In November 2002, Sprinkler Age magazine featured it’s 15th annual legislative review for the United States and Canada. This summary of legislation and codes offers an overview of regulations affecting the fire sprinkler industry in individual states. The information was obtained from a survey mailed to the fire marshals of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the provinces of Canada. We have listed below the responses and findings for California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
| State Licensing & Certification Requirements | ||||||||
| State | Requires Certification of: | Requires Licensing for: | Requires for Sprinkler Drawings: | |||||
| Plan Reviewers | Inspectors | Contractors | Fitters | Designers | PE / Architect Seal | NICET Level II | NICET Level IV | |
| California | N | N | Y | – | Y | N | N | N |
| Connecticut | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
| Massachusetts | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N |
| New Jersey | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | – | – | – |
| New York | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N |
| North Carolina | Y | Y | – | – | – | N | Y | N |
| Pennsylvania | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| State | State Code Adoption | Additional NFPA Standards | NFPA 13 Edition Adopted | Intend to Adopt | Adopted NFPA 25 | ||
| IBC | NFPA 5000 | Statewide | Locally | ||||
| California | 1997 UBC, 1997 UFC | NFPA 13, 13D, 13r-1996, 14-1993, 24-1995 | 1996 | UNK | – | No | No |
| Connecticut | BOCA 1996 amended; NFPA 101 1997 amended | NFPA 13, 13D, 13R | 1999 | – | – | Yes | – |
| Massachusetts | BOCA 1993 amended, portions of NFPA | Yes, MGL 148 Sections 26G, H, I | 1999 | Yes | – | Yes | – |
| New Jersey | BOCA 1996 amended | No | 1994 | Yes | – | Yes | – |
| New York | 2003 ICC w/NY enhancements | NYS enhancements – sprinklers required in all new buildings classified as an R occupancy | 1999 | Yes | No | As a reference standard | – |
| North Carolina | 2000 IBC amended | No | 1999 | Yes | No | Yes | – |
| Pennsylvania | BOCA 1999 amended | N/A | N/A | No | – | No | – |
Other survey findings included the following for the above states:
Regarding pending sprinkler legislation:
Legislation is pending in North Carolina that is less restrictive for public assemblies.
Regarding sprinkler retrofit requirements:
New Jersey has retrofit requirements for high-rise hotels, health care facilities, high-rise R-1 facilities, nursing homes and institutional facilities.
If you would like any information regarding additional states, please contact us.