American Fire Sprinkler Association
9696 Skillman, #300 Dallas, Texas 75243
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 343-8898
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TECHNICAL UPDATE
JANUARY 11, 2007
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"IN NFPA 20 WHAT DOES SECTION 9.3.6 HAVE TO DO WITH ALTERNATE POWER
AS STATED IN SECTION 9.3.1? SECTION 9.3.6 IS REFERENCED IN SECTION
9.3.1."
We have reviewed the 2007 Edition of NFPA 20 you indicated as the
applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that the
reference to 9.3.6 is an error, and should reference section 9.3.3.
The sections 9.1.4 through 9.3.8.4 were modified to make it more
clear of the NFPA 20 power supply requirements. The Report on
Proposals A2006 addressed the issue of power supplies in 20-69 Log
#97 with a committee action of "Accept in Principle in Part." So,
reading the documentation from the submitter, in section 9.3 Backup
Power, section 9.3.1 stated, "Accept for an arrangement described in
9.3.3 or 9.3.4, at least one back-up source of power shall be
provided when the height of the structure is beyond the pumping
capacity of the fire department apparatus." Referring to the
documentation in the Report on Proposals, section 9.3.3 states, "A
back-up source of power shall not be required where a back-up engine
driven or back-up steam turbine driven fire pump is installed in
accordance with NFPA 20." Section 9.3.4 states, "A back-up source of
power shall not be required when acceptable to the authority having
jurisdiction." The committee action revised the text, and references
section 9.3.3 in section 9.3 Alternate Power. However, the revised
text stopped after section 9.3.2. It appears that section 9.3.4 was
dropped from the standard that referenced if it was acceptable to the
authority having jurisdiction. Section 9.3.3 had a minor change
during the Report on Comments A2006. In closing, the section 9.3.1
should not reference section 9.3.6 Junction Boxes, and should
reference section 9.3.3 in the 2007 edition.
NFPA is aware of this error and will issue and ERRATA in the near
future.
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Technical Update is prepared by the Technical Services Dept. of the
AFSA: Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services Roland
Huggins, a PE registered in fire protection engineering; Phill Brown,
a NICET IV certified automatic sprinkler technician and NFPA
Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) and Tom Wellen, a degreed
fire protection engineering technologist. This is provided with the
understanding that the AFSA assumes no liability for this opinion or
actions taken on it and they are not to be considered the official
position of the NFPA or its technical committees.
Copyright (c) 2007, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All
Rights Reserved
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