Fire Side Chat: Creating Synergy With Sprinklers and Electronic Systems

Sprinkler System Supervision

Although a fire alarm company may not install the sprinkler system in a building, it is the fire alarm tech that monitors it. Some of the common supervisory conditions that the fire technician must monitor include water flow, main water valve position and low air pressure. All three are required by Section 5.15.1, NFPA 72.

The first consideration is the main water shutoff. This is the valve that controls the supply of potable water into a facility’s sprinkler system. The valve’s position can be electronically monitored using a tamper switch. In most cases the sprinkler company installs this device at the time of installation.

The main water valve may also be secured by a chain and lock, but this depends on whether the local jurisdiction adheres to IFC (International Fire Code), published by the International Code Council (ICC), or NFPA 13.

According to NFPA 13, a lock and chain is acceptable in the securing of a water valve: “A padlock, with a chain where necessary, is especially desirable to prevent unauthorized closing of valves in areas where valves are subject to tampering. When such locks are employed, valves should be inspected monthly.”

By contrast, in ICC’s IFC, a lock and chain are not allowed. In fact, according to Section 903.4 of IFC, it says, “All valves controlling the water supply for automatic sprinkler systems, pumps, tanks, water levels and temperatures, critical air pressures, and water-flow switches on all sprinkler systems shall be electrically supervised.” 

Monitoring Water Flow

In most of the sprinkler systems that fire technicians are asked to monitor, there are several types of actuators the AHJ wants. Each one involves the detection of water flow. These include the mechanical operation of a water flow switch as well as a sudden drop in water pressure.

Probably the most common mechanical water-flow device is the collapsible paddle. Here the sprinkler or fire alarm company drills the riser. After threading the cast riser they collapse the paddle and insert it into the riser. Once inserted, it opens and the tech tightens the vane switch. When water moves, so does the paddle/vane, causing the electrical contacts in the flow switch to change state, thus causing an alarm.

Sometimes the flow switch comes equipped with a retard feature that allows the fire technician to delay alarm activation. The purpose of this delay, which can be 15 seconds or more, is to allow for fluctuations in water pressure in a municipal water supply. Such fluctuations can cause unwanted alarms.


Sprinklers Effective 97% of the Time

According to a report published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), sprinklers were found to operate in 93 percent of all reported structural fires where the fire was large enough to activate them, and when they do operate, they were found to be 97-percent effective.

“For most property uses, when sprinklers are present in structures that are not under construction and excluding cases of failure or ineffectiveness because of a lack of sprinklers in the fire area, the fire death rate per 1,000 reported structure fires is lower by at least 57% and the rate of property damage per reported structure fire is lower by one-third to two-thirds (34-68%).” (U.S. Experience With Sprinklers and Other Automatic Fire Extinguishing Equipment, John R. Hall Jr., NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, June 2007).

Through NFPA’s efforts, it was found that damage by the fire itself was confined primarily to the room where the fire originated 88 percent of the time when there was an automatic sprinkler system present. By contrast, in structures without a sprinkler, damage was confined to the room where the fire began only 57 percent of the time.

There is little doubt after seeing NFPA’s research that the use of automatic sprinkler systems, combined with the added benefit of electronic detection and notification, is a must when dealing with large structures. It’s our job as fire technicians and fire alarm company administrators to provide the best interface possible, along with ongoing maintenance and quality, affordable central station or supervising station monitoring.

 

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About the Author

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Shane Clary, Ph.D., is Security Sales & Integration’s “Fire Side Chat” columnist. He has more than 37 years of security and fire alarm industry experience. He serves on a number of NFPA technical committees, and is vice president of Codes and Standards Compliance for Pancheco, Calif.-based Bay Alarm Co.

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