NFPA Journal - Winter 2022 - 40

In Compliance
monetary value and the repercussions
of lost data can be severe.
This begs the question of how data
centers are required to be protected.
Are these buildings required to have
sprinkler systems installed, or can
we replace them with another type of
automatic fire protection system, such
as a gaseous or water mist system?
Ultimately the answer to this question
is found in your local fire or building
code as well as other locally adopted
codes and standards.
Several factors come into play
when determining whether sprinklers
are required, including occupancy,
construction type, stories in height,
and floor area. Looking at the specific
standards that would apply, NFPA
13, Standard for the Installation of
Sprinkler Systems, contains requirements
on how to install sprinklers
systems, while NFPA 75, Standard
for the Fire Protection of Information
Technology Equipment, contains
specific requirements on how to protect
buildings and areas containing information
technology equipment such as
data centers.
The requirements in NFPA 75 state
that if the rest of the building has sprinklers
installed, then sprinklers need to be
installed in the information technology
equipment room as well. It goes on to
require that if the building is not sprinklered,
then some sort of fire suppression
system, whether a gaseous or water
mist system, still needs to be installed to
protect that room and equipment. NFPA
75 also requires a sprinkler system or
a gaseous fire protection system to be
installed under the raised floor if the area
below the raised floor contains certain
combustible material.
Even if a sprinkler system is required
to be installed throughout the building,
there is still a design path that might
permit the omission of sprinklers in lieu
of another equivalent protection method.
This allowance comes from NFPA 75
and states that there is a choice between
one of two permitted fire protection
approaches. One option is the prescriptive
approach, where the area would
need to comply with the written requirements
of NFPA 75. The other option
40 | NFPA JOURNAL * WINTER 2022
would be to develop a performance-based
design. With this option, a few rules need
to be followed, first and foremost that
the performance-based design needs to
provide equivalent performance to the
prescriptive requirements of NFPA 75.
This is usually done by developing performance
criteria to meet. Additionally, a
risk assessment needs to be completed,
and the individual conducting the
performance-based design needs to
be qualified. With performance-based
approaches, it is important to have
open communication with your authorSome
stakeholders
have expressed
concern over the
potential of accidental
sprinkler discharge or
water damage from
corroded piping in
sprinkler-protected
buildings containing
data centers.
provided, and thorough inspection, testing,
and maintenance programs can be
implemented to limit the potential for
corrosion issues.
Precautions to reduce the risk of
accidental water discharge can also
be taken, including locating sprinkler
piping above aisles rather than the
equipment to limit exposure to leaks,
installing cages on exposed sprinklers
to reduce the potential for damaged
sprinklers, and reducing the number
of piping joints in the system to minimize
the number of potential leak
points. Of course, the installation of
another extinguishing system, while
perhaps not eliminating the need for
sprinklers, can also greatly limit the
potential for water discharge in the
event of a fire if it is able to effectively
suppress or extinguish a fire in its
incipient stage before
sprinkler activation.
Data centers are an important part of
global information infrastructure and
need to be protected properly. NFPA 75
and NFPA 13 work together to ensure
that appropriate protection systems are
installed to ensure not only the property
protection for these facilities but
the safety of personnel.
ity having jurisdiction-in this case, that
can include the insurance agency or the
owner and is not limited to the local fire
code official-to ensure approval. AHJs
can also require a third party to review
the design once it is completed.
While water is a great fire suppression
agent, it can be damaging to information
technology equipment. This is
often the motivation behind trying to
omit sprinklers from these areas. While
it may be difficult to develop a performance-based
design that is equivalent to
sprinkler protection, there are sprinkler
design options in NFPA 13 that will minimize
the chances of accidental discharge
or leaking pipes. Preaction sprinkler
systems, either single- or double-interlock,
can be used to limit that potential
for water harm due to accidental
discharge resulting from a damaged
sprinkler. Piping can have increased
pitch, additional auxiliary drains can be
Brian OConnor is a technical services engineer at
NFPA. NFPA members and AHJs can use the Technical
Questions tab at nfpa.org/13 to post queries
on NFPA 13. To follow the progress on the upcoming
edition of the code, visit nfpa.org/13next.
NEC
Electrical safety
More on the NEC and the
proliferation of electric
micromobility devices
By Corey Hannahs
R
ecent discussions
around electric micromobility
devices, such as
e-bikes and e-scooters,
have left a lot of people
rather charged up. Proposed changes
by the New York City Housing
Authority (NYCHA), for example,
http://www.nfpa.org/13 http://www.nfpa.org/13next
NFPA Journal - Winter 2022

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