Residential Fire Sprinklers .com

Protecting Your Home & Family

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council has banned the use of antifreeze solution in residential fire sprinkler systems for new construction until further action by NFPA consensus standards committees, and NFPA has issued a follow-up to its July 2010 safety alert to provide updated guidance on the use of antifreeze in residential fire sprinkler systems. The council action and updated alert follow new research that was conducted after a fire incident raised concerns about antifreeze solutions in residential fire sprinkler systems. The incident involved a grease fire in a kitchen where a sprinkler with a high concentration of antifreeze deployed. The fire resulted in a single fatality and serious injury to another person.

“Fire sprinklers are one of the most effective ways to save lives and property from fire,” said James M. Shannon, president of NFPA. “We have acted quickly to conduct additional research in order to provide the public and our technical committees with as much information as possible regarding the use of antifreeze in sprinkler systems.”

According to NFPA, the home is the place where most fire fatalities occur, and when sprinklers are present, the risk of dying in a home fire decreases by 83%.

Shannon said the key findings from the new report were:

* Antifreeze solutions with concentrations of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and concentrations of glycerin exceeding 50% have the potential to ignite when discharged through automatic sprinklers.

* Both the 40% propylene glycol and 50% glycerin solutions demonstrated similar performance to that of water alone for fire control throughout the series of tests.

* Based on the results of this research, antifreeze solutions of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and glycerin exceeding 50% are not appropriate for use in residential fire sprinkler systems.

* Consideration should be given to reducing the acceptable concentrations of these antifreeze solutions by an appropriate safety factor.

New Systems

NFPA standards prohibit the use of antifreeze in residential fire sprinkler systems in new construction following the August 16, 2010 issuance of tentative interim amendments (TIA) to NFPA 13, 13D and 13R. If you are putting in a new residential fire sprinkler system (including all NFPA 13D applications and the dwelling unit portions of NFPA 13 and NFPA 13R systems), refer to the latest editions of NFPA 13, 13D and 13R, as amended by TIA numbers 1000, 995, and 994.

Existing Systems

* Fire sprinklers are extremely effective fire protection devices, significantly reducing deaths, injuries and property loss from fire. These systems should not be disconnected.

* Residential fire sprinkler systems, whenever possible, should not contain an antifreeze solution.

* If you have, or are responsible for, an existing residential occupancy with a fire sprinkler system, contact a sprinkler contractor to check and see if there is antifreeze solution in the system.

* If there is antifreeze solution in the system, determine if other means, such as insulation, can be used to provide adequate freeze protection.

* If there is no viable alternative to antifreeze solutions, NFPA recommends the following:
- Use only propylene glycol or glycerin antifreeze solution.
- The antifreeze solution should be the lowest possible concentration required for the needed freeze potential but under no circumstance should the antifreeze solution exceed a maximum concentration of 40% of propylene glycol or a maximum concentration of 50% of glycerin. Consideration should be given to reducing these concentrations by an additional safety factor.
- The antifreeze solution should only be a factory pre-mixed; use of factory pre-mixed solutions is essential to ensure the proper concentration level and solution integrity.
- Antifreeze solutions should only be used with the approval of the local authority having jurisdiction.

The full NFPA Safety Alert Regarding Antifreeze in Residential Sprinkler Systems and more information on this topic can be found at http://www.nfpa.org/antifreeze.

The Commonwealth Court of PA has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the PBA and other petitioners against the PA Department of Labor and Industry (L&I). The lawsuit, filed last year, was an attempt to stop the enforcement of the adopted 2009 IRC requiring fire sprinklers in one- and two-family homes and townhomes. The court had previously denied an injunction filed by the PBA to stop the enforcement.

In an opinion issued on August 25, 2010 the court cited The Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (PCCA) enacted by the General Assembly in 1999 and its application to “construction, alteration, repair and occupancy of all buildings in Pennsylvania. “ The court affirms that Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code (UCC) is “an effort to insure uniform, modern construction standards and regulations, and to promote safety, health and sanitary construction throughout the Commonwealth.”

In its lawsuit the PBA claimed that “the new and amended provisions of the 2009 codes, especially the sprinkler requirements, have the effect of increasing the cost of an average newly-constructed home by approximately $15,000.00 and that “the additional costs will have a significant impact on the demand for their home building and remodeling services, and will adversely affect the availability of financing of homes.” Their claim additionally asserted that the PCCA action is unconstitutional.

Citing the intent of the PCCA, the court ruled that “ultimately, the rules, regulations and standards of the regulatory agency must be reasonable, understandable, available, and must not violate the constitutional rights of any citizen.” The court found that “petitioners were represented at each stage of the process of L&I’s adoption of the 2009 version of the UCC. The fact that their input failed to carry the day…does not make the process unconstitutional.” They found “their argument disingenuous.”

This action by the court represents a great victory for the people of PA. All new homes will be built to meet the standards of life safety now included in all model codes.

View Court Document

Maria Figueroa, NFPA
www.firesprinklerinitiative.org

On June 24, 2010, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined Council President Bernard “Jack Young, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke (District-14), Councilman Warren Branch (District-13) and Fire Chief James Clack to sign into law City Council Bill 10-0437, Residential Code – Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems. Beginning July 1, 2010, all new one and two-family homes built in Baltimore City will be required to have residential fire sprinklers. The City Council passed the landmark legislation on June 21, 2010. Baltimore becomes the largest city in the United States to require these life saving devices in all new residential construction.

“I would like to thank Councilwoman Clarke for her continued efforts to increase fire safety in Baltimore,” Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. “With this legislation, combined with other efforts, including reduced rotating firehouse closures effective July 1 and continued outreach to provide free smoke alarms to City residents, we can continue to reduce fire related deaths.”

Residential fire sprinklers have proven their effectiveness in saving lives across Maryland. Since the early 1990’s when state law mandated sprinklers in new multi-family homes and townhouses, there have been no fire deaths in these protected structures. More than half of Maryland’s municipalities and nine counties have adopted similar requirements for one and two-family homes.

“Sprinklers save lives,” added Councilwoman Clarke, the lead sponsor of the bill. “This bill is a step in the right direction of safer homes for all our citizens.”

“Home blazes are the leading cause of fire death in our city, and residential fire sprinklers will give our citizens crucial time to escape,” said Fire Chief James Clack. “Working smoke alarms only alert occupants to a fire, but residential sprinklers act quickly to control blazes before they become deadly.”

The Mayor also announced that the City is increasing its funding for the Fire Department’s free smoke alarm program. Funding was increased from $80,000 last year to $100,000 for this upcoming year. The smoke alarms installed by the Fire Department have lithium batteries that last 10 years.

The Fire Department has installed over 15,000 lithium battery smoke alarms as part of this program. Residents can request a smoke alarm for their home by calling the Smoke Detector Hotline at (410) 396-7283.

Webinar presentation will educate plumbing contractors on the NFPA 13D standard for the installation of sprinkler systems in one and two family homes.

A new webinar has been prepared by Fire Smarts, LLC on behalf of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association (PHCC) to educate plumbing contractors across the nation on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 13D standard that covers the installation of sprinkler systems in one and two family homes. The webinar is part of the online training offered by the PHCC.

The “Introduction to NFPA 13D Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems for One and Two Family Homes” webinar will be presented by fire protection industry expert, Russ Leavitt, SET, CFPS, on February 10, 2010 at 3:00pm EST. Mr. Leavitt will educate participants about the NFPA code development process and the requirements for designing and installing fire sprinklers in single and two family homes. Participants will learn how this standard is organized and will be introduced to the requirements for materials and components, design criterion, and installation practices for residential fire sprinkler systems.

“With the recent addition of residential fire sprinkler requirements into the International Residential Code, there is no question that these systems will become a standard component in new home construction across the country,” said Ryan J. Smith, President of Fire Smarts, LLC. “There is a need and an incredible opportunity for plumbing contractors to assist in providing these services.”

The “Residential Fire Sprinklers Market Growth and Labor Demand Analysis” published by Fire Smarts, LLC in September 2008, projects that over 7000 additional positions for sprinkler installation will be needed as residential fire sprinkler requirements are adopted and widely enforced across the country over the next decade. An adequate amount of skilled labor is essential to ensuring that residential sprinkler systems can be properly and cost-effectively installed. A growing number of industry experts agree that plumbing contractors play a critical role in the successful implementation of residential fire sprinkler code requirements.

“There is a lot of interest by PHCC members in this new market,” said Skip Pfeffer, PHCC’s President. “We cannot afford to lose this market—especially in the current economy. I encourage all PHCC members and potential members to participate.”

Registration is open to all interested parties. For more information and to register for this webinar visit [Registration is no longer available for this webinar]. This webinar is another residential fire sprinkler educational and training opportunity that is being offered by the PHCC in partnership with Fire Smarts.

About PHCC: The PHCC – National Association is the oldest trade association in the construction industry and the premiere organization for the plumbing, heating and cooling professional. Since 1883, PHCC has been the leader in promotion, advancement, education and training. Today PHCC has more than 4100 contractor members from open and union shops, who work in the residential, commercial, new construction, industrial and service and repair industry segments.

About Fire Smarts, LLC: Fire Smarts, LLC is a leading provider of fire protection educational and training resources. The company operates the home fire protection resource website, Residential Fire Sprinklers .com ( http://www.ResidentialFireSprinklers.com ), frequently publishes articles and reports on the latest industry developments and utilizes its team of Fire Smarts Faculty members to create custom training solutions for contractors, fire and building officials, and business organizations based on NFPA standards.

The State of California has adopted building code changes that will require all new one- and two-family homes and townhouses built in the state starting January 1, 2011, to be equipped with life-saving fire sprinkler systems.

The California State Building Standards Commission voted yesterday unanimously by a margin of 10-0 in favor of adopting the 2010 California Residential Code, which includes the 2009 International Residential Code as established by the International Code Council in September 2008. With this action, California becomes the third state to formally adopt the code. As the most populous state in the U.S., this is a huge victory for proponents of life safety. The new code requirement becomes effective January 1, 2011.

“This is another step forward in our efforts to eradicate the home fire death problem. By requiring home fire sprinklers in new homes, California adds an important safeguard for the people in the state,” said Jim Shannon, NFPA President. “We are hopeful their action will lead to more states doing the same in order to save lives from fire.”

The residential sprinkler requirement was voted into the 2009 IRC Code by building code officials from all over the U.S., gaining more than two-thirds of the vote. This demonstrated that officials very clearly see the need to require sprinkler technology as a life-saving measure.

It took a lot of hard work and dedication for this to become a reality. The CAL Fire-Office of the State Fire Marshal took an early lead position, by bringing stakeholders to the table to study the feasibility of adopting this code. The Residential Fire Sprinkler Task Force issued Phase I and Phase II of their final report in June and July of 2009, respectively.

NFPA Regional Manager Ray Bizal actively participated in the task force. “The California homebuilders did not oppose the adoption of the requirement,” said Bizal. The California Building Industry Association also participated. Everyone on the ground worked cooperatively towards the goal. Their model is to be emulated.

On Friday, December 11, the New Hampshire State Code Review Board voted in the majority to adopt the International Residential Code 2009 edition, including townhouse automatic fire sprinkler systems and one- and two-family dwellings automatic fire sprinkler systems; effective April 1, 2012. The New Hampshire Home Builders Association Representative, John Starr spoke vehemently against adoption while the New Hampshire Fire Chiefs’ Representatives Chief Corey Landry and Local Fire Marshal Michael Hoisington countered every negative remark in a passionate and professional manner. There was widespread support from the Board of Architects, Board of Engineers, New Hampshire Building Officials Association, Board of Licensing and Regulations of Plumbers, and the New Hampshire Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors Association.

The public hearing on adoption was originally held on October 23, 2009 with NFSA’s Buddy Dewar, Vice President of Regional Operations, and Tim Travers, New England Regional Manager submitting oral and written testimony; joined by the NFPA, the New Hampshire Fire Marshal, the New Hampshire Fire Chiefs Association, and Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669.

According to Tim Travers, “the adoption is but one step in the process as several pieces of legislation have been filed for 2010 to prohibit the state building code, or any local amendment, from including a mandatory fire sprinkler system. This will severely impact “home rule”, which is sacred in NH and the NH fire service has vowed to prevent its passage.”

The last hurdle from the Independent Regulatory Review Commission came yesterday, as they recommended to Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry that the new International Residential Code be placed in effect 1\1\10 WITH NO RESTRICTIONS OMITTING SPRINKLERS.

A lot of people worked very hard to overcome the roadblocks placed by the NAHB. In general, the Fire Service, organized into the PA Residential Sprinkler Coalition co-chaired by John Waters and Tim Knisely from Upper Merion Twp (King of Prussia) and Centre Region Code (State College) led the fight. The sprinkler industry was primarily held back in a support role behind the scenes. Thanks also should go to Senate Advisory Panel members Aus Marberger and John Kampmeyer, from FPI and Triad Engineering, for the time and effort to attend numerous hearings, sometimes with almost no notice or time to prepare.

I’d personally like to also thank Ray Lonabaugh, NFSA Regional Manager, for not only his efforts directly in the political arena, but for his huge help in facilitating side by side burns to sway public opinion. We’d joined the NFSA to help support their Industry Promotion Fund, not realizing we’d be able to have this funding mechanism kick in and provide funding to realize the vision of some interested fire departments and the PennBOC Annual Convention demo.

There are others too numerous to name in any endeavor of this magnitude, and I certainly wasn’t in the middle of the political battle so I cannot know the amount of input from them- just that the end result- safe housing for Pennsylvanians – was realized.

We hope this passage sets the stage for other states to follow. We can afford safety, these systems can be done economically, and the time has now come for us to work with the builders and code officials to make the process work as we move into the implementation phase.

In my wildest dreams I did not ever think residential sprinklers would be required, its too simple and effective. Future generations may read the occasional fire death story and think wow- that must have been an old house to not have sprinklers in it!

Click the following to view Document 2804 from the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance is seeking written public comments relating to the cost and effectiveness of sprinkler equipment in one-family and two-family dwellings in areas where residential sprinklers are in use.

In conjunction with its administrative role implementing Governor Phil Bredesen’s Future Clean Energy Act of 2009 and at the direction of the General Assembly, the Department is conducting an analysis regarding the cost and effectiveness of sprinkler equipment in one-family and two-family dwellings in areas where residential sprinklers are in use and will report the results of such analysis to the General Assembly on or before May 1, 2010.

In accordance with Chapter 529 of the Public Acts of 2009, the Department is specifically requesting written input from any interested parties.

It is requested that all written materials be provided to the Department by December 31, 2009. Materials may be sent by e-mail, addressed to Assistant Fire Commissioner Jim.Pillow@tn.gov or by mail addressed to:

Jim Pillow
Assistant Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance
ATTN: Residential Sprinkler Analysis
500 James Robertson Parkway, 3 rd Floor
Nashville, TN 37243.

By Tonya Bina – Sky-Hi Daily News

Grand County Commissioners adopted the 2009 International Building Codes with something new by way of a sprinkler-system mandate.

Starting 2013 in Grand County, sprinkler systems will be required in townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes of new construction as part of the updated codes.

But commissioners opted to exclude single-family detached residential housing from the sprinkler-system section of the code, citing cost, in spite of the local firefighting community’s plea to keep it included.

East Grand Fire Chief Todd Holzwarth argued that mandating sprinkler systems in all structures could create trade-offs in needed infrastructure during development. If sprinkler systems were guaranteed, he said, fire districts might reduce storage requirements and be more forgiving with accesses, street widths and switchbacks. And, with sprinkler-system mandates for single-family residences now in the IBC, their cost eventually may go down, he said.

Sprinkler systems also promote the conservation of water, according to East Grand Firefighter Dennis Soles. Without sprinklers in homes, fire districts may use about “ten times” more water to put out a house fire, which would create “ten times the water pollution and air pollution,” he said.

Holzwarth estimated there have been four fatalities from fires in single-family homes in Grand County from 1979 to 2009.

Mandating sprinkler systems may be premature, according to insurance agent Kirk Arnold of Granby.

Fire districts now have the opportunity to educate homeowners about sprinkler systems, he said, and any homeowner can install them on their own without a law. According to his research, insurance companies are offering home insurance discounts from 1.5 percent to about 7 percent for sprinkler systems in homes.

To read the full article click here.

In today’s meeting of the International Code Council (ICC) in Baltimore, Maryland, proposals made to eliminate the requirement for residential fire sprinklers in the International Residential Code (IRC) were defeated. These requirements were included in the 2009 IRC, to become effective January 1, 2011. Proposals to modify the 2012 International Residential Code included RB 54, which would have removed the mandatory requirement and made it an optional provision, RB 56, which would delete sprinkler requirements for townhomes and one- and two-family occupancies and move P2904 back to the appendix, making the requirement optional; and RB 57, which would have completely removed the sprinkler requirements from these residential occupancies.

The final action on these issues will be voted upon at the May 2010 meeting of ICC, at which only building officials and code enforcers can vote. However, today’s vote was an important win for residential fire safety because it will force homebuilders and their allies to get two-thirds vote to over-ride these sprinkler requirements at the May ICC meeting, which is considered unlikely.

From Ronny J. Coleman, President of the IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition

Words cannot describe how great if feels to have won the sprinkler vote again in Baltimore. Even better, to our surprise, we won the committee vote by a margin of 7 to 4. EVERY member of the IRC Committee not representing NAHB voted in favor of sprinklers!

Thanks to EVERYONE who took part in and supported this historic event!!!