Transcript National Fire Sprinkler Association 1 & 2 Family

Sprinkler Protection
for Dwellings
(it’s not rocket science)
Yesterday We Talked About
WHAT We Need To Do
I am going to talk about HOW we
do it
Instead of a quarter vs. a dime we will use
NFPA 13 vs. NFPA 13D
First of All
We Are Not Going To Talk About
Minutia- Let The Engineers &
Contractors Deal With That
We teach minutia in individual seminars
Your books have the “Cliff’s Notes” of
minutia
We are just going to look at the challenges for
technology
Before we get started, let’s take
a look at where we want to be,
then we’ll talk about how we are
going to get there
Challenges to Technology
or
How Do You Go from Protecting
Property to Protecting People?
Let’s Start with a Brief History
Sprinklers were originally developed for
property protection
 Woolen mills
 They only addressed heat absorption
 Not really concerned with life safety
Why Do People Install
Sprinklers
 The law requires them to install sprinklers
Codes
 It is actually less expensive to build with
them than without them
Construction
Savings
Why Have They Been So
Successful?
Not because of brilliance
So many Built in safety factors
75% of the time, 5 or fewer actually go off
(in all sprinklered properties, not just dwellings)
Eventually someone noticed a correlation
between property savings & life safety
A Review of How
People Die in Fires
SHIELDED CORNER FIRE
TEST
 Severe challenge to sprinkler system
 Infrequent occurrence
 Revised in 2000, added ¼ in. of foam
to cushions
SHIELDED CORNER SCENARIO

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






Corner of living room near stairs
Plastic wastebasket filled with newspapers
Ignition source a match
Water shielded from water spray by an end table
Adjacent vinyl/polyurethane furnishings
Wood paneling on walls
Carpeting on floor
Combustible ceiling tile
Draperies on walls
Temperature
Carbon Monoxide
Heat Release
Velocity of Gases
Toxicity
Death
Viable Level
Fire Starts
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time (Minutes)
6
7
Smoke Detector Operates
Death
Viable Level
:15 - 1:15
Fire Starts
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time (Minutes)
6
7
Residential Sprinkler
Activates
Death
Viable Level
:30 - 2:00
Fire Starts
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time (Minutes)
6
7
Standard Response Sprinkler
Death
Viable Level
2:00 - 4:00
Fire Starts
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time (Minutes)
6
7
RESIDENTIAL FIRE TEST FREE BURN WITHOUTSPRINKLERS
3” Below Ceiling
60” Above Floor
36” Above Floor
1400
1200
1000
Temp.800
600
400
200
0
0
60
120
180
240
300
Time in Seconds
360
420
RESIDENTIAL FIRE TEST FREE BURN WITH SPRINKLERS
140
3” Below Ceiling
60” Above Floor
36” Above Floor
120
100
Temp.
80
60
40
20
0
0
60
120
Time in Seconds
180
240
RESIDENTIAL FIRE TEST FREE BURN WITHOUT SPRINKLERS
4000
Carbon Monoxide
3000
PPM
2000
1000
0
0
60
120
180
240
300
Time in Seconds
360
420
RESIDENTIAL FIRE TEST FREE BURN WITH SPRINKLERS
4000
Carbon Monoxide
3000
PPM
2000
1000
0
0
60
120
Time in Seconds
180
What Does It Take For a Human
Being To Survive
(the soup line)
An atmosphere that at least has
 > 14% oxygen


< 1500F
< 10,000ppm CO
Viability
The Role of Technology
Take proven success & extract the part that
relates to life safety
Use science, facts & statistics vs. emotions
(facts are facts - like, dislike, agree or disagree)
Take the mystery out of technical jargon
(that’s my job)
Dispel myths
NFPA 13D
Installation of Sprinkler Systems in
One and Two Family Dwellings and
Manufactured Homes
The criteria in this standard are based on full scale
fire tests of rooms containing typical
furnishings
Rules Governing
13-D Systems
WHEN CAN NFPA 13D
BE USED?
To be used for one and two family
dwellings and manufactured housing.
Not intended to protect multi family housing that
exceeds two units per building. A town house
complex that contains multiple dwelling units (More
than two), even though the structure contains single
family units, is beyond the scope of 13D.
NFPA 13D Purpose
 Aids in detection and control of
residential fires
 Protects against injury, loss of life and
property damage
 Prevent flashover in the room of origin
NFPA 13D Definitions
Not the same as the Building Code
Dwelling
 Building containing not more than
two “Dwelling Units”
 Owned, rented, leased, let and
occupied for habitation purposes
Dwelling Unit
 One or more rooms
 Used by one or more persons
 Living together as a single
housekeeping unit
 Provided with cooking, living,
sanitary and sleeping facilities
What Things Did Technology
Need To Address
How to control the environment
(not just heat)
How to reduce costs
(to be politically acceptable)
How to improve aesthetics
(to be socially acceptable)
In Order to Control the
Environment They Must
Be fast response
Have a unique water distribution
pattern
(high wall wetting capability)
Standard Response Links
SLIDE OF SPRINKLERS WITH
DIFFERENT COLOR LIQUID
Fast Response Links
SLIDE OF SPRINKLERS WITH
DIFFERENT FINISHES
Fast Response Capability
Standard Response
Fast Response
High Wall Wetting Capability
Standard Spray
Sprinkler
Residential
Sprinkler
High Wall Wetting Capability
Standard Spray
Sprinkler
Residential
Sprinkler
30”
36”
How Are We Going to
Reduce Costs?
Reduce the number of sprinklers in the
design to two
We know over 90% of the time only two go off, and when tested
for their listing no more than two sprinklers can activate and
control the fire, so you only design for two
 This results in less water required
 This results in less pressure required to push it
 This results in smaller (less expensive) pipe
How Else Are We Going to
Reduce Costs?
Reduce the cost of materials and
installation
 Lower schedules of steel pipe
 Copper Tube
 CPVC or PEX plastic pipe
Use non listed components where not critical to life safety
(tanks, pumps, hangars, waterflow detection devices & waterflow
valves)
How Else Are We Going to
Reduce Costs?
Omit sprinklers in certain locations
Areas not critical to life safety
How do we know where to omit them
We need to know, not just where fires start, but
where fires start that KILL people
Where Fires Start That KILL
People in 1 & 2 Family
Dwellings & Mfg. Housing
 Living Room
 Bedroom
 Kitchen
 Storage Area
 Heating Equipment Room
 Structural Area
 Other Areas
41%
25.6%
15%
4%
3%
2%
8%
Here’s What’s At the Bottom
of the List(other)
Sprinklers shall be installed in all areas
Except:
 Bathrooms less than 55 ft.2
 Clothes closets, linen closets and pantries
less than 24 ft.2 least dimension 3 ft.
 Garages, carports & open attached porches
 Attics, crawl spaces and concealed spaces
 Entrance foyers (if a second exit is provided)
How Else Are We Going to
Reduce Costs?
Reduce the water supply requirements
We’ve already reduced the number of heads in our
design to two
Lower the flow requirements from .10 to .05gpm/ft2
Lower the duration requirement to 10 minutes
(7 minutes if it is a single story home < 2000 ft.2)
How Else Are We Going to
Reduce Costs?
Regardless of what we do with the water
supply,
SPRINKLER SYSTEMS ARE ALWAYS
DESIGNED TO MEET THE ABILITIES OF
THE WATER SUPPLY, NOT VICE VERSA
Improve Aesthetics
Make them smaller
Make them concealed or recessed
Statistically 1 in 3 people are grossly
ugly
Make sure they have clean underwear
From this
To These
Technology is a Constant
Work in Progress
Whatever you need, someone will develop
Alarms that can differentiate between a toilet & a
sprinkler
Always remember, somewhere out there is
a geek in a lab developing something
extraordinary