American Fire Sprinkler Association
12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 Dallas TX 75251
Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
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April 30 2008
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"When an underground pipe enters the building through the floor slab
in a seismic area and a flexible coupling is installed within 1 foot
of the floor, are you still required to provide the required clearance?"
We have reviewed the 2007 edition of NFPA 13 as the applicable
standard. Our informal interpretation is that clearance would be
required around the pipe penetrating the floor.
The purpose of the clearance is to prevent breakage of the fire
sprinkler pipe during a seismic event. The holes for the clearance
should be nominally 2 in. larger than the pipe for 1 in. through 3 1/2
in. and 4 in. larger for pipe sizes 4 in. and larger according to
Section 9.3.4.2. The clearance around the pipe does not have to be
annular or in other words, the pipe does not need to be located in the
exact center of the opening. An exception to providing clearance is
the use of flexible couplings within 1 foot on both sides of the
opening. The problem is that since the piping is located underground,
it would not be feasible to install a flexible coupling under the
floor slab. Thus clearance should be provided for underground piping
penetrating the floor. Note that the piping is not limited to
sprinkler risers and can include drains, fire department connections,
and other auxiliary piping.
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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) 2008, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All Rights
Reserved
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