NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 24
Dispatches
SMOKE DETECTION
SUCH GREAT
HEIGHTS
A NEW RESEARCH PROJECT MAY
FINALLY ANSWER A QUESTION
WITH IMPORTANT RAMIFICATIONS
FOR NFPA 72: WHERE TO PLACE
SMOKE DETECTORS IN SPACES
WITH HIGH CEILINGS
By Jesse Roman
F
Code®
rom castles and cathedrals to modern-day
lofts and warehouses, high
ceilings have always been en vogue
and functional. And yet, ask 10 fire
protection engineers how to efficiently
protect these spaces with smoke detectors
and you might get 10 different answers.
NFPA 72®
priate spacing of smoke detectors in spaces with
ceilings higher than 10 feet (3 meters). However, in
July, more than century after the invention of the
smoke detector, we may finally have some answers
thanks to a Fire Protection Research Foundation
report, " Smoke Detector Spacing for High Ceiling
Spaces-Phase II. "
For the project, researchers from Jensen Hughes
conducted tests to see how the performance of spottype
and beam-type detectors would change when
they were located on flat, smooth ceilings of varying
heights. The tests showed that, as the ceiling height
increased, both detector types took longer to detect
smoke and activate. Researchers then calculated
how much the space between detectors needed to
be reduced in order to bring the time to activation
back to approximately that of smoke detectors located
on a 10-foot ceiling.
Ultimately, the researchers found that the appropriate
detector spacing is a function of ceiling
height: The higher the ceiling, the closer the detectors
should be spaced to ensure that they activate in
the timeframe intended. They expressed the idea in
a simple equation for each detector type.
Among other things, the Foundation study recommends
that NFPA 72 adopt the two equations
as guidance for detector spacing for flat, smooth
ceiling heights between 10 and 40 feet. Above 40
feet, the study recommends that the code require a
24 | NFPA JOURNAL * FALL 2023
The Foundation study recommends
that NFPA 72 adopt the two equations
as guidance for detector spacing
for flat, smooth ceiling heights
between 10 and 40 feet.
performance-based analysis for detector spacing.
Currently, the code says nothing about the maximum
height a ceiling can be before a performance-based
analysis must be conducted, the study found.
The NFPA 72 technical committee reviewed the
report in July just before it was released to the
public, according to Patrick Bakaj, the code's staff
liaison. The committee will decide over the next
few months how and if the report's findings might
be incorporated into the 2025 edition of the document.
To read the new Foundation report, visit
nfpa.org/foundation.
, National Fire Alarm and Signaling
, contains no information regarding the approAP
PHOTO/CHRISTIAN CHAVEZ
http://www.nfpa.org/foundation
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Fall 2023
Contents
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 1
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 2
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 3
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 4
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 5
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - Contents
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 7
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 8
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 9
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 10
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 11
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 12
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 13
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 14
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 15
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 16
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 17
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 18
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 19
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 20
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 21
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 22
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 23
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 24
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 25
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 26
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 27
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 28
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 29
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 30
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 31
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 32
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 33
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 34
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 35
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 36
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 37
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 38
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 39
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 40
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 41
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 42
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 43
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 47
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 48
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 49
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 50
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 51
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 52
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 53
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 54
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 55
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 58
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 59
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 60
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 61
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 62
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 63
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 65
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 66
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 67
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 72
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 79
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - 80
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - Fall 2023 - Cover4
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