American Fire Sprinkler Association 12750 Merit Dr., Suite 350 * Dallas TX 75251 Ph: (214) 349-5965 Fax: (214) 276-0908
----------------- TECHNICAL UPDATE August 6, 2010 ----------------- “In a small storage room located in a hospital, the storage on a shelf along the wall extends above the 18-in. plane below the sprinkler head. The sprinkler head is located a few feet away from the storage. There is no storage directly below the sprinkler. Is the storage against the wall required to be kept 18-in. below deflector plane?” We have reviewed NFPA 13, 2010 edition as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that shelves against a wall are not a problem when the items or storage on the shelves are within 18 in. of the sprinkler deflector and when the sprinkler is not located directly above the shelf. Sprinkler clearances are verified during NFPA 25 inspections. Section 5.2.1.2 in NFPA 25, 2008 edition indicates that the minimum clearance required by the installation standard, which is likely NFPA 13, shall be maintained below all sprinklers. NFPA 13 does specifically address shelves against walls in annex material indicating that sprinkler clearances are not needed. Section A.8.6.6 states, “The 18 in. dimension is not intended to limit the height of shelving on a wall or shelving against a wall in accordance with 8.6.6, 8.7.6, 8.8.6, and Section 8.9. Where shelving is installed on a wall and is not directly below sprinklers, the shelves, including storage thereon, can extend above the level of a plane located 18 in. below ceiling sprinkler deflectors. Shelving, and any storage thereon, directly below the sprinklers cannot extend above a plane located 18 in. below ceiling sprinkler deflector." Thus, the sprinkler is not attempting to throw water beyond the item(s) against the wall. An example similar to shelving against the wall is cabinets mounted or located against the wall up to the ceiling level. There is no attempt in the standard to limit the height of the cabinet along the wall to maintain sprinkler clearances when the sprinklers are not located directly above them. ----------------- Technical Update is prepared by the Technical Services Dept. of the AFSA: Roland Huggins, a PE registered in fire protection engineering, Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services; 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 © 2010, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All Rights Reserved -------------------------- If you’d rather not receive future faxes from AFSA, fax your removal request to Amy Sweeney 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
