Air Supervisory for Dry Standpipes
“I have a fire marshal that is requesting a supervisory air pressure device for a manual dry standpipe system for a marina dock. Is the air pressure device required for a manual dry standpipe, dry standpipe,or both?” We reviewed the 2013 edition of NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems, that you indicated as the applicable standard as well as the 2016 edition. Our informal interpretation is air supervisory is required only if the piping is concealed. In the prior editions, Section 6.1.1 states, “Dry standpipes shall not be concealed unless the piping integrity is monitored with supervisory air pressure, in accordance with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.” Supervisory air will assist in monitoring the integrity of the piping system that cannot otherwise be visible. This application is for a marina dock. Air supervisory would not be required if the pipe is located where it is visible. Air supervision is required if the pipe is located under the dock and blocked from visual inspections. In addition, the pipe could be subject to accelerated rate of corrosion since it is exposed to a marina environment. This section was changed in the 2016 edition of NFPA 14. This section now states, “6.1.1 Location of Dry Standpipes. Dry standpipes shall be monitored in accordance with NFPA 72 with supervisory air pressure.” A dry standpipe requires air supervision regardless if the pipe is visible or not visible. Unless the 2016 edition is adopted, air supervision is dependent upon the visibility of the standpipe. ========= 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 and Tom Noble E.T., a Technical Programs Specialist. 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 2017, 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/20170327/9fa6f3a1/attachment.htm>
