NFPA Journal - Spring 2021 - 37

In Compliance
design documents and applicable standards. If the system cannot be properly
maintained, then the building must
default to the requirement of being
protected throughout by an automatic
sprinkler system.
For more information on changes to
high-rise building sprinkler requirements in the 2021 edition of NFPA 101,
visit a recent blog post on NFPA Today
at nfpa.org/high_rise_sprinklers.
Kristin Bigda is technical lead for Engineering
Technical Services at NFPA. NFPA members and
AHJs can use the Technical Questions tab to post
queries on NFPA 101 at nfpa.org/101. To follow
the progress on the upcoming edition of the code,
visit nfpa.org/101next.

NFPA 13

Water-based fire
protection systems

Fire protection for
underground
passenger rail systems
By Brian O'Connor
ast year, several significant passenger rail
incidents and fires
occurred, including a
subway fire in March in
New York City. One person died and 16
were injured in the incident. The investigation into the fire continues, but
eyewitness accounts have indicated it
was started by an arsonist aboard a train.
The New York fire was the kind of
event that can strike fear in the hearts
of rail users worldwide. Each day,
hundreds of millions of people around
the world rely on train and subway
systems to get them to where they
need to go. Before the global pandemic
struck and reduced ridership in major
cities to a trickle, the New York City
subway system alone tallied an estimated 5.5 million passenger rides
each day; the figure for Tokyo was
8.7 million. But while passenger rail
systems are an efficient way of moving
large numbers of people, they don't
come without risks.

L

ATTENTION PASSENGERS
A number of incidents worldwide in 2020 highlighted
issues related to subway safety, which are addressed
in NFPA 130, Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and
Passenger Rail Systems. GETTY IMAGES

NFPA 130, Standard for Fixed
Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail
Systems, addresses those risks. NFPA
130 defines a passenger rail system
as a transportation system utilizing a
rail guideway, operating on right-ofway for the movement of passengers
within and between metropolitan areas,
and consisting of its rail guideways,
passenger rail vehicles, and other rolling stock. The rail system also includes
power systems, buildings, stations, and
other stationary and movable apparatus, equipment, appurtenances, and
structures. The standard contains
requirements for how to properly design
and protect stations, trainways, vehicles,
and the passengers inside those vehicles, and applies to new construction,
extensions of existing systems, and new
rolling stock.
For stations, NFPA 130 requires that
sprinklers be installed in storage areas,
trash rooms, areas of the station used
for concessions, and any other similar areas with combustible loading.
NFPA 130 also recommends that sprinkler be installed inside of combustible
escalators, although many of today's
escalators are made of non-combustible
or limited combustible construction.

This recommendation comes from an
incident in the London underground
transit system, the Kings Cross Fire of
1987, which killed 31 people and injured
more than 100. Investigators determined that the fire started under a
wooden escalator. Fire alarm systems,
portable fire extinguishers, standpipe
and hose systems, as well as emergency
ventilation systems are also required to
be installed. Stations have many other
life safety requirements regarding the
construction and arrangement of paths
of egress that work together with these
fire protection systems to ensure rider
safety.
NFPA 130 does not require sprinklers
to be installed in trainways, the term
used for the path of railway tracks. In
NFPA 130, trainways are used primarily as an egress path in the event of an
emergency where the train needs to be
evacuated. NFPA 130 requires exits every
2,500 feet and cross passageways every
800 feet in enclosed trainways. Because
trainways are used as a means of escape,
they need to remain tenable in the event
of a fire or other emergency. NFPA 130
ensures this happens by requiring ventilation based on the length of the enclosed
trainway. If it is less than 200 feet, no
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NFPA Journal - Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2021
