Recent adoptions for newer editions of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards have resulted in many existing safety systems no longer being in compliance. Life Safety Systems (LSS) encompasses fire protection systems and all other systems installed that provide the required critical information to all personnel to safely respond to emergency conditions.
The changes in the adopted NFPA standards have resulted in major changes to current Life Safety Systems and equipment. Here are some newer editions below:
- NFPA 72, "National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code," has led to major changes in gas detection and mass notification systems (plant-wide alarm systems).
- NFPA 25, "Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems," will require spare foam concentrate to be available to perform the annual foam solution flow tests and addresses what is required for the five-year firewater (FW) testing.
Vallen Safety Services (VSS) is an industry leader in the design, installation, inspection, testing and maintenance of LSS. Our LSS technical group has over 300 years of industrial and petrochemical LSS experience. Our LSS specialists meet with customers and help develop the scope of work that meets their specific needs and code-compliant solutions.
For existing LSS upgrades, we will perform an analysis of the existing system and equipment. VSS will identify what changes are required to meet the customer requirements, be code compliant and provide the total installed cost for any required upgrades. Many of the required LSS upgrade projects are developed based on phased approaches to allow customers to perform the projects in phases. This is so they can enjoy partial benefits of the project without waiting for the entire upgrade project to be completed. VSS has licensed designers to perform the industrial LSS designs. Since we only perform industrial and petrochemical LSS projects, our design packages meet all maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements, and our licensed installers follow all industrial construction practices.
VSS services what we sell and what other contractors have installed. We know what works in what environments and incorporate that knowledge in our recommendations to customers. We develop programs for customers to meet their needs for the LSS upgrades.
Gas detection changes
The recent adoptions for newer editions of NFPA 72, "National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code" (Section 17.10), have led to major changes in gas detection systems. Prior to the 2013 edition of NFPA 72, gas detection was viewed predominantly as a process system and not an LSS. Since gas detectors are being used more and more for notifications required to evacuate personnel or trip suppression systems, they were re-evaluated. Instead of saying they may be required to meet NFPA 72 alarm initiation device requirements, NFPA added NFPA 72-17.10, "Gas Detection."
NFPA 72-17.10 states gas detection systems have to comply with all the same standards as a smoke detector if used to move personnel (evacuate or respond), trip suppression systems or sound alarms. VSS can evaluate existing systems to determine the easiest way to mesh your existing gas detection with existing or new listed-alarm system equipment. Innovations and new listed-alarm equipment now make it easier to provide the code-compliant gas detection system and drop all the gas detection system information directly to the customer's distributed control system (DCS).
Plant-wide emergency alarm system changes
The recent adoptions of newer editions of NFPA 72, "National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code," have led to major changes in mass notification systems and plantwide emergency alarm systems (PWEAS); 9/11, college campus shootings and terrorist threats led to new requirements for mass notification or PWEAS. The OSHA 1910. 165 mass notification requirements were a performance-based standard, and NFPA 72 did not cover mass notification systems until the 2010 edition of NFPA 72, when the standard changed from the "National Fire Alarm Standard" to the "National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code." The addition of NFPA 72 (Chapter 24), covering mass notification systems or PWEAS, added the requirements for the system alarm input and output. The main change was from the old coded or tones systems to intelligible voice messages. The requirement for intelligible voice messages providing critical information to respond correctly in emergency situations requires sound studies and decibel maps to ensure all speakers are properly located and spaced for maximum efficiency. Over-driving speakers normally hinders intelligibility.
LSS can provide the sound surveys, speaker location maps and alarm inputs, and assist in the determination as to whether automatic inputs (suppression systems, gas detection, deluge systems, etc.) are required to provide proper response in a safe, timely fashion. We can also assist with the local and remote manual activation points for fire, gas, chemical or medical inputs to the PWEAS. VSS works with each industrial and petrochemical customer to provide a code-compliant mass notification system that is customized to meet its specific needs with standard, readily available equipment.
Foam plan
NFPA 25, "Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water- Based Fire Protection Systems" (Section 25-11.3.5), clearly defines each annual foam test will include flowing foam solution and performing a refractometric evaluation of the foam solution gathered while flowing the foam system. Depending on the size of the foam system and whether there is an existing foam test header, each test could take up to 100 gallons of foam concentrate. In the past, that was not a big deal, as foam concentrate is readily available. The major issue is the C8 foam concentrates are not made any more, as all manufacturers have gone to more environmentally friendly C6 foam concentrates in 2016. The C6 and C8 foam concentrates cannot be mixed. If the owner does not have spare foam concentrate, the owner has to decide to either not test as required by code or change out the foam concentrate in the foam tanks and possibly the concentrate proportioner. Even if there is spare concentrate, the most popular foam in the 1980s and 1990s was 3M, which has not been made for 20 years. Since the expected life of foam concentrates is less than 20 years, most of the older systems will need to have the foam concentrate and proportioner changed out for new ones.
VSS works with customers to develop a foam plan to determine if the owner has the required foam concentrate for the refill prior to performing the annual foam solution flow tests. If there is not adequate foam concentrate for all the foam systems, we perform a foam evaluation. The foam evaluation identifies the type and quantity of foam concentrate in each foam system and whether there is spare concentrate of each type available for refills for the flow tests or in the event of a foam system operation. Based on the foam concentrates available, the owner may decide to convert one system at a time and use the existing foam concentrate to supplement other systems that have the same C8 foam concentrate. The foam plan will also identify whether the existing fixed-foam systems have the NFPA 16 foam test headers. The foam test headers reduce the quantity of foam concentrate required to perform the test and keep from flowing large quantities of foam in the hazard area. Remember, the foam system should have adequate foam concentrate available either on-site or from a local source so the system can be refilled and returned to service. Since C8 concentrates are not available, a foam plan should be in place in the event of a foam system operation.
Five-year firewater testing
NFPA 25, "Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems" (Section 25-7.3), clearly defines five-year FW test requirements. Until the 2014 edition of NFPA 25 (Chapter 7), "Private Service Mains," there were many interpretations as to what the five-year underground and aboveground FW tests were supposed to entail and why. The 2014 edition of NFPA 25 clarifies what it always should have been: a flow test of each area to prove the fire demand for each area can be met in volume (gallons per minute) and pressure (psi). The capacity FW flow test is to be compared against, if available, the original premise (fire demand) and the prior five-year test. This provides the required information to determine if the FW system piping is still able to meet the fire demands and any deterioration in the FW piping C-factor since the last five-year FW test. VSS has created the flush maps and FW capacity test maps for many industrial and petrochemical facilities and then performed the flushes and capacity flow tests. The results are recorded and presented to the customer in the flow test report of findings. The flush and flow test maps are saved as a document of record and used for future tests so the tests can be duplicated.
Conclusion
In every safety orientation film we watch prior to working on any industrial and petrochemical facility, all sites are committed to providing a safe environment for their employees and anyone working at their facilities. At Vallen Safety Services, we share your commitment. VSS is available to assist in making your company code compliant and your facility safe for your employees and anyone working at your facility. At Vallen Safety Services, LSS is more.
For more information, visit www.Vallen.com, or call (800) 826-6328 or
(713) 456-1030.
