American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 * Dallas TX 75251
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
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TECHNICAL UPDATE
OCTOBER 24, 2007
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"An existing nursing home has wood wall units that measure 2 ft. 10
in. deep, 6 ft. 10.5 in. high, 2 ft 10 in. wide with the room ceiling
13.5 in. above it. There are two wardrobe units with a sink in
between them. Which section of NFPA 13 excludes the installation of
sprinklers in a wooden wardrobe in a nursing home?"
We have reviewed the 2007 Edition of NFPA 13 as the applicable
Standard. Our informal interpretation is that this is addressed in
8.1.1(7) to not require sprinklers in wardrobe units.
A new section was added in the 2007 edition to 8.1.1(7) that states,
"Furniture, such as portable wardrobe units, cabinets, trophy cases,
and similar features not intended for occupancy, does not require
sprinklers to be installed in them. This type of feature shall be
permitted to be attached to the finished structure." The proposal
was accepted during the 2006 ROP process to include the annex
description of furniture in dwelling units in Section A.8.14.8.2 in
the 2002 edition and that it should now apply to all NFPA 13
occupancies. Section A.8.14.8.2 of the 2002 edition states, "Portable
wardrobe units, such as those typically used in nursing homes and
mounted to the wall, do not require sprinklers to be installed in
them. Although the units are attached to the finished structure,
this standard views those units as pieces of furniture rather than as
part of the structure; thus sprinklers are not required."
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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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