Wow a lot has changed in a week. We're holding on fine here, but I hope you and your family are safe and healthy wherever you are. Now back to more fun things like fire protection - After last week's debut of fire sprinkler requirements for elevators, I had a couple emailed requests for a fire alarm version. I love the idea and put some time into reviewing and organizing the requirements on the fire alarm side. This first iteration is a draft, and if you're well versed in this arena I'd love for you to take a look and let me know what you think. Feel free to email me directly at [email protected], or comment on it here. In the upcoming week I plan to incorporate ASME A17.1 and it's impact on the fire alarm side of accounting for elevators, hence the big [DRAFT] watermark on this PDF. Click on the image below to get a PDF copy of the Fire Alarm Elevator Cheatsheet: If you know anyone that could benefit from this content, please consider forwarding them a link. Hope you have a safe and healthy rest of your week! Thanks for reading. While it is a basic question, the code path is somewhat complex. When does an elevator require fire sprinkler protection? Today I'm exploring the code requirements for elevator sprinkler protection under the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 13. Here's a free PDF cheatsheet for navigating these requirements. To download, just hover over the image and click print or export. A special thanks to Philip Valdez who sent over the suggestion to put this one together. I hope you find it helpful! If you don't already get these free tools to your inbox, subscribe here. If you're having trouble viewing the image below, view it in your browser here. If you've found this helpful, consider sharing it with a friend or colleague. As always you can subscribe and get more free tools like this at www.meyerfire.com/subscribe.
Thanks & have a great rest of your week! Last spring I created a beta test tool for soffit obstructions to sprinklers. It was fairly basic using the dimensional rules for a soffit against a wall for a standard-spray pendent or upright sprinkler. Thanks to some feedback and more input on this tool, I'm happy to debut it with new features. I've added code references from the 2007 to 2019 editions of NFPA 13, the different style sprinklers, and an updated visual diagram. This tool is useful when there's a dropped soffit against a wall to determine whether the sprinkler will throw sufficiently underneath the soffit. In the coming weeks I'll break out a code path for determining when each of these tools are used. For now, if you're familiar with the NFPA 13 Sections for Obstructions Against Walls then you'll recognize this tool's quick usefulness. This tool stems from the Figures (b) and (c) for Obstructions Against Walls found in NFPA 13 Section 8.6.5.1.2 for Standard Spray Sprinklers, 8.8.5.1.2 and 8.9.5.1.4 for Extended Coverage Sidewall and Pendent/Uprights, and Sections 8.10.6.1.2 and 8.10.7.1.4 for Residential Sidewalls and Pendent/Uprights. Interested in getting access to every tool? Get the Toolkit here. Know someone that might be interested in this tool? Send them a link! It's greatly appreciated. Have a great week! Things around here are always busy. The past few weeks have been no exception. With feedback from some Apple users, field-users, and those without Microsoft Excel - I've heard your pleas! We now have every single tool from The MeyerFire Toolkit now available online to subscribers! You can see the complete list of tools at www.MeyerFire.com - just hover over the "Tools" list. Now, you don't need Excel or a Microsoft operating system - access the quick tools you need from anywhere, anytime. Not a Toolkit subscriber? Join on here. Licenses are now multi-user so you can share these tools with your whole team. SFPE Atlanta March 10th & 11th If you're attending SFPE Atlanta's regional conference on March 10th & 11th - let me know! I'll be there for John Frank's daylong session on updates with the Fire Protection PE Exam. He's the longtime leader of SFPE's Online PE Review Course and we'll be doing some collaboration in preparation for the computer-based changes to the PE Exam in 2020. NFSA Annual Conference April 29th - May 1st If you'll be in Phoenix for NFSA's National Conference - check us out! I'll be teaming with the voice of the fire sprinkler industry - Fire Sprinkler Podcast's Chris Logan to speak on New Media in Fire Protection. In Phoenix we'll be dissecting what we've learned while starting up different media in the industry, what projects we're working on now, and what ways we all can capitalize on new opportunities in the media space. That presentation is set for Wednesday April 29th. Making the Jump - The New Consulting Practice For all those who have reached out on LinkedIn about my (relatively) recent jump into starting my own design practice - thank you!! Things have been very busy with a healthy amount of fire sprinkler shop drawing design & consulting work. If you have interest in following the work I'm doing as part of that endeavour, follow my updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meyerfire/. There's a fresh video on a recent all-BIM sprinkler design. If we're not yet connected on LinkedIn, consider doing so. It's GREAT to hear from and chat with other passionate people about the fire protection industry and it's something I really enjoy.
As always, thanks & have a great rest of your week! On every project containing fire alarm design I come across the same question repeatedly - does this unit require a duct detector? In short, there's two prevailing standards that determine whether duct detection is required. The first (and most common in the United States), is the International Mechanical Code (IMC). Section 606.2 identifies areas where smoke detection is required for the purpose of mechanical unit shutdown. The other prevailing standard is NFPA 90A, the Standard for Installation of Air Conditioning and Ventilating Systems. I'll address those requirements in a later post. Back to the question at hand - there's essentially six different scenarios a mechanical unit can fall into under the International Mechanical Code. These do not include the requirement for multi-level duct risers over 15,000 CFM, but rather whether an individual unit requires detection at the unit. Here is a quick cheatsheet summary concerning those scenarios: If you review or design fire alarm systems regularly, take a look and let me know what you think. If you know someone who might also benefit from cheatsheets like this, send them a link or tell them to subscribe here. Hope you find this helpful and have a great rest of your week! Awhile back I researched and built a translator for various versions of NFPA 13. It's built to quickly find where a code section has migrated between different editions of the standard. There's a free version here which connects the 2016 and the 2019 Editions of NFPA 13. Based on feedback and the positive response to that tool, I've just finished a similar edition translator for all of the published versions of the International Building Code. It covers Chapters 1 through 11, 15 and 30. Here's a quick video of how it works: If you're interested in giving this a try, you can get it as part of a 30-day trial for the MeyerFire Toolkit here. https://www.meyerfire.com/toolkit-trial.html. It's been busy around here tinkering with new tools since I went on my own in October of 2019. I am not by nature a programmer, but as the son of two accountants I'm pretty sure Microsoft Excel is just in my blood. I've gotten lots of positive feedback from users on the Toolkit and I'm happy to announce this week some major improvements aside from the new IBC translator: 1. A La Carte Tools Coming Some users aren't designers or engineers and would only use one or two tools. I get it. In the next couple weeks I'll be breaking out individual tools and pricing them for less, separately. The first one offered this way is the Water Supply Analysis tool that will be up this week. 2. Instant Activation Codes One of the biggest frustrations I've had on the development side is with quirky activation code servers. They drive me nuts. Over the past month I've dramatically simplified the process, so that new purchases automatically get clear activation codes exactly 2 minutes after their purchase. Clean and simple and it's working much better than before. 3. Toolkit Going to $195 in February With over a half-dozen new tools, the price of the Toolkit is going up to $195 starting in February. If you're interested but haven't bought yet, pick up a license now and you'll lock in your $150 subscription. 4. New Licenses Are Multi-Device & Sharable with Coworkers Lastly, based on the biggest piece of feedback I've gotten, with the $195 price-bump starting in February a single license will allow multiple installs, so that you can use on multiple devices and with members of your company. If you have a design staff with multiple users, it only makes sense that you're able to use and share files with coworkers. If you have a single-user license now and want to upgrade, shoot me an email at [email protected] and we'll get the upgrade set up. Should you want to learn more about the Toolkit, you can do so here. Hope you have a great rest of your week! Now that I live with one hand in creating shop drawings and the other in consulting, I don't come across this question quite as often as I had. In general, people don't call unless they know they need fire protection help. When I worked for MEP firms, I came across this question all the time. As in evaluating this on every single project. "Does the building code require a fire sprinkler system?" The adopted building code is the first stop in determining whether a fire sprinkler system is required or not (not standards, such as NFPA 13). In the International Building Code, this is generally Section 903.2 for fire sprinkler systems. You'd first determine your building occupancy (from Chapter 3), then go to 903.2 to see if your facility's footprint is large enough, has enough occupants, or meets the other nuanced criteria to bring in a fire sprinkler system. I have gotten caught ignoring the special applications - in my case a windowless basement that didn't have enough openings which drove sprinkler requirements. We got sprinklers in, just later in design than I would have liked. This cheatsheet below is a summary of the requirements among various occupancies and other drivers for fire sprinkler systems, according to the latest IBC (2018 Edition). It is worth noting that local code adoptions, insurance requirements, or the International Fire Code can also introduce the need for fire sprinkler systems.
As you may know I'm a fan of cheatsheets, so I hope you find this helpful. If you think it'd be beneficial to also cover other IBC editions, let me know in the comments here and I can get that moving too. Thanks & have a great week! Oprah had an annual favorite-things list. I've always thought that would be fun to do - except I can't offer everyone a Pontiac G6. Sorry about that. My wife says the kids need to eat. I will however continue to make lists of my own. This one isn't necessarily a "favorite-things" but rather interesting topics and tools I plan to keep an eye on for 2020. A Long-Awaited Computer-Based PE Exam The Fire Protection Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam (PE Exam) will finally become computer-based in 2020. This has been discussed for many years and will bring Fire Protection in line with several other disciplines and the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE Exam). Likely a much bigger change to the 2020 Fire Protection PE is replacement of the treasure-trove of references (over 9,000 pages) into a single exam reference guide which is being developed by SFPE. This single resource will be all that is allowed in the exam room. While the exam focus and content should be relatively consistent from past years, preparation for 2020 will be a different challenge than in years’ past. Around here, I’ve already been contacted by numerous people seeking the publish date on both the 2020 MeyerFire PE Prep Guide and the PE Exam’s Reference Book. The 2020 MeyerFire PE Prep Guide will follow the official reference book by a month (which is rumored to debut sometime in Spring 2020). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the official reference book will be early enough to give everyone ample time (including instructors) to study and absorb it. At least for 2020, the Fire Protection PE will only be given on a single-day (October 22, 2020). Going computer-based might someday afford year-round testing availability like the Mechanical PE Exam is starting this year. That will certainly be another interesting change when it happens. The Fire Protection PE Exam's joining the twenty-first century with its first computer-based exam in 2020. Viking’s New Window Sprinkler Viking just released a new listed Specific-Application Window Sprinkler. Use of window sprinklers have long been a strenuous and often misapplied technology, but the new Viking lineup could offer additional options in this space. I'm very interested to see how the new sprinkler gets used in the market. The brand-new window sprinkler is only the second entrant to a complex & niche application. If you haven't checked lately, it's already in our live Sprinkler Database. Nitrogen’s Rise Have you seen it? I have. Nitrogen inertion is becoming more and more commonplace each year. This year is the first I’ve seen a project specify a nitrogen-inertion system upfront with a dry-pipe sprinkler system. Finally! As an industry I feel like we're all slowly learning and educating owners on the major cost-savings these can have, but until recently I've yet to see them specified on a project. It's good to see other consultants getting traction with owners on the topic. Projects under the United Facilities Criteria (UFC 3-600-01) allow a hydraulic c-factor of 120 in dry systems with nitrogen included, which are now mandatory for dry systems. This is a great benefit I hope the NFPA 13 continues to consider adopting. It can be difficult enough to convey to owners the cost/benefits of avoiding corrosion in sprinkler systems with a higher upfront cost, but if we get a hydraulic kick-back for inclusion of nitrogen systems then the conversation could be made substantially easier with owners. Depending on the system size, a hydraulic benefit might help contractors to voluntarily provide nitrogen systems and save on pipe sizing throughout. New & Better Tools for Revit I live entirely in BIM (Building Information Modeling), so I’m always on the lookout for great Revit families, tools and workflows. The past couple years have really ramped up the race for fire protection tools in BIM, including Victaulic’s Revit Add-In, AutoSPRINK’s RVT lineup, HydraCAD for Revit, and a few others. I’m very encouraged that there is finally interest in this space and that the developers in it seem to be doing very well. Revit Add-In productivity-boosts have made even small projects like this home design I completed in 2019 possible at a very reasonable time and cost. I just started using the RVT platform in 2019 and have found major productivity boosts by doing so. If you use Revit and haven’t checked out these platforms, 2020 might be the year to check them out.
Why This Site Exists I don't (usually) just write to entertain myself. I put together this site to help start the conversation on fire protection. If you're relatively new around here - I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Joe. I'm no an end-all expert in the field, just a normal guy who loves being in fire protection. I worked for and learned under a couple engineering consultants before starting my own practice in 2019 where I now write, build tools and design full time. This site is all about bringing together experts from the different corners of fire protection to discuss and share best practices. We're all about improving your workflow and your knowledge with resources and ideas - plus giving a medium for you to share your expertise to everyone's benefit. Thank you for hangin' around and I look forward to sharing in a great 2020 with you! This time of year is just the best. I feel extremely fortunate to have three young kiddos at home, a supportive and all-around great family, and an extremely rewarding career in fire protection and doing what I do here at MeyerFire.com. Whether you subscribe, dabble occasionally on the forum, or just stop in to use tools here and there, THANK YOU for a really wonderful 2019. One of the tasks of wrapping up a year is revisiting what resonated the most in 2019 of all the content here. If you just joined in this year or know someone who would benefit from this content, please consider sending a link.
While we're at it, here are the Top Ten Tools & Articles of 2018 and the Top Ten Tools & Articles of 2017. Hope you have a relaxing and rewarding holiday week wherever you call home!
I've been on a bit of a tool creation kick lately. Sorry, I just get excited sometimes.
This week I'm introducing a small portion of a much larger programming effort - this tool helps determine an adjusted fire sprinkler remote area based on the system type and density/area curves of NFPA 13. It can factor in the quick-response area reduction, sloped ceiling adjustment, double-interlock pre-action or dry increase, and high-temperature sprinkler decrease. I'll probably only have this up as a free version for a month or so before adding to it and incorporating the full tool in the Toolkit. At the bottom of the tool you'll see a schematic remote area drawn with the parameters input. I'm using it when mocking up hydraulic calculations for estimation or when I'm first setting up a hydraulic calculation. Give it a shot and let me know what you think! |
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+ Unsubscribe anytime AUTHORJoe Meyer, PE, is a Fire Protection Engineer out of St. Louis, Missouri who writes & develops resources for Fire Protection Professionals. See bio here: About FILTERS
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