NFPA Journal - July/August 2018 - 38

NFPA engineer Kristin Bigda discussed the requirements for storage of combustible materials in NFPA
1, Fire Code.
Recently, at a two-day course I taught for facilities
managers, I received a question about storage in
a boiler room and if it was permitted. Searching
through Chapter 10 of NFPA 1, which covers general
safety requirements (a chapter important to fire
inspectors but also to facility managers), we came
across Section 10.18 for the storage of combustible
materials. More specifically, Section 10.18.5 addresses equipment rooms by saying that combustible material shall
not be stored
in boiler rooms,
mechanical
rooms, or electrical equipment
rooms, but that
materials for the
operation and
maintenance of
the equipment
are permitted.
Equipment
should be stored
in cabinets or
other protected
areas to limit the
hazard. Spaces
such as boiler
rooms, mechanical rooms, or
electrical rooms are designed for a particular purpose and should not be seen as an opportunity for
free storage within a building. Storing combustible
materials within one of those spaces increases the
risk and also the fuel load within the space should a
fire occur.

Read full
versions of
these posts
and many
others from
technical
staff at NFPA
Xchange,
online at
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Cathy Prudhomme of NFPA's Wildland Division on
how the under-eave area of a house is often overlooked in addressing home wildfire vulnerabilities.
Neglecting this structural component increases susceptibility to heat from flames, which can become
trapped, allowing fire to spread into attic vents and
through the attic. Embers lodged in gaps between
blocking and joists can also result in ignition and fire
entry into the attic. When embers enter an attic they
can ignite stored combustible materials.
Research has shown that soffited eaves and
vents are less vulnerable to both ember entry and
direct flame contact exposures. Wildfire research
conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business
& Home Safety (IBHS) supports the use of soffited-eave construction; and additional research and
guidance from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency also suggests a soffited design as the best
option.

38 | NFPA JOURNAL * J U L Y /A U G U S T 2 0 1 8

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Learn more about under-eave construction and
what homeowners can do to reduce risks in that
area of the home in the Wildfire Research Fact
Sheet series produced by IBHS and NFPA's Firewise
USA Program, at nfpa.org/firewise.
Jeffrey Sargent, a regional electrical code specialist
at NFPA, wrote about easy tests homeowners can
conduct to ensure that their electrical system is
compliant with the National Electrical Code®.
There are a lot of things you can do to be proactive
about electrical safety even if you are not an electrical professional. One is to test your home's groundfault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which provide
shock protection, and arc-fault circuit interrupters
(AFCIs), which offer electrical arching protection.
GFCIs can be recognized by the "test" and "reset"
buttons on the receptacle type and by a "test" button on the circuit breaker type. In order to ensure
they are functioning properly, simply push the test
button and make sure power to all protected outlets
is interrupted, then reset to restore power. The test
protocol for AFCIs is essentially the same. Both
tests should be done monthly.
In addition, keep a close eye on your electrical
equipment and for signs that indicate the original
level of safety has been compromised. These signs
include enclosure covers that are missing or do not
close properly, cords with a missing ground pin and
damaged outer covering, and receptacles that will
not hold the plug end of the cord tightly.
Fred Durso, communications manager for NFPA's
Fire Sprinkler Initiative (FSI), wrote on FSI's new
'frequently asked questions' page to help educate
officials on requirements for NFPA 13D, Installation
of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes.
Our fire sprinkler advocates have told us they want
more educational information on the requirements in
NFPA 13D, and so taking their advice, the FSI team has
created a new section on our site that offers insights
into questions on home fire sprinklers that authorities
having jurisdiction often have to answer.
Take, for instance, this question: "A significant
number of fires originate in bathrooms and garages. Why are these areas exempt from sprinkler
protection in NFPA 13D?"
The exemptions in the standard are not based
solely on where fires are likely to originate. Two
additional factors are considered. Exemptions are
allowed for areas where fires originate that statistically do not lead to a large number of deaths or
injuries. Exemptions are also allowed in areas that
are impractical to protect cost effectively because
such locations would require dry or antifreeze-type
systems to protect the system from freezing.
Visit nfpa.org/firesprinklerinitiative for more
answers to common questions

THINKSTOCK

In Compliance Xchange

http://www.nfpa.org/firewise http://www.nfpa.org/community http://www.nfpa.org/firesprinklerinitiative

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2018