High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
(OP)
Hi,
When visiting a site, I realized that there was no riser information giving the design density/area of the system and the owner cannot find any existing plans of the sprinkler system at all.
What is the next logical step to acquire a design density/area for this project? Do I hire an engineer to recalculate the hydraulic calculations all over again, or can I use a minimum design density based on the building occupancy type?
Thanks
When visiting a site, I realized that there was no riser information giving the design density/area of the system and the owner cannot find any existing plans of the sprinkler system at all.
What is the next logical step to acquire a design density/area for this project? Do I hire an engineer to recalculate the hydraulic calculations all over again, or can I use a minimum design density based on the building occupancy type?
Thanks





RE: High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
If it's high-piled storage and someone is changing commodities or storage practices, then a system tracing and a new water supply test along with a recalculation of the system is necessary in my mind.
RE: High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
Does the ahj happen to do plan review or keep a copy of the spk plans??
Same insurance company, maybe they have some record
Any state agency that oversees sprinklers???
RE: High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
cdafd, I like your advice of contacting the insurance company. Thanks for the tips, guys!
RE: High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
You are correct you will need to hire someone to calculate what the sprinkler system can provide. They will need a hydrant water flow test as close as possible to the building to complete the calculations. So you may want to see what the time frame is for the hydrant test. Some water companies will charge and take several months to do the test.
The insurance company MAY be able to calculate the system depending on IF they have a engineering department. OR they may have the info on file IF they have visited the building.
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Fire Sprinklers Save Firefighters' Lives Too!
RE: High Piled Storage site visit - No riser placards??
If the system is newer, then check to see if the building engineer has any as-builts of the system. The next step is to check the local building/fire department to see if they kept approved plans, but don't count on this. Ultimately see if you can identify the name of the installation company. Some keep files for a long time, but recently many have started to destroy documents greater than 10 years old on the advice of their legal departments.
You may also check with the building insurer if this is an HPR insured property. They tend to keep the information in their files. If none of the above works, then the last ditch effort is to go to the site and redraw the entire system. Make certain to determine the pipe schedule and get a recent water supply test. I try to avoid this because I do not like to charge my clients for this type of work unless absolutely necessary. But then again I am different than my competition; I try to save my clients engineering cost as I would rather they apply their limited resources to fixing the problem.
-EG ESH Consultants, Fire Protection Engineers