Sprinkler Protection for Exterior Closets in 13R
“We have a four-story apartment building of combustible construction that is protected with a NFPA 13R system. Each apartment unit has a patio with at least one outside storage closet. Some patios have one outside storage closet and one outside HVAC closet. We are protecting the covered patios with a dry sidewall sprinkler. Our question is, are sprinklers required in the outside storage closets and the outside HVAC closets? There are no doorways from the closets directly into the dwelling units.” We have reviewed NFPA 13, 2010 edition that you indicated as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is sprinklers are not required in the exterior storage closet or the exterior mechanical closet (with no unprotected penetrations). 13R section 6.6.7 states: “Sprinklers shall not be required in closets (regardless of size) on exterior balconies and exterior breezeways/corridors, regardless of size, as long as the closet does not have doors or unprotected penetrations directly into the dwelling unit.” Furthermore, section 6.6.4 states: “Sprinklers shall be installed in any closet used for heating and air-conditioning equipment except as permitted by 6.6.7.” Additionally, A.6.6.4 further clarifies that any closet that has heating or air conditioning equipment is not treated the same as a clothes closet, linen closet, or pantry, and it needs to be sprinklered only if the closet is in the dwelling unit. This criteria is not to be confused with requirements for closets that contain HVAC units outside the dwelling units, which are covered by 6.6.7. Also, this issue should not be confused with requirements for concealed spaces that contain HVAC equipment. Such concealed spaces are treated differently from closets and are covered in 6.6.6 and 6.6.6.1. ------------ 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; and Tom Wellen, a PE registered in fire protection engineering. 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 2016, American Fire Sprinkler Association. All Rights Reserved. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.firesprinkler.org/private.cgi/sprinklernotes-firesprinkler.org/attachments/20170109/c88366ec/attachment.htm>
