Purpose:

To establish a set of guidelines that provide the minimum requirements for the installation of residential sprinkler systems, including the methods and procedures of water flow testing for the evaluation of available water supplies.

Policy: 

1. The stamped and approved drawings showing the details and arrangements of the sprinkler system shall be on the job site as a reference for the Fire Inspector.
2. All new systems shall be acceptance tested, including barrel tests, prior to occupancy of the building. The installer shall be responsible for performing all required tests.
3. As a general rule, the inspector should witness the barrel test to ensure that proper fire flows are met. For multiple buildings such as apartment complexes, etc., the inspector should witness the barrel test on the first building completed and the last building completed to ensure that the proper fire flows are met and have been maintained.
4. At the completion of the installation and all test(s), the contractor shall supply the Material and Test Certificate for each building to the inspector.
5. The following procedures are inclusive of acceptance testing of 13R systems and shall be used as a guide in determining proper installation and operation of the system. It is left up to the discretion of the inspector as to which test(s), other than the barrel tests, he or she wants to witness.
   1. Flushing of Piping:

a.       Underground mains and lead-in connections to system risers shall be flushed before a connection is made to sprinkler piping in order to remove any foreign materials that have entered the underground piping during the course of the installation. For all systems, the flushing operation shall be continued until the water is clear.

b.      Underground mains and lead-in connections shall be flushed at the hydraulically calculated water demand rate of the system.

c.       To avoid property damage, provisions shall be made for the disposal of water issuing from test outlets.

2. Hydrostatic Pressure Tests:

a.       Hydrostatic pressure tests shall be provided in accordance with NFPA 13. 

Exception:  Testing for leakage at a water pressure of 50 psi above the maximum system pressure shall be permitted for systems having fewer than 20 sprinklers and no fire department connection.

3. Design and Installation Devices and Materials:

a.       Only new sprinklers shall be employed in the installation of sprinkler systems. At least three spare sprinklers of each type, temperature rating, and orifice size used in the system shall be kept on the premises.  Replacement sprinklers shall have the same operating characteristics as the sprinklers being replaced.

b.      Only listed or approved devices and materials shall be used in sprinkler systems.

c.       Sprinkler systems shall be designed for a maximum working pressure of 175 psi.

Exception:  Higher design pressures shall be permitted to be used where all system components are rated for pressures higher than 175 psi.

d.      Waterflow test connections shall be provided at locations that allow flow testing of water supplies, connections, and alarm mechanisms.

4. Water Supply:

a.       Every automatic sprinkler system shall have at least one automatic water supply.

5. Multipurpose Piping System:

a.       A common supply main to the building, serving both the sprinklers and domestic use, shall be permitted where the domestic design demand is added to the sprinkler system demand and the total demand flow does not exceed the maximum allowable flow of the piping system components.                    

Exception:  Domestic design demand shall not be required to be added where provision is made to prevent flow on the domestic water system upon operation of sprinklers.

6. System Components:

a.       Where a common supply main is used to supply both domestic and sprinkler systems, a single, listed control valve shall be provided to shut off both the domestic and sprinkler systems, and a separate shutoff valve shall be provided for the domestic system only.

Exception:  The sprinkler system piping shall be permitted to have a separate control valve where supervised by one of the following:

1.      Central station, proprietary, or remote station alarm service.

2.      Local alarm service that causes the sounding of an audible signal at a constantly attended location.

3.      Valves that are locked open.

b.      Each sprinkler system shall have a 1-inch or larger drain and test connection with a valve on the system side of the control valve.

c.       At least one 1½ inch or 2 ½ inch fire department connection shall be provided.

d.      Pressure gauges shall be provided to indicate pressures on the supply and system sides of main check valves and dry pipe valves and to indicate pressure on water supply pressure tanks.

e.       Listed residential sprinklers shall be used.

f.        Standard or quick-response spray sprinklers shall be used in areas outside the dwelling unit.

Exception:  Residential sprinklers shall be permitted to be used in adjoining corridors or lobbies with flat, smooth ceilings and a height not exceeding 10 feet.

g.       Operated or damaged sprinklers shall be replaced with sprinklers having the same performance characteristics as the original equipment.

h.       Sprinklers shall not be painted and any sprinklers that have been painted shall be replaced with new, listed sprinklers.

i.         Local waterflow alarms shall be provided on all sprinkler systems and shall be connected to the building fire alarm system, where provided.

7. System Design:

a.       The system shall provide a discharge of not less than 18 gpm to any single operating sprinkler and not less than 13 gpm per sprinkler to the number of design sprinklers, but the discharge shall not be less than the listing of the sprinkler.

b.      The number of design sprinklers shall include all sprinklers within a compartment up to a maximum of four sprinklers under a flat, smooth, horizontal ceiling. For compartments containing two or more sprinklers, calculations shall be provided to verify the single operating sprinkler criteria and the multiple (two, three, or four) operating sprinkler criteria.

c.       Sloped, beamed, and pitched ceilings could require special design features such as larger flows or a design for five or more sprinklers to operate in the compartment.

8. Sprinkler Coverage:

a.       Residential sprinklers shall be spaced so that the maximum area protected by a single sprinkler does not exceed 144 square feet.

b.      The maximum distance between sprinklers shall not exceed 12 feet, and the maximum distance to a wall or partition shall not exceed 6 feet.

c.       The minimum distance between sprinklers within a compartment shall be 8 feet.

9. Position of Residential Sprinklers:

a.       Pendent and upright sprinklers shall be positioned so that the deflectors are within 1 inch to 4 inches from the ceiling.

b.      Sidewall sprinklers shall be positioned so that the deflectors are within 4 inches to 6 inches from the ceiling.

c.       Sprinklers shall be positioned so that the response time and discharge are not unduly affected by obstructions such as ceiling slope, beams, or light fixtures.

d.      In closets and storage areas that are required to be protected and are less than 5 feet in height at the lowest ceiling, a single sprinkler located at the highest ceiling shall be permitted to protect a volume not larger than 300 sq. ft.

e.       Garage doors shall not be considered obstructions and shall be permitted to be ignored for placement and calculation of sprinklers.

f.        Sprinklers shall not be required in bathrooms where the area does not exceed 55 sq. ft. and the walls and ceilings, including walls and ceilings behind fixtures, are of on combustible or limited-combustible materials providing a 15-minute thermal barrier. The area occupied by a noncombustible, full height, shower/bathtub enclosure shall not be required to be added to the floor area when determining the area of the bathroom.

g.       Sprinklers shall not be required in clothes closets, linen closets, and pantries within the dwelling units where the area of the space does not exceed 24 sq. ft., the least dimension does not exceed 3 feet, and the walls and ceilings are surfaced with noncombustible or limited-combustible materials.

h.       Sprinklers shall not be required in any porches, balconies, corridors, and stairs that are open and attached.

i.         Sprinklers shall not be required in attics, penthouse equipment rooms, crawl spaces, floor/ceiling spaces, elevator shafts, and other concealed spaces that are not used or intended for living purposes or storage.

j.        Sprinklers shall not be required in closets on exterior balconies regardless of size as long as there are no doors or unprotected penetrations from the closet directly into the dwelling unit.

10. FLOW TESTS:

a.       The owner, installing contractor or responsible party shall complete and sign the CFD water-based fire protection systems test release form prior to conducting tests on the fire protection systems.

b.      The acceptance test shall be based on the number of design sprinklers.

c.       The test procedure will require the drainage of the system, the removal of the most hydraulically remote test sprinkler head(s) and the activation of the system for 30 seconds.

d.      The containers of water are measured to obtain flow amounts. A 55-gallon drum is typically used to contain the water and then measured by use of a yardstick or pre-calculated drums are used.

e.       The design discharge shall provide not less than 18 gpm to any single operating sprinkler and not less than 13 gpm per sprinkler to the number of design sprinklers, but the discharge shall not be less than the listing of the sprinkler.

f.        Calculation figures:

One gallon = 231 cubic inches

One cubic foot = 7.48 gallons

Volume in cubic inches = 3.1416 x radius squared x height

55-gallon drum or barrel is 22.5 inches in diameter

Therefore:

30 inches = 51.64 gallons                    

29 inches = 49.92 gallons

28 inches = 48.20 gallons

27 inches = 46.47 gallons

26 inches = 44.75 gallons

25 inches = 43.03 gallons

24 inches = 41.31 gallons

23 inches = 39.59 gallons

22 inches = 37.87 gallons

21 inches = 36.15 gallons

20 inches = 34.43 gallons

19 inches = 32.70 gallons

18 inches = 30.98 gallons

17 inches = 29.26 gallons

16 inches = 27.54 gallons

15 inches = 25.82 gallons

14 inches = 24.10 gallons

13 inches = 22.38 gallons

12 inches = 20.66 gallons

11.5 inches = 19.79 gallons

11.0 inches = 18.93 gallons

10.0 inches = 17.21 gallons

9.5 inches = 16.35 gallons

9.0 inches = 15.49 gallons

8.5 inches = 14.63 gallons

8.0 inches = 13.77 gallons

7.5 inches = 12.91 gallons

7.0 inches = 12.05 gallons

 6.5 inches = 11.19 gallons

 6.0 inches = 10.33 gallons

5.5inches = 9.47 gallons

5.0 inches = 8.61 gallons

4.5 inches = 7.75 gallons

4.0 inches = 6.89 gallons