NFPA Journal - Summer 2021 - 45

CODES, STANDARDS
AND COMPLIANCE

heard how the NEC is an installation
code and therefore must only contain
requirements for the installation and
removal of electrical equipment. But
that raises a number of questions. Does
that scope leave room for cybersecurity, which is something that happens
after the installation of electrical equipment? If the goal of the NEC is to
provide requirements that result in an
installation that is essentially free from
hazards, what are the adverse effects of
a cyberattack on electrical infrastructure-and do they constitute a hazard
that the NEC aims to protect us from?
Take the example of a hospital, where inadvertent interruption
of power can be life threatening. In
fact, many hospitals have traditionally pushed for energized work due to
the additional hazards that de-energization might create. If the electrical
system in a hospital connects to the
building automation network and can
be controlled by this network, this
opens the door for hackers to shut
the system down and hold the hospital hostage. In this instance, the ability
to keep the hackers out of the system
and prevent them from controlling the
electrical equipment in a hazardous
manner certainly seems as though it is
protecting the people in the hospital
from the hazards that arise from the
use of network-connected electrical
equipment. Requiring cybersecurity
measures here wouldn't be too far
off from requiring the essential electrical system to have a capacity large
enough to supply the connected equipment. It can be argued that hazards
such as these that stem from cybersecurity threats are part of the scope of
the NEC.
Protecting electrical equipment
from cyberattacks is a necessity
when the equipment is connected
to the network with the ability to be
controlled remotely. What has yet to
be determined is the extent to which
cybersecurity will find its way into the
NEC. Like it or not, more and more
of our electrical systems will fall into
this category in coming years as the

very real threats posed by cyberattacks continue to grow. Equipment will
need protection, whether it's in the
form of listing requirements or through
requirements mandating assessment
and certification. Either way, the issue
is here, it's substantial, and it isn't
going away. Stay tuned.
Derek Vigstol is an NFPA technical lead, Electrical
Tech Services. NFPA members and AHJs can use the
Technical Questions tab to post queries on NFPA 70 at
nfpa.org/70. To follow the progress on the upcoming
edition of the code, visit nfpa.org/70next.

NFPA 101

Life safety in new
and existing structures

Protecting against the
'silent killer': Carbon
monoxide requirements
in the Life Safety Code 
By Kristin Bigda
n February, Texas was

I

hit with a winter storm
that brought bitter cold to
a region unaccustomed to
arctic conditions. With
many homes uninsulated and not built
to withstand the extreme cold, and with
millions of people without power due to
electrical grid failures, Texans were
forced to find alternative ways to heat
their homes and survive the extreme
weather.
Some of those methods had consequences. According to media reports,
fire departments in Harris County,
which is the state's most populous county and includes the city of
Houston, responded to 475 carbon
monoxide-related calls and emergencies during the week of the storm. At
least 57 people statewide died during
the event, with many of the lives lost
attributed to carbon monoxide (CO)
poisoning caused by the operation of
fuel-burning equipment, such as generators and grills, inside homes and
running vehicles inside garages. CO is

often referred to as the " silent killer "
because it is colorless and odorless, and
without detection and alarm equipment it is nearly impossible to notice.
Requirements mandating CO detection first entered NFPA 101®, Life Safety
Code®, in 2012 and called for CO detection equipment in new residential
occupancies (one- and two-family dwellings, lodging or rooming houses, hotels,
dormitories, and apartments), and in
day care homes characterized by the
presence of occupants who are sleeping and the presence of an attached
garage or fuel-burning appliances. New
and existing health care occupancies
containing fuel-burning fireplaces also
added a mandate for CO detection and
warning equipment. The 2015 edition
of the Life Safety Code mandated that
CO detection equipment be provided for
new educational occupancies in rooms
with permanently installed fuel-burning appliances, in areas adjacent to
attached garages, and in occupiable spaces served by supply air from
a fuel-burning HVAC system. In 2018,
similar requirements were added for
new assembly occupancies. CO detection was also mandated that year for
residential board and care occupancies;
it was required in new, smaller facilities
with attached, communicating garages,
or where the facility contains fuel-burning appliances/fireplaces, and it was also
required in new, larger facilities with
attached, communicating garages, or
where the individual sleeping rooms or
suites contain fuel-burning appliances/
fireplaces.
The 2021 edition of the Life Safety
Code includes an important addition
to that evolution-for the first time
since CO provisions entered the code,
those requirements have been extended
to existing occupancies. Today, existing hotels and dormitories require CO
detection equipment in guest rooms/
suites with communicating attached
garages and in guest rooms/suites
containing a permanently installed
fuel-burning appliance/fireplace.
The requirements for CO detection and warning equipment are not
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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NFPA Journal - Summer 2021

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