NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 31

CODES, STANDARDS
AND COMPLIANCE

exists and use the mesh wireless devices
for those areas that either prove too difficult to hardwire or where the impact of
installing the cable will destroy historically significant portions of the building.
The 2017 edition of NFPA 909,
Protection of Cultural Resource Properties-Museums, Libraries, and Places
of Worship, and the 2015 edition of
NFPA 914, Fire Protection of Historic

You may determine
that you cannot install
detection in some areas
that require it without
seriously damaging the
historic fabric.

Structures, provide guidance and
requirements that apply to fire alarm
and detection systems. Both of these
codes reference NFPA 72®, National
Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, for all
installation requirements. NFPA 914
serves much like a building code for
historic structures, and you would use
it in conjunction with NFPA 909.
NFPA 909 specifically allows the use
of alternative means and methods for
any fire protection system, as long as
you submit technical documentation to,
and receive acceptance by, the authority having jurisdiction. Additionally,
NFPA 909 allows the use of risk-based
decisions to determine building safety
compliance. Specifically, it states that
"cultural resource properties or portions of such structures that do not
strictly comply with this code shall be
considered to be in compliance if it is
shown that equivalent protection is
provided or that in the opinion of the
authority having jurisdiction no unacceptable risk is created or continued
through noncompliance."
NFPA 909 offers more than just code
requirements related to fire protection.
It insists on a review of all threats to
the property, or the property's contents,
and then requires the use of a risk

analysis to determine the risks and how
to mitigate them.
Good practices followed by those
installing fire alarm systems include
blue taping each device location where
an installer must drill a hole to mount
any device or appliance. The historical
design architect would then review
and approve each location before an
installer performed any work.
Remember that NFPA 909 "covers
ongoing operations and rehabilitation
and acknowledges the need to preserve
culturally significant and character-defining building features and sensitive,
often irreplaceable, collections and to
provide continuity of operations." It
does not contain the principles and
practices for life safety.
Fire alarm system design and installation in cultural properties present
a number of challenges. But with a
thoughtful, risk-based approach, you
can install these systems to appear as if
someone had installed them when the
building was first built.
Wayne D. Moore is vice president at Jensen
Hughes. NFPA members and AHJs can use the
Technical Questions tab to post queries on NFPA 72
at nfpa.org/72.

NFPA 101

Life safety in new
and existing structures

Do you qualify to perform
inspections of fire door
assemblies according to
NFPA 80? Are you sure?
By Ron Coté

re fire door assemblies
in your buildings being
inspected? Are in-house
facility staff performing
the inspections? Do facility staff inspectors have the knowledge
and understanding of the operating
components of fire door assemblies
to serve as the "qualified person" to

A

perform the inspections, as required by
NFPA 80, Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives?
I'll bet that many of you who work
in jurisdictions that have adopted and
are enforcing the 2009, 2012, or 2015
edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®,
are not aware that all fire door assemblies must be inspected and tested
yearly. The requirement for inspection
and testing is a result of NFPA 101 mandating compliance with a standard, in
this case NFPA 80. In the hierarchy of
fire and life safety codes and standards,
codes generally require elements and
systems to be provided; standards
generally provide the how-to for the
design, installation, and maintenance
of those elements and systems.
NFPA 101 has required fire door
assemblies to comply with NFPA 80 for
more than 50 years. The 2009 edition
of NFPA 101 mandatorily references
the use of the 2007 edition of NFPA 80,
which was the first edition to require
yearly inspection and testing of all fire
door assemblies. NFPA 80, like other
NFPA standards, has a retroactivity
statement in its administration chapter.
The retroactivity statement explains
that provisions of NFPA 80 are permitted to be required of existing fire door
assemblies where such requirement is
specifically called out. The introduction
to the chapter on care and maintenance-the chapter that contains the
yearly inspection and testing criteria-states that the requirements of the
chapter apply to new and existing fire
door assemblies.
New editions of NFPA 80 in 2010,
2013, and 2016 fleshed out the requirements for yearly inspection and testing
of fire door assemblies. For example,
the inspection and testing is required
to be performed by a qualified person
with knowledge and understanding of
the operating components of the type
of assembly subject to testing. NFPA
80 defines a qualified person as "a
person who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, professional
standing, or skill, and who, by knowledge, training, and experience, has
N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2017
