The newest edition of NFPA 13 will be adopted as early as 2022. However, the vast majority of states and jurisdictions will be adopting the new standard in January of 2023 with California being one of these states. In this article we will be focusing on the latest changes to the storage chapters and as they compare to the 2019 Edition of this standard. Read more…
On October 4th in San Diego, CA, K&A will present a course on basic requirements contained in Chapter 32, High-Piled Combustible Storage of the International Fire Code (IFC) and NFPA 13 2019 Edition. Smoke and heat vents in context of sprinkler protection will be reviewed along with aisle and maximum storage dimension requirements. Discussions also include IFC requirements for protecting storage and their effect on sprinkler system specification. Read more…
Lithium-Ion based energy storage systems have become increasingly important in recent years, and as a result much effort has been expended in describing and solving the fire protection concerns regarding these types of (battery) systems. The 2018 International Fire Code added Section 608, FM Global released DS 5-33 and the National Fire Protection Association proposed Standard 855 to address concerns arising from the storage and use of these systems. However, only limited test data are available Read more…
Polyurethane foam fires are known to produce very high heat release rates and extremely toxic fumes. As a result, these types of fires provide some unique life, firefighter, property safety and fire suppression challenges. In this study polyurethane foam fires and their combustion processes are [...]
Explore with us in this article the do’s and don’ts of using ESFR sprinkler systems. We discuss common pitfalls in applying these types of sprinkler systems and provide detailed explanations on their correct usage including applicable codes and regulations. Presented are the latest updates [...]
NFPA 13 2019 provided a ‘roadmap’ included in the back of the standard for 2019 section cross references for many of the sections found in the 2016 Edition. While this ‘roadmap’ table is useful, it is not a complete reference by any means and as [...]
FM Global updated their Data Sheet 8-9 with new high-piled rack storage protection schemes. These new protection options can reduce installation costs by as much as 50%. Large-scale fire tests were used to validate these alternative designs. They demonstrated that large orifice sprinklers and higher [...]
The Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication System (GHS) is in the process of being adopted by the US. Compliance with the new provisions will impact content and format of MSDS’es. Do you understand the changes and how they may impact your business? (more…)
ESFR protection of exposed expanded Group A plastics is currently outside the scope of NFPA 13. Attempting to fill this gap, NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation set out to develop experience with these types of commodities and gather data by initiating large-scale fire tests. The [...]
Xtralis, a maker of Aspirating Smoke Detection (ASD) solutions, conducted a series of fire tests in a warehouse setting to demonstrate the capabilities of three smoke detection technologies, an air-sampling solution, a spot-type detector and a beam detector. (more…)
New layout of NFPA 13 may be beneficial for new users of the standard, but it can also create confusion and dismay for experienced users.
