Security Sales & Integration June 2021 - 24

SMARTS & PARTS
Fireside Chat by Shane Clary
NFPA Tackles Fuel
Gases Detection
As CO is evenly
dispersed
within a
space, the
combination
detector is to
be sited based
on the fuel
gas that may
be introduced
within the
environment.
▶ DURING THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS,
the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
has been very busy with the development of a
number of new standards. In my previous columns
I have reported on several of these. In this
month's column, I will discuss NFPA 715, Standard
for the Installation of Fuel Gases Detection
and Warning Equipment. Th is standard is being
promulgated by a new technical committee on
fuel gases warning equipment.
Th is standard came to creation with a request
of Ted Williams with the American Gas Association
to develop a standard on the location and
installation of residential fuel gas detectors. After
a review and request for public comments
from the public, the NFPA Standards Council
voted during its August 2019 meeting to create
a new technical committee for the development
of a standard to address this. During the public
comment period regarding the need for such a
standard, 20 letters of support were received to
one letter in opposition.
Th e scope of the committee was issued, which is:
Th is Committee shall have primary responsibility
for documents on the installation, performance,
maintenance, testing, and use of fuel gases warning
equipment for the protection of life, property and
mission continuity. Th is Committee shall address
the selection, installation, operation, and maintenance
of fuel gases warning equipment.
Concurrent to the formation of this commitShane
Clary, Ph.D., has
more than 45 years of
security and fi re alarm
industry experience. He
serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.
24
tee, the NFPA Fire Protection Research Foundation
commissioned a report on fuel gas leakage
within residential occupancies. Th is report, Combustible
Gas Dispersion in Residential Occupancies
and Detector Location Analysis was released
in August of 2020. A copy of this report may be
obtained by searching its title on nfpa.org.
Th e report noted that leakage of fuel gasses
can and does occur where there is a connection
between the supply source and the appliance
that uses the product. Th ese appliances include
stoves/ovens, water heaters, furnaces and clothes
dryers. While these gases are odorized by the
purveyors, this does not prevent buildup of the
Security Sales & Integration JUNE 2021
smclary@bayalarm.com
product to an explosive level before it may be detected
by the occupants of a residence.
Th e report identifi es two primary fuel gasses
that are in use today, natural gas (NG) and liquefi
ed petroleum gas (LPG). NG is delivered
through pipelines from the supplier to a residence
while LPG is delivered via trucks to a home, to
be stored outside in a tank. From the tank, the
LPG is converted from a liquid to a gas as it is
used by an appliance within the occupancy.
Th e report noted that depending on the fuel gas
being either NG or LPG, the siting of detectors
need to be at diff erent mounting heights. NG is
lighter than air, so the detectors should be mounted
close to the ceiling, while for LPG, the detector
should be sited no more than six inches from the
fl oor. Th e report also noted that the closer the detector
was sited next to a potential source of a leak,
the quicker the response to a leak will occur.
Th e initial fi rst edition of NFPA 715 has completed
the fi rst draft. Th is standard is laid out
very similar to how NFPA 720, Standard for the
Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection
and Warning Equipment was prior to it being
incorporated within NFPA 72, National Fire
Alarm and Signaling Code. While NFPA 720
was within the purview of the Correlating Committee
for Signaling Systems for the Protection of
Life and Property, NFPA 715 is not.
In a review of the proposed standard, a large
portion of the document is extracted text from
NFPA 72. Th e scope of the standard is:
1.1.2
Th is standard shall cover the selection, design, application,
installation, location, performance, inspection,
testing, and maintenance of fuel gas detection
and warning equipment in buildings and
structures.
1.1.3
Th is standard shall contain requirements for the selection,
installation, operation, and maintenance of
equipment that detects concentrations of fuel gases
that could pose a life or property safety risk.
View the online version of this article for more
on this new standard. If you are a provider of
residential systems, you should become familiar
with its requirements. Once published, it will be
available to be adopted by the published building
and fi re codes, similar to how the use of CO detectors
and alarms became mandatory.
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Security Sales & Integration June 2021

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