Obstruction of a Fire Protection System Essays - Firefighting

Obstruction of a Fire Protection System Student Name Instructor MOS 5301 Fire Protection Technology Columbia Southern University The fire sprinkler system in a large indoor self-storage facility is designed to ensure full and adequate protection by overlapping the radius of the sprinkler heads. This radii coverage is meant to ensure that the water reaches out to all the corners of the store and provides the ready fire response. The effectiveness of the overlapping radii coverage can be limited by the arrangement of the materials which may be stacked too high that the sprinklers fail to operate effectively. This would prevent the sprinkler heads from covering the effective range that would help them reach to the combustible hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Association and the National Fire Prevention Association Standards require that the stacking is not done so high to block the effectiveness of the sprinkler heads. According to NFPA and OSHA, storage materials must not get closer than the 18 inch distance near the plane or close to the horizontal levels of the sprinkler (Klaus, 2014). Only the shelf-stored materials along the room's perimeter wall are allowed to go beyond the 18 inch clearance but should not come close to the sprinkler deflector. The standards also require that during the repainting of the pipes or the ceilings, the sprinkler out to be covered to prevent paint from blocking its nozzles. The maker of the sprinkler is the only party allowed to repaint it. The owner of the store is required to carry out a regular inspection of the sprinkler to ensure that it is effectively functioning and to report any malfunctions to the relevant persons. There ought to be no items hanging on the sprinklers, guards of the pipes at any time. Reference Klaus, M. J. (2014) NFPA 25 Water-Based Fire Protection Systems Handbook, 4th Edition. Quincy