NFPA Journal - Summer 2021 - 46

In Compliance The Experts

EDITOR'S NOTE Recently, all of the NFPA blogs,
including technical blogs, were moved from the NFPA
Xchange platform and given a new home, as well as an
updated look, at nfpa.org/blogs. Visit the site to find
all of the articles below and many more.
Following record-low temperatures in Texas, Jon
Hart, technical lead and principal engineer at NFPA,
wrote about how NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire
Protection Systems, provides guidance for restoring damaged sprinkler systems:

Read full
versions of
these posts
and many
more by
NFPA staff
at nfpa.org/
blogs

Many systems were subjected to record-cold temperatures and suffered failures. In NFPA 25, the term
for a system that is out of order is an impairment. In
fact, one of the specifically identified " emergency
impairments " is frozen or ruptured piping. Impairments need to be addressed and resolved as quickly
as possible in order to provide the expected level of
protection for life and property. NFPA 25 provides
details on impairment programs and what they
should cover (see full blog for details), as well as
additional measures and requirements if the impairment is prolonged.
When repair work has been completed and
the system is restored to service, several things
need to be confirmed, including that all necessary
inspections and tests have been conducted. In
addition, a number of stakeholders-supervisors,
fire department, insurance carrier, alarm company, property owner, and other authorities having
jurisdiction-must all be notified that protection has
been restored.

SELECTIONS FROM RECENT
BLOGS ON CODES AND
STANDARDS BY NFPA STAFF

Derek Vigstol, senior electrical content specialist at
NFPA, on the need for electrical safety training for
workers on building construction sites to start early:
I recently attended a virtual conference on electrical
safety, and one thing that kept popping up was the
concept of a rules-based approach versus a skillsbased approach to safety training. We often persue a
rules-based approach to training in the US; we teach
people how to do the job, and once they know the
job, we throw a book of rules at them and say, " Here,
follow these! " But what if the individual has already
picked up some bad habits?
Alternatively, with a skillsbased approach, the worker
learns how to do the task and
all the safety requirements at
the same time. This approach
creates a workforce where safe
work practices are a part of how
they learn to become a carpenter, plumber, or electrician in the
first place. In areas where this
approach has been the norm,
the statistics show significantly
fewer injuries and fatalities.
Kristin Bigda, technical lead
and principal fire protection
engineer at NFPA, on determining the required fire
protection rating of an opening
protective:
The first step is to determine the
required fire-resistance rating of
the component under evaluation. Components include, but
are not limited to, vertical shafts,
horizontal exits, exit access
corridors, and smoke barriers. Codes such as NFPA
101®, Life Safety Code®, and NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code, mandate where a building
component is required to have a fire-resistance rating.
The second step should be to use the table,
" Minimum Fire Ratings for Opening Protectives in
Fire Resistance-Rated Assemblies and Fire-Rated
Glazing Markings, " in Chapter 8 of both NFPA 101 and
NFPA 5000. It will help you determine the minimum
fire-protection rating of the opening protective
based on the fire-resistance rating determined in the
first step. It should be noted that this table does not
mandate the fire-resistance ratings of components,
though other provisions in the code do.
The third step is to use footnotes, other code text
associated with the component, and occupancy specific provisions to verify that no further modifications
to the general fire protection ratings are permitted. In
some cases, there may be exemptions for some opening protectives in existing installations or for certain
conditions in some occupancies.

46 | NFPA JOURNAL * S U M M E R 2 0 2 1

In Compliance_Summer 2021 DCS to ADA for PDF to LP.indd 46

4/28/21 6:11 PM

http://www.nfpa.org/blogs http://www.nfpa.org/blogs http://www.nfpa.org/blogs

NFPA Journal - Summer 2021

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