Similarities in the Gap and GE Warehouse Fire Losses
In 2015 and 2016 two large warehouse property fires occurred to General Electric (GE) in Louisville, KY and Gap in Fishkill, NY. GE Louisville, KY Fire - Appliance Park Fire Occurred April 3,...
Protection of Penetrations and Firestopping Materials
Fire stopping materials are used to retain the integrity of fire rated construction by maintaining an effective barrier against the spread of flame, smoke, and hot gases through penetrations in fire...
Health Care Facilities Compliance with NFPA 99 (Health Care Facilities Code) and NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code)
Effective May 3, 2016 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that health care facilities were required to meet the 2012 version of Health Care Facilities Code (NFPA 99) and Life...
Water Tanks
Water tanks for fire protection (whether suction tanks for fire pumps, pressure tanks or gravity tanks) are sometimes needed where: a water utility cannot provide adequate flow, pressure and/or...
Internal Corrosion and Tuberculation of Sprinkler Piping
Iron and steel sprinkler piping, particularly dry pipe sprinkler systems, are subject to blockage and degraded flow performance by internal corrosion and tuberculation of the interior of the piping....
Protecting Storage Areas - Viking's New Automatic Sprinkler Head (Increased K-Factor)
The Viking Corporation has introduced the next size in Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) technology with their model VK514 sprinkler head. This pendent head has a nominal Kfactor of 28.0 (404...
COUNTERFEIT SPRINKLER HEADS
Counterfeit equipment and materials, no matter whether it is currency, watches or medicine, affect the reliability of the end user's systems as well as the reputation of the authentic manufacturers....
Detection vs. Sprinkler Protection
You might think that since you have smoke detection and/or heat detection in your building that it is almost as good as having sprinkler protection to protect your property. Is there really that much...
Pressure Relief Valves for Wet Pipe Sprinkler Systems
The old requirement/standard for the installation of pressure relief valves was only for gridded systems. Since 2010, NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems requires relief...
Fire Safety Systems for Industrial Occupancies
Recent studies by Liberty Mutual and National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) have shown that sprinklers are the most effective way to reduce loss of life and property damage in industrial occupancies...
Exercising Fire Pumps
In the 2011 Edition of NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, the frequency of exercising electric motor driven fire pumps was changed from weekly to...
Break Tanks
Break tanks are utilized in fire protection systems for three main reasons: As a backflow prevention device between the jurisdictional water supply and the fire pump suction. In this case the...