5/1/2013
NFPA20Update 2013Edition
NFPA20Update 2013Edition
KennethE.Isman,P.E.F.S.F.P.E.
Kenneth E Isman P E F S F P E
VicePresidentofEngineering
NFPA20Update 2013
Revisioncycle
Whydoesthismatter?
Watermistpumps
Firepumpinstallationissues
Pumpsinseries
Highrisebuildings
Reliabilityofpowersupplies
Fuelsupply
Othermiscellaneousitems
Whydoesthismatter?
Weallneedtokeepuptodate
Limitourliability
Mostchangesareclarificationofoldtext
Manufacturers will change their product lines
Manufacturerswillchangetheirproductlines
tomeetthenewrules
Newtechnologyoralternatearrangements
(Equivalency)
GoalsandObjectives
Bytheendofthispresentation,the
participantwillbeableto:
1. RepeattherevisioncycleforNFPA20
2. Discusshowtousetheprovisionsofthe2013
editionevenifapreviouseditionisbeing
di i if i di i i b i
enforced
3. Designafirepumpsystemforaverytall
building
4. Discussthedifferencesbetweenlimitedservice
controllersandregularfirepumpcontrollers
RevisionCycle
ProposalsdueOctober2010
CommitteeROPMeeting,Jan.2011
ROPopenforcommentuntilAugust2011
Committee ROC Meeting, Oct. 2011
CommitteeROCMeeting,Oct.2011
VotedbyNFPAmembershipinJune2012
NFPAStandardsCouncilinAugust2012
IssuedinSept.2012with2013date
Electronicversionavailablenowfromwebsite
PrintedversionbylateOctober
Whydoesthismatter?
Newtechnologyoralternatearrangements
ForExample:NFPA20 2007
1.5Equivalency.Nothinginthisstandardisintended
topreventtheuseofsystems,methods,or
devices of equivalent or superior quality strength
devicesofequivalentorsuperiorquality,strength,
fireresistance,effectiveness,durability,andsafety
overthoseprescribedbythisstandard.
Systemsmeetingthe2013editionofNFPA20
areequivalentorsuperiortothosemeeting
the2007edition
1
 5/1/2013

NFPA202013 WaterMistPumps
FirePumpInstallationIssues Anumberofchangesthroughoutthe
document
Clarifiedtherulesformultiplesmallvolume
positivedisplacementpumpsusedasasingle
pumpingunitforawatermistsystem
Singlecontroller
HelpsNFPA20workwithNFPA750andlisted
watermistsystems

WithinSightof Plans(4.2.3.1)
ThereareanumberoflocationsinNFPA20 Plansneedtobedrawntoscale
whereitspecifiesthattwodifferentpartsof Listof14itemsthatneedtobeincludedon
thepumpinstallationneedtobewithin plans
sightofeachother
Thistermwasdefinedaseachoftheitems
beingvisibleandnotmorethan50ftdistant
fromtheotheritem

9 10

PumpsinSeries CommitteesConcernsaboutPumpsinSeries

Proposalstoputallpumpsinseriesinthe Verticalstagingofpumpsishardtodo
samepumproom correctly
Ultimately,theseproposalsfailed,butbeon Ifthehighpumpstartsbeforethelowpump,the
thelookoutforthisinfutureeditions highpumpcouldbedamaged
Intercontrolwiringbetweencontrollerscouldbe
I l ii b ll ld b
damaged
Communicationbetweenpeopleinseparate
pumproomsisdifficult
Testingofpumpsisdifficult

11

2
 5/1/2013

VerticalStagingofPumps PumpsinSeries
FirePump
Controller To High Zone To High Zone
Standpipe Risers Standpipe Risers
High Zone Pump
(Where will water To Low Zone
FirePump
Controller
go for testing?) S d i
Standpipe
Risers High
FirePump
Test equipment is
Controller
FirePump
Controller Zone easier to arrange
To Low Zone Pump
Standpipe Risers

Low Zone Pump Low Zone Pump

PumpsinSeries NFPAMembership SpaceintheRumpRoom(4.12.1.1.6)

Pumpscanbeverticallystaged,if:
Intercontrolwiringisatleastratedfor2hrs
Considerationisgiventoprovidingasafetesting
arrangement(cantjustuseclosedloopmetering)
Methodiscreatedforpeopleinpumproomsto
communicatewitheachother
Ownerneedstobeawareofimportanceoflow
zonepumpandneedtomaintain
Thepumproomneedstobedesignedwith
spacefor:
ClearancebetweencomponentsforITM
ClearancebetweencomponentsandwallsforITM
Clearancebetweencomponentsandenergized
electricalequipment
Orientationofthesuctionpipe

16

SuctionPipeWaterVelocity AgeofWaterSupplyTests
Standardhassaidforyearsthatthemaximum Anewsection4.6.1.2wasaddedtorequire
velocityis15ft/secinsuctionpipe thatwatersupplytestsusedtodeterminethe
Standardhasalsoprovidedminimumpipesizes(in adequacyofwatersuppliesbedonewithin12
Tables)anddefinedmaximumflows monthsofthesubmissionoftheworking
Whenyouputtogetherthedefinedmaximumflows
h h h d f d fl plans.
l
andminimumpipesizes,youendupwithvelocities
of15.1ft/secand15.3ft/secinsomecases
Committeeclarifiedthatisokaybydeleting15
ft/secruleandaddinganotetotheTableonwhy
thesepipesizeswereselected
18

3

TestHeaders
Thevalveonthepipetothetestheaderneeds
tobeinstalledevenifthetestheaderisnotin
anareasubjecttofreezing(4.20.3.3.1)
Thevalveneedstobesupervisedclosed
(4.16.2)
Testheadercanbeindoorsaslongasitisnot
inthepumproomandwatercanbe
dischargedduringtesting(4.20.1.4)
MeterArrangement
ElbowsandTees
5/1/2013
AccuracyofMeters
Forflowmeterlinesthatareloopedbackto
pumpsuctionorwatertanks
Ameanswillneedtobeincludeddownstream
ofthemetertotesttheflowsothatthe
accuracyofthemetercanbechecked
Couldbeadifferenttestheaderfromtheone
usedtotestthepump
Ortherecouldbeapipeconnectingthe
dischargefromthemetertothetestheader
19 20
ElbowsandTeesinSuctionfor
HorizontalSplitCasePumps
Newthreedimensional(isometric)figures
wereaddedtotheannextoshowcorrectand
incorrectcombinationsofteesandelbows
22
ElbowsandTees
23 24
4
 5/1/2013

QuestionsfromPart1 HighRiseBuildings
1. Whenweretheissuesdealingwiththe2013 Definition: morethan
editionofNFPA20votedonbythe 75ft(23m)fromthe
membershipoftheNFPA? lowestleveloffire
departmentvehicle
2. Whyshouldyoucarewhatisinthe2013 accesstohighestfloor
h h fl
forhumanoccupancy
editionsincethejurisdictionyouworkinhas
>75ft
probablynotyetlegallyadoptedit?

Chapter5 HighRise Section5.6VeryTallBuildings

RewriteofChapter
Sections5.1through5.5applytoallhighrise
buildings
Section5.6appliestoVeryTallBuildings
pp y g
NoindicationwhatVeryTallBuildingsare,
butthereisanimplicationthatthesearethe
buildingsthataretootallfortheFire
Departmenttogetreasonablepressuretothe
topfromthestreet
WaterSupplyTanks(paraphrased)
Wheretheprimarysourceisatank,youneedtwo
ormoretanks(compartmentsinasingletankare
okayiftheyarevalvedseparately)
Thetankshavetobesizedsothatwhenanyone
The tanks have to be sized so that when any one
tankisoutofservice,youstillhaveatleast50%of
thedurationdemand
Eachtankneedsanautomaticrefillvalve
Eachtankneedsamanualrefillvalve
Therefillvalveshavetobesizedandarrangedto
providethefireprotectionsystemflowdemand

Section5.7VeryTallBuildings VeryTallBuilding
WaterSupplyTanks(Section5.7.1.5)
Theautomaticandmanualfillvalvecombination
foreachtankortankcompartmentshallhaveits
ownconnectiontooneofthefollowing
A
Astandpiperiserthatissuppliedwithabackupfire
standpipe riser that is supplied with a back up fire
pump
Areliabledomesticrisersizedtomeetthe
requirementsof5.7.1.4(fullflowdemandofsystem)

5
 5/1/2013

Section5.8FirePumpBackUp VeryTallBuilding
Forpumpsservingzonesthatarepartiallyor
whollybeyondthepumpingcapabilityofthe
FireDepartment,doeitherofthefollowing:
Provideabackuppump(fullymeetingallsystem
d
demands)
d)
Provideanauxiliarymeansofmeetingallofthe
systemdemands(acceptabletotheAHJ)

ReliablePowertoElectricMotors LimitedServiceController
Theannexnotethatdiscussestheattributes Ratherthaneliminatethem,upgradedthe
ofareliablepowersupplywasmodified circuitbreaker
Removedthediscussionofpoweroutages Onlydifferencebetweenfullservice
duringstorms controllerswillbetheisolationswitch
ItisnottheintentofNFPA20torequire
It is not the intent of NFPA 20 to require
standbypowerforallfirepumps
TheimpairmentproceduresofNFPA25could
beusedwhenpoweroutagesoccurrather
thanforcingeveryonewithanelectricmotor
drivenfirepumptoinstallagenerator

33 34

DikesandFuelTanks
Thecommitteeclarifiedachangethatthey
triedtomakelastcycletostatethatdikesare
notrequiredwhendoublewalltanksareused
CleaningupFuel
Acommentwasacceptedbythecommitteeto
requirealistedactivefuelmaintenance
systemtobeinstalledonallfuelstoragetanks
ThiswasoverturnedbytheNFPAmembership
Theissueisstillvalid,thereneedstobeaplan
forhowallownerswillmaintaintheirfuel

35

6

AcceptanceTestForm
Theforminthestandardwasupdatedwithall
ofthenewrequirementssinceitwaslast
updated
5/1/2013
QuestionsAfterPart2
3. Atankholding15,000gallonsisbeingused
asapartofafireprotectionsystemforthe
topfloorsinabuilding600fttall.Howmany
automaticfillvalvesdoesthetankneed?
4. Aftermanufacturersstartimplementingthe
rulesinthe2013editionofNFPA13,whatis
themaindifferencegoingtobebetweena
limitedservicecontrollerandaregular(full
service)controller?
37
39