as a compliance path. 
We already have a fully sprinklered structure, with a row of dry sprinklers 
eight feet and eight feet on center away on the garage side, but the published 
spray pattern for the Reliable F1FR56 upright installed by the contractor would 
leave the top 3 feet of the wall unwetted.

It appears to me I would have to install an additional row of heads right along 
the wall, but even then, it looks like the spray pattern shows drop off at any 
sort of reasonable spacing so some parts of the wall remain unwetted.  What 
have others done in this situation?

[cid:[email protected]]<http://www.lhbcorp.com/who-we-are/our-history/>

David Toshio Williams, PE, FPE – Senior MEP/FP Engineer
21 West Superior Street, Suite 500, Duluth, MN 55802
Direct 218.279.2436 | Cell 218.310.2446
LHBcorp.com<http://www.lhbcorp.com/>

LHB, Inc. | PERFORMANCE DRIVEN DESIGN.




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