American Fire Sprinkler Association 12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 * Dallas TX 75251 Ph:(214) 349-5965 Fax:(214) 276-0908
--------------------- TECHNICAL UPDATE OCTOBER 22, 2009 --------------------- “We have some garages where the doors from the garages open to a public corridor and are not connected to the dwelling units. However, the doors will have locks on them and keys will only be issued to the residents of a single dwelling unit. Would the garages be considered only accessible from a single dwelling unit? What is the maximum coverage area for standard spray dry pendent sprinklers covering these garages?” We have reviewed NFPA 13R, 2007 Edition as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that the garages are not part of the dwelling unit and the maximum coverage area per sprinkler within the garages is 130 sq. ft. Section 6.8.3.2 indicates that garages that are accessible by people from more than one dwelling unit, and are not covered by Section 6.8.3.1 (garages that are completely separated), shall be considered part of the building and shall be protected in accordance with Section 6.8.2. The corridor between the dwelling units and the garages will not allow the use of Section 6.8.3.3 where a density of 0.05 gpm per sq. ft. and sprinkler spacing in Section 6.8.1 would be permitted. The intent of Section 6.8.3.3 is for the access to the garage should be directly from the dwelling unit and not from a public access corridor. So that leads us to Section 6.8.2 and that indicates the design criteria for outside the dwelling unit. This section refers back to NFPA 13 or to meet all five conditions noted in Section 6.8.2.2. Both NFPA 13 and Section 6.8.2.2 will indicate the maximum coverage area per sprinkler is limited to 130 sq. ft. since garages are considered ordinary hazard occupancies. ----------------- 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 © 2009, 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://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklernotes
