FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 3-0 HYDRAULICS OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS (original) (raw)

LPC rules for automatic sprinkler installations 2009

This document has been developed through the RISCAuthority and published by the Fire Protection Association (FPA). RISCAuthority membership comprises a group of UK insurers that actively support a number of expert working groups developing and promulgating best practice for the protection of people, property, business and the environment from loss due to fire and other risks. The technical expertise for this document has been provided by the Technical Directorate of the FPA, external consultants, and experts from the insurance industry who together form the various RISCAuthority Working Groups. Although produced with insurer input it does not (and is not intended to) represent a pan-insurer perspective. Individual insurance companies will have their own requirements which may be different from or not reflected in the content of this document. Foreword The LPC Rules for automatic sprinkler installations have a distinguished pedigree and this latest part of the work continues the tradition. The history of sprinklers in the UK started almost two centuries ago. One of the earliest sprinkler systems was installed in 1812 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. From these tentative beginnings, and with the active encouragement of insurance companies, the development of sprinklers and the installation of sprinkler systems burgeoned. It was not for another three quarters of a century, in 1885, that John Wormald of the Mutual Fire Insurance Corporation, composed a set of sprinkler rules; measures for the design and installation of sprinkler systems. In 1888, these rules were published in London by the insurance companies' Fire Offices' Committee (FOG). The 29th and last edition of the FOC rules was published in 1969. In 1952, with the approval and collaboration of the FOC, the British Standards Institution drew heavily upon the content of the FOC rules to produce its Code of Practice for sprinkler systems. That Code was enlarged and superseded by BS 5306-2: 1979: Code of practice for fire extinguishing installations and equipment on premises (sprinkler systems). The growing importance of sprinklers as a means of protecting people and premises from the hazard of fire led to the elaboration of the1979 standard into a document which could be cited for legislative purposes. In 1990, the British Standards Institution issued BS 5306-2: 1990: Fire extinguishing installations and equipment in buildings: Specification for sprinkler systems. That document embodied in full the requirements of the 29th edition of the FOC rules, together with unpublished amendments thereto. The activities of the FOC were acquired by the Loss Prevention Council (LPC) on its formation in 1985. In 1991, the LPC undertook the publication of its LPC Rules for automatic sprinkler installations, incorporating the text of BS 5306-2 together with a growing series of Technical Bulletins (eventually more than 30 of them). At about the same time as the 1991 Rules were issued by the LPC, the Comite Europeen de Normalisation (CEI\l) embarked upon the preparation of a set of European sprinkler rules, the UK version of which were published by BSI in August 2003 and reissued in 2004. This present volume, published by the Fire Protection Association, contains the text of the latest version of BS EN 12845: 2004 + A2: 2009: Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance, together with explanatory bulletins, under the title LPC Rules for automatic sprinkler installations 2009 Incorporating as EN 12845. Users of the LPC Rules benefit in a number of ways: • they can be assured that the Technical Bulletins, developed through RISCAuthority, have had input from sprinkler system experts and from fire engineering practitioners from insurance companies; This latest version of the LPC Rules is a comprehensive work of reference for anybody with a professional involvement in designing, specifying or installing sprinkler systems in Europe. It is commended without reservation.

Design of Fire Sprinkler System -A Review

System consisting with Sprinkler main pipes from pump room, piping network inside the floor area with properly designed pipe supports, Sprinkler control valve located outside the building and isolation valves. Sprinklers shall be standard response upright/pendant type, 68 deg. C temperature rating and shall design to cover 9 to 12 sq. m. At each floor sprinkler distribution header shall tapped off from sprinkler riser with isolation valves and flow switches on each distribution header and flow switch shall be connected to fire alarm panel to monitor in case of water flow in the event of fire. A sprinkler system consists of a water supply and one or more sprinkler installations; each installation consists of a set of installation control valves and a pipe array fitted with sprinkler heads. The sprinkler heads are fitted at specified locations at the roof or ceiling, and where necessary between racks, below shelves, inside ovens or stoves or below obstructions. A sprinkler has two functions to perform. It must first detect a fire, and must then provide an adequate distribution of water to control or extinguish it. The classic use of the sprinkler is in the hot gas layer which forms beneath the ceiling of an enclosure in which a fire is developing. The sprinklers operate at predetermined temperatures to discharge water over the affected part of the area below, the flow of water through the alarm valve initiating a fire alarm. The operating temperature is generally selected to suit ambient temperature conditions. Only sprinklers in the vicinity of the fire, i.e., those which become sufficiently heated, operate. It should not be assumed that the provision of sprinkler system entirely obviates the need for other means of fighting fires and it is important to consider the fire precautions in the premises as a whole. Structural fire resistance, escape routes, fire alarm systems, particular hazards needing other fire protection methods, provision of hose reels and fire hydrants and portable fire extinguishers, safe working and good handling methods, management supervision and good housekeeping all needs to be in consideration. It is essential that sprinkler systems should be properly maintained to ensure operation when required.

A review of sprinkler system effectiveness studies

Fire Science Reviews, 2013

A lack of information on the effectiveness of fire safety systems, including sprinklers, has been noted as being a limiting factor in the development of performance-based fire safety design. Of the fire safety systems available, sprinkler operation has been studied most extensively. This paper reviews the information currently available on sprinkler effectiveness in fires. Two approaches are generally taken for estimating sprinkler effectiveness: component-based approaches using a fault tree or similar method and system-based approaches using fire incident data where sprinklers were present. In this paper, sprinkler system component data and effectiveness estimates from system-based studies have been compiled and tabulated, with a comparison of the merits of the two approaches. Recommendations for using the data for design purposes are made, including considerations for uncertainty and using a hybrid system/component approach for specific sprinkler system comparisons. These recommendations provide input on the reliability of systems in the development of performance-based fire safety design methods.

Backflow protection and residential fire sprinklers

Journal AWWA, 1996

Is backflow prevention necessary to prevent stagnant water in residential fire sprinklers from contaminating municipal supplies?The current risk of death or injury from fire is 11.1 times higher than the current risk of waterborne illness. An analysis was conducted to determine the possible overall public health effect if residential fire sprinklers are connected to municipal water supply systems. Risk‐versus‐benefit calculations associated with the installation of residential fire sprinkler systems with and without various levels of backflow prevention are presented. The degree of risk for waterborne illness would remain essentially unchanged from current conditions if residential sprinkler systems were installed with a simple check valve device, and the relative degree of risk from fire would be reduced from 11.1 to 5.8.