NFPA also recommends an average of the recommended spacing as the maximum between sprinkler and wall or obstruction deeper than 350mm, while special considerations should be given to custom ceilings. Ordinarily, NFPA recommends the standard spacing for each sprinkler head according to the hazard classification to achieve an efficient fire sprinkler system. On this note, building services professionals do recommend a spacing of 3.7m between two heads. The Wall type sprinkler, for example, has an average of 4.2m straight throw from the centerline with extensive coverage of 70’. The installation types also determine the spray of the sprinkler head, which NFPA has rules for. The Standard sprinkler head has a maximum coverage area of 15m 2 while the Extended spray sprinkler head has a maximum coverage area of 18m 2. The head type varies from a standard type sprinkler head to an extended type sprinkler head. Sprinkler head spacing is a factor of the head type, installation type, and the building hazard classification. Having gotten the category the building you are to design falls we now proceed to the second stage of the design process Sprinkler Head Spacing
On this note, fire-fighting engineers classified every building project into three, based on the degree of fire effect.
In the 2007 edition of NFPA 13, the members of NEHRP (National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program) submitted a series of code changes to the NFPA 13 Chapter 9 technical committee which established prescriptive requirements for hanging and supporting fire protection piping in all SDCs. In SDC’s D through F, the pipe hanger design needed to be engineered to accommodate the various forces based on ground movement. Q1: Do the pipe hanging and support requirements in Chapter 9 of NFPA 13 comply with the requirements in ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.Ī1: Up until the 2007 edition of NFPA 13 (the most current edition), the pipe hanging requirements in NFPA 13 Chapter 9 were only valid in Seismic Design Categories (SDC) A, B and C. Where the provisions of this code require that a building or portion thereof be equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with this section, sprinklers shall be installed throughout in accordance with NFPA 13 except as provided in Section 903.3.1.1.1. This information was confirmed by a California registered SE.ĩ03.3.1.1 NFPA 13 sprinkler systems. The following is an analysis I wrote in an ICC document regarding ASCE 7.