American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 Dallas TX 75251
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
------------------------------
TECHNICAL UPDATE
June 14, 2007
------------------------------
"An existing facility has a new 2,000 sf addition which will contain
a mezzanine. There is no separation from the existing facility. It
is extra hazard occupancy with a dry pipe system so the size of the
remote area should be 3,250 sf. Should I include the mezzanine in
defining the size of the new remote area?"
We have reviewed NFPA 13, 2002 Edition, which you indicated, is the
applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that you would
not include the mezzanine.
There is no explicit guidance on this issue but other mezzanine
criteria shows us the intent. Let's start with 13:8.2.2 that states
the floor area of the mezzanine shall not be included in the area
limits for the system. The basic philosophy is that a fire under the
mezzanine will activate sprinklers below it and not at the higher
ceiling. In essence, both are effectively assigned to the same
portion of the floor plan. Another supporting issue appears in
13:12.2.2.4, which addresses bin, box with walkways. This is similar
to a mezzanine with open grate flooring. Here we are told to have
sprinklers under the walkways and the critical part is that we don't
add that water demand to the ceiling. In ssence, the mezzanine is
treated as a separate area from the ceiling.
The unanswered question is what do you do about the size of the
remote area? Unless it is contained by rated construction, you still
have to meet the required 3,250 sf. As such, you must include a
portion of the existing system within your remote area.
---------------------
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
--------------------
If you'd rather not receive future faxes from AFSA, fax your removal
request to Linda Dawson at Efax (214) 242-3155 or call toll free
(888) 839-4830 or send e-mail request @ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please include your company name and the specific fax numbers(s) at
which you do not wish to receive faxes from us. Our failure to
comply with your request may be unlawful.
_______________________________________________
Sprinklernotes mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklernotes
