NFPA25 FAQs

ResponsestoFAQsarepreparedbyNFPAtechnicalstafftoassistusersinreadingandunderstandingNFPAcodesand standards.Theresponses,however,arenotFormalInterpretationsissuedpursuanttoNFPARegulations.Anyopinions expressedarethepersonalopinionsoftheauthor(s),anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialpositionoftheNFPAor itsTechnicalCommittees.Inaddition,theresponsesareneitherintended,norshouldbereliedupon,toprovide professionalconsultationorservices.

1. Wheninspectinganoldsystem(60yearsorolder),when/wheredoesNFPA25requirea systemtobeupgradedtopresentstandards? NFPA25doesnotrequireanysystemmodificationstobringanoldsystemuptopresent standards.Thereareexceptionshowever.Iftheauthorityhavingjurisdictiondeterminesthat anunsafeconditionexists,Section1.2permitscorrectiveactioninexcessoftheminimum requirementsofthestandard.Anotherexceptiontothisrequirementcanbefoundin Section5.3.1.11.1whichstates"sprinklersinstalledpriorto1920shallbereplaced" 2. Ifanexistingsystemisfoundtocontaininstallationdeficiencies,whereinthestandarddoes NFPA25requirecorrectiveaction? NFPA25isnotintendedtoaddressinstallationdeficiencies.Infact,Section1.1states "Whereasystemhasnotbeeninstalledinaccordancewithgenerallyacceptedpractices,the correctiveactionisbeyondthescopeofthestandard" 3. AmIrequiredtohavealicenseinordertoperformtestingormaintenanceonawaterbased system? Manystateorlocaljurisdictionsrequirelicensingorcertification,NFPA25doesnot.Section 4.1.2.3statesthat"Thesetasksshallbeperformedbypersonnelwhohavedeveloped competencethroughtrainingandexperience". 4. Whattypeoftests,ifany,arerequiredwhenasystemcomponentisreplacedorrebuilt? Section4.5.6requirestestinginaccordancewiththeoriginalacceptancetestforthat componentorsubsystem.Thisinformationcanbefoundintheinstallationstandardforthe typeofsysteminvolved. 5. Isanobstructioninvestigationrequiredeveryfiveyears? TherearetwoactivitiesthatarerelatedtoobstructionsinChapter13thatrequireour attention.Thefirstisaninvestigationthatisactuallymoreofaninspectionasdescribed inSection13.2.1thatmustbeconductedeveryfiveyears.Whilethesprinklersystemisshut downforthepurposeofinternalvalveinspections(SeeTable12.1),theflushingconnection attheendofonecrossmainandasinglesprinklerattheendofonebranchlinemustbe
NFPA 25 FAQs

6.

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removedandtheinsideofthepipingistheninspectedforthepresenceoforganicand inorganicmaterial. InSection13.2.2amorecomprehensiveobstructioninvestigationmustbeconducted whenanyofthe14conditionslistedinthatsectionarepresent.Thismorecomprehensive obstructioninvestigationisconductedbyinternallyexaminingthefollowingfourpointsina system:systemvalve,riser,crossmainand,branchlineandisonlyrequiredwhenoneofthe 14problemslistedinSection13.2.2ispresent.Thisobstructioninvestigationisnotaroutine procedure,itisonlyneededwhenaproblemexists.Ifanyobstructingmaterialisfound,a completeflushingprogrammustbeconductedtoremoveanyremainingobstructing material. Arebags(paperorplastic),acceptabletoprotectsprinklersfromaccumulationofdustor otherpotentialcontaminants? Bagsareonlypermittedwhensprinklersareprotectingspraycoatingareas.Plasticbagsmust haveaminimumthicknessof0.003in.(0.076mm)orsmallpaperbagsmaybeused. Sprinklersprotectingareasotherthanspraycoatinghazardsarenotpermittedtohavebags placedoverthesprinklers. Whatismeantby"indivdualsprinklersample"asreferencedinSection5.3.1.2,doesthis pertaintothestyleofthesprinkler(suchasupright,pendentetc.)? Individualsprinklersamplereferstoeachtypeofsprinklerinasystem.Forexample,ifa systemcontainsuprightandpendentsprinklers,onepercentornotlessthanfourofeach typemustberemovedfortesting. Ifasystemhasonlyoneriserbutservesseveraltenantspaces,suchasastripmall,shoulda sprinklersamplebetakenfromthesystemasawholeorfromeachindividualtenant space? Inyourcase,asamplefromeachtenantspaceisnotrequired.Thesamplingrequirementin Section5.3.1.2isintendedtoberandomsampling,meaningthatsprinklersshouldnotbe removedfromasinglebranchlinebutshouldbetakenfromanumberofdifferentareasina building(wherepractical).Removingsprinklersfromasmanydifferentareasaspossiblewill betterrepresenttheconditionofallormostofthesprinklersinthatsystem. Howmanysprinklersmustberemovedfromasystemfortesting? Section5.3.1.2requiresthatonepercent(ornolessthanfour)beremovedandsubmittedto atestinglaboratoryforevaluation.Ifasystemcontains500sprinklersforexample(400 uprightand100pendent)thenatotalofeightsprinklersmustberemoved;400X.01=4and 100X.01=1(butnotlessthan4).

NFPA 25 FAQs

10. Ourlocalhighschoolisfullysprinklered.Thesprinklerslocatedintheswimmingpoolarea haveturnedgreen.Arethesesprinklersrequiredtobereplaced? Yes.AnysprinklerfoundtobecorrodedmustbereplacedinaccordancewithSection 5.2.1.1.2.Anytimebrassisexposedtoconstantmoisture(particularlycombinedwith chlorine),corrosionwillresult.Sprinklersexposedtotheseconditions,shouldbewaxcoated toprotectthesprinklerfromcorrosion.Waxcoatedsprinklersareavailablefromany sprinklermanufacturer.Waxisnotpermittedtobeappliedafterthesprinklerleavesthe manufacturer. 11. Whenreplacingsprinklersinasystem,isitnecessarytoperformahydrostatictest? Section5.4.3ofthestandardreferstoNFPA13"StandardfortheInstallationofSprinkler Systems"whenmaintenanceorrepairinvolvesmorethan20sprinklers.Thissectionis intendedtoaddresscommoninstallationissuessuchaspipe,fittings,hangersandsoon.Itis sometimesacommonpracticetohydrotestasystemwithoutsprinklersinstalled,i.e.:with "plugsinstalledinthebottomofadroptoapendentsprinklerandtheninstallthesprinkler afterfinaladjustmentofthedroponcethefinishedceilingisinstalled.Bothstandardsare silentonthisissue.Mysuggestionistoconsultthelocalfiremarshaltodeterminewhat he/shewillaccept.Inmostcaseswhenreplacingsprinklersonly,andnotmodifyingthepipe, anhydrostatictestisnotrequired. 12. Dostandpipesystemsrequireaperiodichydrostatictest? Yes.However,onlydrystandpipesystemssuchasthosefoundinaparkingstructurefor example,mustbetestedeveryfiveyears.Thehydrotestisrequiredtoverifypipingintegrity. Wetsystemsdonotneedtoberoutinelyhydrotestedsinceleaksinthepipearereadily apparent. 13. Ihaveastandpipesystemwithtworisers.Theoriginaldesignindicatesatotalflowof750 gpm(2839Lpm).AmIrequiredtoflowthismuchwaterforthefiveyearflowtest? No.Whenconductingthefiveyearflowtest,oneriseristestedatatime.Therefore,theflow shouldbeatotalof500gpm(1892Lpm),250gpm(946lpm)foreachofthetwotopmost outlets. 14. ChapterfiveofNFPA25requiresaweeklyfirepumptesttobeconductedwithoutflowing water.Doesthisincludethecirculationreliefvalve? No.Thestandardsays"withoutflowingwater"sonooneflowswateratminimum,ratedand peakflowseachweekasrequiredfortheannualflowtest.Thecirculationreliefvalvemust flowwateranytimethepumpisrunningtoprovidepropercoolingofthepump.Withoutthis smallflowofwater,thepumpwilloverheatresultingindamagetothepumpshaftorother components.
NFPA 25 FAQs

15. Duringtheweeklyinspectionofthefirepumpinmybuilding,Ihaveobservedwaternear thebaseplateofthepump.IsthisnormalordoIhavealeak? Asmallamountofwaterinthebaseplatedrainisnormal.Thiswatershouldbedrippingfrom thepackingglands.Thepackingglandsonthepumpmustbekeptwetforproperlubrication (aboutonedroppersecond).Neveradjustthepackingglandtostopthedrippingofwater. Todosowillpreventlubricationandwillresultinthedestructionofthepackinggland. 16. Duringtheannualtestofourfirepumpitwasnotedthatpumpperformancewasslightly lessatpeakflow,thantheresultsobtainedduringtheoriginalacceptancetest.Isthisa problem? Thismaynotbeaproblem.First,youshouldverifythatallvalvesonthesuctionsideofthe pumpandinthetestheaderareopenfully.Somedecreaseinperformancecanbeexpected duetoslightwearofthepumporitscomponents,thisisnormal.Theannualtestisintended toensurethatthepumpiscapableofsupplyingthemaximumsystemdemand.Thetest resultsfromtheannualtestarenotrequiredtomeettheoriginalpumpcurveasinthe originalacceptancetest. 17. Whenperformingthefiveyearinternalinspectionofawaterstoragetank,isitnecessary todrainthewaterfromthetankorcanaqualifieddiverperformthenecessaryinspection? InordertoperformtherequiredinspectionandmaintenanceactivitiesoutlinedinChapter9, thewaterisnotrequiredtobedrainedfromthetank.Acertifiedcommercialdivercan performtheinspectionwithoutdrainingwaterfromthetank.Inanycase,theinspection shouldincludeverificationthatcentercolumnsoftubulardesignarenotholdingwater,spot wetspongetestingandvacuumboxtestingtonameafew. 18. Ineedtoperformaflowtestthroughthebackflowpreventerinmysprinklersystem.Ihave notestconnectionsizedtoaccommodatethismuchflow.WhatcanIdotocomplywith thisrequirement? Youhaveseveraloptions,theyare:

usethefirepumptestheader,ifpresent,asatestconnection ifthebackflowpreventerisinstalledonthesuctionsideofthepump,theannualfire pumptestwillalsoserveasaflowtestforthebackflowpreventer thefiredepartmentconnectionmaybeusedasatestconnectionbyreversingthecheck valveandflowingwateroutoftheFDC.Itmightbeagoodideatoinstallabypass aroundthecheckvalvewithanormallyclosedcontrolvalveforfuturetesting

19. Whenisamaindraintestrequired? Amaindraintestisrequiredannuallyoranytimethewatersupplycontrolvalveisclosed, thisincludesanytimeasystemundergoesmaintenanceorrepair.Thistestisessentialto

NFPA 25 FAQs

ensurethatthewatersupplyvalveisfullyopen.Sprinklersystemsperformexceptionally well,howeverwhentheydofailthemajorcauseoffailure(35%ofthecasesreportedto NFPA)thewatersupplyvalvewasclosed,thustheverificationofanopenwatersupplyvalve cannotbeoveremphasized.Theannualtestfrequencyisaminimumrequirement,NFPA25 permitsmorefrequenttestingifdesired. 20. Wehavebeenexperiencingpinholeleaksinoursprinklersystem.Ourmaintenance contractorsuggeststhattheproblemmaybethepresenceofMIC.WhatisMICandhow cantheproblembecorrected? MICormicrobiologicallyinfluencedcorrosionistheresultofcertaintypesofbacteriainthe waterthatattacksteelandcopperpipe.MICcanberecognizedbythepresenceoforangeor blacktuberculesorblackmudlikeslimeinsteelpipeandblueorgreentuberculesincopper pipe. Thebestapproachtoaddressthissituationistosubmitasampleofthecorrosionbyproduct toalaboratoryfortesting(suchlabscanbefoundontheinternet)andidentificationofthe microorganismresponsible.Onceidentified,atreatmentstrategycanbedeveloped.This mayinvolvealteringoneormoreenvironmentalconditionsinsidethepipesuchas:oxygen levels,pH,temperatureorresidualchlorinecontent.IftheproblemisMIC,treatmentofthe waterwillbenecessaryeachtimeyoutestorflushyoursystem.Introducingafreshsupplyof waterandoxygenmayallowtheMICtorenewitsattackonthepipe.

NFPA 25 FAQs