NFPA Technical Committee on Cultural Resources (CUL-AAA) Agenda

Transcription

1 NFPA Technical Committee on Cultural Resources () Agenda October 12-13, 2010 The Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home Hyde Park, New York 1. Call to order, 9:00 AM, Tuesday, October 12, 2010 D. Freeland. 2. Self-introduction of members and guests. (Page 3.) 3. Approval of June 15-16, 2010 meeting minutes. (Page 7.) 4. Chair s report D. Freeland. 5. Staff liaison s report G. Harrington. 6. Review schedule for future committee meetings D. Freeland. i) June 23-26, 2011 (NFPA 909 ROP) Wolfgang Kippes - Schloss Schöenbrunn - Vienna, Austria. ii) Fall/Winter 2011 (NFPA 909 Pre-ROC) Shane Clary, Don Moeller Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, California ( iii) March/April 2012 (NFPA 909 ROC) Andy Wilson Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. iv) Fall/Winter 2012 (NFPA 914 Pre-ROP) TBD. v) July/August 2013 (NFPA 914 ROP) TBD. vi) Fall/Winter 2013 (NFPA 914 Pre-ROC) TBD. 7. NFPA cultural resource fire analysis reports D. Freeland. (Distributed separately.) i) U.S. Structure Fires in Religious and Funeral Properties June 2010 ii) Structure Fires in Libraries June 2010 iii) Structure Fires in Museums June NFPA 909 Task Group report D. McDaniel. 9. NFPA 914 Task Group report S. Peterson. 10. Protecting Our Heritage Task Group report W. Moore for C. Domnitch/M. Kaplan. 11. E.U. activities update M. Coull. 12. Residential sprinkler antifreeze update R. Fleming. (Page 19.) 13. FDR Home Fire presentation Dan Nichols, Roosevelt Fire District. 14. Sprinkler system corrosion update on NFPA 25 & 13 R. Fleming. 1 of 20

2 15. Guest presentation on corrosion issues David Fuller, FM Global Engineering Standards. 16. Portable Fire Extinguisher Agent Task Group report N. Lev-Alexander and C. Greczek. 17. Other business. i) Country House Fire update S. Clary. 18. Adjournment. 2 of 20

3 Address List No Phone Cultural Resources 10/1/2010 Gregory E. Harrington Deborah L. Freeland Chair Arthur J. Gallagher & Company 505 North Brand Blvd., Suite 600 Glendale, CA I 1/1/1988 William Jackson Secretary National Library of Scotland 57 George IV Bridge Edinburgh, EH1 1EW Scotland U 1/1/1992 Clare Ray Allshouse City of Shoreline, Washington Planning & Development Services Midvale Avenue North Shoreline, WA E 3/21/2006 Nicholas Artim Fire-Safety Network Box 895 Middlebury, VT SE 1/1/1990 Eileen E. Brady Washington State University Owen Science & Engineering Library Pullman, WA U 11/2/2006 Steve Carter Orr Protection Systems, Inc Interchange Drive Louisville, KY Fire Suppression Systems Association : Daniel J. Hubert M 7/19/2002 John E. Chartier Rhode Island State Fire Marshal 118 Parade Street Providence, RI National Association of State Fire Marshals E 8/2/2010 Michael Coull SE 11/2/2006 Heritage Fire and Safety Ltd. 4 Lochinch Road Cove Bay, Aberdeen, AB12 3SL Scotland, United Kingdom Laura E. Doyle US General Services Administration 301 7th Street SW, Room 2080 Washington, DC : Joseph Dafin U 9/30/2004 Wilbur Faulk Pepperdine University Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA U 1/1/1989 Robert F. Fisher FM Global Country Club Blvd., Suite 300 North Olmsted, OH I 7/1/1995 Russell P. Fleming National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. 40 Jon Barrett Road Patterson, NY : Peter W. Thomas M 10/10/1998 Cindy Greczek Colonial Williamsburg Foundation PO Box 1776 Williamsburg, VA : Danny L. McDaniel U 10/4/2001 Nicolas W. Jordan U 3/2/2010 The National Trust for England, Wales & Northern Ireland Heelis, Kemble Drive Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2NA United Kingdom 3 of 20 1

4 Address List No Phone Cultural Resources 10/1/2010 Gregory E. Harrington Wolfgang Kippes Schloss Schoenbrunn Kultur und Betriebsges, m.b.h A-1130 Vienna, Austria U 7/12/2001 George A. Krabbe East Raintree Drive Scottsdale, AZ Halon Alternatives Research Corporation SE 10/1/1994 Fred M. Leber Leber/Rubes Incorporated Yonge Eglinton Center 2300 Yonge Street, Suite 2100 PO Box 2372 Toronto, ON M4P 1E4 Canada SE 10/28/2008 Nancy Lev-Alexander US Library of Congress Conservation Division, LMG Independence Avenue, SE Washington, DC : Susan M. Peckham U 7/29/2005 Donald C. Moeller E 7/26/2007 The Fire Consultants, Inc Durant Court Walnut Creek, CA California State Historical Building Safety Board Wayne D. Moore Hughes Associates, Inc. 117 Metro Center Boulevard, Suite 1002 Warwick, RI : Cheryl L. Domnitch SE 1/1/1992 Kevin D. Morin Code Consultants, Inc. 215 West 40th Street, Floor 15 New York, NY SE 3/4/2009 Thomas F. Norton Norel Service Company, Inc. 37 Buckmaster Drive Concord, MA Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc. : Shane M. Clary M 1/1/1988 Sheila Palmer Chubb & Son Insurance Company 55 Water Street New York, NY : Richard P. Luongo I 1/15/2004 Steven M. Peterson US Department of the Interior National Park Service Alaska Support Office 240 West 5th Avenue, Room 114 Anchorage, AK E 1/17/1997 Milosh T. Puchovsky Worcester Polytechnic Institute Department of Fire Protection Engineering 100 Institute Road Worcester, MA SE 10/27/2009 Steven Rocklin New York State Department of State Division of Code Enforcement 1 Commerce Plaza 99 Washington Avenue Albany, NY : Raymond J. Andrews E 10/4/ of 20 2

5 Address List No Phone Cultural Resources 10/1/2010 Gregory E. Harrington John M. Watts, Jr. Fire Safety Institute PO Box 674 Middlebury, VT : Marilyn E. Kaplan SE 1/1/1977 J. Andrew Wilson Smithsonian Institution 600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 7106 MRC 514, PO Box Washington, DC : Michael Kilby U 1/1/1980 Robert D. Wilson National Gallery of Art 6th Street & Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC : Ross Merrill U 1/10/2002 Martin H. Reiss Voting The RJA Group, Inc Worcester Road, Suite 501 Framingham, MA Voting Alt. to RJA Rep. SE 1/17/1997 Raymond J. Andrews New York State Department of State 41 State Street Albany, NY : Steven Rocklin E 3/21/2006 Shane M. Clary Bay Alarm Company 60 Berry Drive Pacheco, CA Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc. : Thomas F. Norton M 11/2/2006 Joseph Dafin US General Services Administration 301 7th Street SW, Room 2080 Washington, DC : Laura E. Doyle U 8/5/2009 Cheryl L. Domnitch Hughes Associates, Inc San Ramon Valley Blvd., Suite 209 San Ramon, CA : Wayne D. Moore SE 10/27/2009 Daniel J. Hubert Janus Fire Systems 1102 Rupcich Drive, Millennium Park Crown Point, IN Fire Suppression Systems Association : Steve Carter M 3/15/2007 Marilyn E. Kaplan Preservation Architecture 43 Marion Avenue Albany, NY : John M. Watts, Jr. SE 1/14/2005 Michael Kilby Smithsonian Institution 600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 7106 MRC 514, PO Box Washington, DC : J. Andrew Wilson U 7/22/1999 Richard P. Luongo Chubb & Son Insurance Company 202 Hall s Mill Road Whitehouse Station, NJ : Sheila Palmer I 7/26/ of 20 3

6 Address List No Phone Cultural Resources 10/1/2010 Gregory E. Harrington Danny L. McDaniel Colonial Williamsburg Foundation PO Box 1776 Williamsburg, VA : Cindy Greczek U 1/1/1980 Ross Merrill National Gallery of Art 6th Street & Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC : Robert D. Wilson U 10/1/1993 Susan M. Peckham US Library of Congress 1600 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC : Nancy Lev-Alexander U 3/4/2009 Peter W. Thomas Tyco Fire Suppression & Building Products 1467 Elmwood Avenue Cranston, RI National Fire Sprinkler Association : Russell P. Fleming M 4/17/1998 Stewart Kidd Nonvoting Member Loss Prevention Consultancy, Ltd. 26 Broadway, Wilburton Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 3RT United Kingdom SE 4/1/1993 Stefano Marsella Nonvoting Member Via Orti Gianicolensi, 4 Rome, Italy SE 10/6/2000 Luca Nassi Nonvoting Member Italian National Fire Department Comando P.le VV.F. di Siena V.le Cavour 163 Siena, Italy E 10/27/2005 Stephen E. Bush Member Emeritus 1850 Kershaw Lane Winchester, VA SE 1/1/1974 Charles E. Zimmerman Member Emeritus 8058 Carlton Street Norfolk, VA SE 1/1/1985 Gregory E. Harrington Staff Liaison National Fire Protection Association 1 Batterymarch Park Quincy, MA /29/ of 20 4

7 MEETING MINUTES NFPA TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL RESOURCES JUNE 15-16, 2010 LA FONDA ON THE PLAZA Santa Fe, New Mexico MEMBERS PRESENT ORGANISATION Deborah Freeland, Chair Arthur J Gallagher & Co. William Jackson, Secretary National Library of Scotland Ray Allshouse, City of Shoreline, Washington Eileen Brady, Washington State University Laura Doyle, US General Services Administration Robert Fisher, FM Global Cindy Greczek, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Nicolas Jordan, The National Trust for England, Wales & Northern Ireland Fred Leber, Leber/Rubes Inc. Nancy Lev-Alexander, US Library of Congress Don Moeller, The Fire Consultants, Inc. Rep. California State Historical Building Safety Board Sheila Palmer, Chubb & Son Insurance Company John Watts, Fire Safety Institute J. Andrew Wilson, Smithsonian Institution Joseph Dafin, US General Services Administration Cheryl Domnitch, Hughes Associates, Inc. Daniel Hubert, Janus Fire Systems Rep. Fire Suppression Systems Association Danny McDaniel, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Gregory Harrington, Staff Liaison National Fire Protection Association GUESTS Mike Coull Mike Kirn Jeffrey Kochelek Heritage Fire & Safety Ltd Code Consultants, Inc. Fire Protection Systems Corrosion Mgmt. MEMBERS NOT PRESENT Nicholas Artim, Robert Barnes, Fire-Safety Network The RJA Group, Inc. 1 7 of 20

8 Steve Carter, (Alt. attended) Wilbur Faulk, Russ Fleming, Wolfgang Kippes, George Krabbe, Wayne Moore, (Alt. attended) Kevin Morin, Thomas Norton, Steven Peterson, Steven Rocklin, Robert Wilson, Raymond Andrews, (Alt. to S. Rocklin) Shane Clary, (Alt. to T. Norton) Marilyn Kaplan, (Alt. to John M Watts) Michael Kilby, (Alt. to J.A.Wilson) Richard Luongo, (Alt. to S. Palmer) Ross Merrill (Alt. to R. Wilson) Susan Peckham (Alt. to N. Lev-Alexander) Martin Reiss (Alt. to R. Barnes) Peter Thomas (Alt. to R. Fleming) Stewart Kidd (Nonvoting) Stefano Marsella (Nonvoting) Luca Nassi (Nonvoting) Stephen Bush (Member Emeritus) Charles Zimmerman, (Member Emeritus) Fire Suppression Systems Association Pepperdine University National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. Schloss Schoenbrunn Rep. Halon Alternatives Research Corporation Hughes Associates, Inc. Code Consultants, Inc. Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc. US Department of the Interior New York State Department of State National Gallery of Art New York State Department of State Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc. Preservation Architecture Smithsonian Institution Chubb & Son Insurance Company National Gallery of Art US Library of Congress The RJA Group, Inc. Tyco Fire Suppression & Building Products Rep. National Fire Sprinkler Association Loss Prevention Consultancy, Ltd. Italian National Fire Department 1. CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME Debbie Freeland called the meeting to order at She welcomed the committee to Santa Fe and thanked Eileen Brady for her work organising the meeting and the visit to the Georgia O Keeffe Museum. 2. SELF INTRODUCTIONS OF MEMBERS AND GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Membership Debbie Freeland welcomed new members: Cheryl Domnitch, Hughes Associates, to Wayne Moore. Nicolas Jordan, member representing the National Trust in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Milosh Puchovsky, member representing Worchester Polytechnic Institute where he is now a professor in Fire Protection Engineering. 2 8 of 20

9 Guests Debbie also welcomed the guests who would be speaking to the Committee: Jeff Kochelek, fps/cmi and Mike Kirn, who would be giving a presentation and respond to our continuing questions on corrosion issues. Thanks are due to Kevin Morin for organising this presentation. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES OF 6-8 TH OCTOBER 2009 IN DENVER. Debbie Freeland read an from Robert Wilson submitting an observation on the minutes and asking to record that the sentiments noted in the minutes under item 11 last paragraph was no longer valid. Robert Wilson stated that it is now false to say that the National Gallery of Art does not lend art to facilities which have sprinklers in display areas. In 2005 the NGA Borrowers Agreement was amended to remove all wording that addressed automatic sprinkler systems. It was also noted that Robert Fisher was present at the Denver meeting and his name should have appeared in those attending the meeting. With these amendments the minutes were approved. 4. CHAIR S REPORT Debbie Freeland informed the committee that George Krabbe was recovering from surgery; Ross Merrill is ill and in hospital, and Mark Hopkins from Hughes Associates, who was due to make a presentation to the committee, is in hospital following a serious motorbike accident. Cards were sent round for committee members to sign and will be sent to them. Congratulations are due to Milosh Puchovsky who has been nominated for Vice President, SFPE Board of Directors. Membership Mike Coull has retired from Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, and has an application pending in his new position as Managing Director of Heritage Fire and Safety. John Blaschik no longer works for the Connecticut Fire Marshal s Office, so is no longer on the committee. An application is pending for a replacement, nominated by National Association of State Fire Marshals. Joe Mazzeo has submitted his resignation due to inability to participate. Steve Peterson has identified a potential replacement, and an application is being prepared. 3 9 of 20

10 5. STAFF LIAISON S REPORT Greg Harrington informed the committee that NFPA is reviewing the standards system with a view to reorganising it to be a more user-friendly process. There are proposals for a new code revision process with committees reviewing public proposals then creating committee proposals. The value of the NFPA annual technical meeting is being considered. The way public comments are made will be changed. Proposals are that changes to a document will be made over the web so it is clear to see what has been changed. Committees will also work on the live web-based document at committee meetings. This will require significant investment in web based infrastructure. From our committee, Shane Clary is chairing the Standards Council Policy and Procedures Task Group, which includes Fred Leber and Danny McDaniel. It is hoped that changes will be implemented during REVIEW SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETINGS 1 Fall th October - Roosevelt Presidential Library at Hyde Park, New York. Sheila Palmer gave an update on the arrangements; the site is around 100 miles from New York City and a similar distance from Albany. Steve Rocklin will give a talk about salvage following a fire in the property. The house was adapted to allow for Franklin D. Roosevelt s disability. NFPA will not be blocking rooms, so committee members will need to make their own bookings. 2 Spring 2011 Vienna - to be hosted by Wolfgang Kippes at Schoenbrunn, dates confirmed as the last week in June 2011, details to follow. This will be an ROP meeting for NFPA Fall San Francisco - Don Moeller offered a number of options and it was agreed to go to the Oakland Museum of California. Dates and details are to be determined. 4 March/April Smithsonian Institution - NFPA 909 ROC meeting. Options for hosting future meetings sought from committee members. 7. NFPA 25 and NFPA 13. See Russ Fleming s paper in agenda package for Santa Fe meeting. The NFPA 25 Committee rejected our Committee s proposals and comments, but left it open for us to add requirements into our own documents. We can add explanation in our annex. Unfortunately even if we do this there will not be any cross references from NFPA 25 to our documents. Fred Leber expressed his disappointment that this will not be referenced. Ultimately we can adopt requirements for maintenance in our documents and then go back to NFPA 25 Committee to have references placed in their document of 20

11 NFPA 13 At the 2008 Corrosion Symposium we agreed to submit proposals to the NFPA 13 Committee, but it was too late for that particular revision cycle. The cut off date for the 2013 cycle of NFPA 13 is the 1 st October 2010, and Russ Fleming suggested that we should consider submissions to NFPA 13 to meet the 1 st October deadline. Danny McDaniel expressed concerns that the proposals, as noted on the paper submitted to the committee by Russ Fleming, may not adequately deal with the corrosion issues and required considerably more discussion. Following previous discussions with the NFPA 13 Committee on our concerns they set up a task group to look at corrosion issues in order to bring proposals forward for the revision of NFPA 13. Danny McDaniel proposed that we work with the NFPA 13 task group rather than put forward our own proposals especially as there was an acceptance that there are issues that need to be addressed. 8. NFPA 909 REVISION CYCLE PROPOSAL CLOSING DATE 23 RD MAY Danny McDaniel indicated that one of the key areas for revision is corrosion; specifically in the language is no longer valid. In addition, new language needs to be adapted based on the TIA that was issued with the document to resolve Marcelo Hirschler s NITMAM. It is noted that a TIA is automatically entered as a proposal for the document s next revision cycle. The issue of the use of new materials and in particular the compatibility issues surrounding CPVC pipe work (reference the extensive list at is of great concern to the cultural resources community. There are rumours of problems stemming from the flexibility of CPVC that allowed it to be installed in awkward locations; this allegedly caused problems with the crystalline structure resulting in cracks which could cause a failure. There is a need to include references to the compatibility issues and reference the web site for details within NFPA 909. Bill Jackson referenced the latest problem with CPVC in the Supreme Courts in Edinburgh showing photographs of the failure. Following the experiences with CPVC in the Library with incompetent installation, fragility of the pipes and the compatibility issues a strategy of removing all CPVC was being developed. Danny McDaniel felt that that with these issues in mind CPVC was not an acceptable option in cultural properties. Bill Jackson expressed that his view of installing sprinklers of any kind in special collection rooms/vaults had changed and he was working towards the goal of removal of sprinklers from these areas. The key to this was to ensure that the rooms were sterile with no services passing through and all services serving the space capable of being isolated and locked off externally. Obviously this would only be done after a detailed risk assessment had been carried out and the necessary management systems were in place of 20

12 He still felt that surrounding spaces and high risk areas should have protection from sprinklers. Danny McDaniel reluctantly agreed with this strategy. He informed the committee of the problems he had experienced with corrosion with steel systems in the Colonial Williamsburg and the issues with rolled Victaulic joints where there was corrosion at the joints and hardening of the gaskets that now needed to be replaced. Jack Watts understood the issues related to the National Library of Scotland s collections but was concerned that for small institutions, CPVC provided an affordable solution which would not be viable with say black steel systems because of the cost. He felt that it was crucial that the risk assessment looked at all of the risks/benefits before a decision was made so this needed to be developed in the revision of NFPA 909. There were discussions about the complexity of systems today and especially in fire detection and alarm systems where the technical support was not always available. Sheila Palmer raised the issue of very large commercial fine art stores and the need for protection. Danny McDaniel indicated that these types of store, which were in effect warehouses, still need to be protected by sprinklers. He would only consider not putting sprinklers in vaults, etc. Bob Fisher expressed concern that the wrong message will be conveyed to the user and that the real issues were issues of competence and workmanship. The emphasis needs to be placed on the design and installation with adequate qualified supervision. Bill Jackson quoted what Andy Wilson of the Smithsonian had told him in 1990 when investigating the use of sprinklers for the National Library of Scotland. Andy had stated that he only used tried and tested materials and systems that had been in use for many years. In his case for sprinklers it was black steel wet, screwed joint, wet pipe sprinkler systems where there was a proven track record of over 100 years. Bill felt that there was a lesson in this for everyone and he now wished that he had followed that advice. The committee agreed that special emphasis needs to be placed on the choice of materials, design, competent installation and oversight of systems within the revision of NFPA PORTABLE EXTINGUISHER AGENT TASK GROUP Danny McDaniel reported that the project had delivered the testing protocol and Kathleen Almand of The Fire Protection Research Foundation had been looking at funding possibilities. Testing will cost in the region of $300K and there is the possibility of grants with matching funding up to $150K. The Colonial Williamsburg Conservation Department had been approached and had been interested in the project. They would have had to apply for the grant and manage the project. To manage the project CW would have had to allocate 50% of a conservator s time, which in the current economic climate this was regrettably not possible of 20

13 Grants can be applied for every year but the problem is how to provide the resources to manage the project. There was discussion on whether it could be managed by an intern but again there is a need for seed funding to prepare for grant application and an institution to host/manage the project. Everyone agreed that the work to date had been extremely valuable and that it would be good if things could be moved forward. Nancy Lev-Alexander offered her assistance with taking the project forward. The committee agreed that the work to date and literature search should be included as an annex of NFPA 909 to raise awareness in the cultural community of the issues involved. 11. PRESENTATION ON CORROSION ISSUES Jeff Kochelek of Fire Protection Systems Corrosion Management Inc. said he had given a similar presentation at the NFPA World Safety Conference in Las Vegas. Jeff indicated that he would provide a copy of the presentation for access via the committee page. Jeff explained that his background was in the oil industry where there were many issues related to corrosion in pipelines and his company specialised in corrosion control strategies. He stated that Microbial Induced Corrosion MIC accounted for approximately 10% of corrosion problems. Where tests for bacteria are carried out they will generally be found but this does not mean that the corrosion is MIC. Oxygen is the prime and most pervasive corrosion agent. In dry pipe systems oxygen is found in much higher quantities than in wet pipe systems. In dry pipe systems it is not unusual to have pinhole leaks within 18 months of installation as they are never completely dry. In traditional wet pipe sprinkler systems once the oxygen has been used up through the oxidation process then corrosion will stop so long as water is not constantly changed through testing etc. In dry pipe systems the workmanship also plays an important part in corrosion as poorly installed systems will have to require constant topping up of air so introducing more oxygen and therefore feeding the corrosion process. The average service life of systems if there is no corrosion control strategy is wet pipe 15 to 25 years and dry pipe 10 to 15 years but failures have been seen in less than 5 years in dry pipe systems. The factors that accelerate corrosion are solids trapped in the system, higher temperatures and the materials used in construction. Every time the system is filled solids are introduced and additional solids created through reactions. There are accelerated rates of corrosion under solids in the system. Corrosion is only possible in the presence of liquid water, in particular at the water air interface and this can be very marked as illustrated in photographs of systems showing corrosion. Water acts as the electrolyte in the corrosion process where the anode gives off electrons and the cathode takes up the electrons so causing the corrosion cycle. In pressurised systems more oxygen is dissolved in the water so causing problems under solids and at the air water interface, 7 13 of 20

14 the conditions can also encourage bacteria. In a static wet pipe system the red water turns to black from hematite to magnetite and there is no oxygen left in the black water so corrosion stops. Trapped air has the most oxygen and it is important to vent trapped air out of the system. Obviously continual testing or draining and filling will introduce new oxygen so accelerating any corrosion so this should be avoided. People have been using galvanised pipe in the hope that this will reduce corrosion, unfortunately in the presence of water it does the opposite and accelerates corrosion. Galvanised steel relies on the zinc forming a protective layer of zinc carbonate but it cannot do this where it is submerged in water. Where there are weaknesses in the coating and corrosion starts it is then concentrated in that area and quickly develops into a pinhole. Heat from welding also affects the pipe and unless the whole pipe is heat treated (annealed) then the zone affected by the heat from welding will corrode preferentially to the rest of the pipe. This can result in knife cut type corrosion. To protect dry and wet pipe systems from corrosion caused by oxygen Jeff s company promotes the use of nitrogen purging and pressure filling systems with nitrogen gas. For dry pipe systems this includes a nitrogen generation package that will keep system topped up with nitrogen and in wet pipe systems it involves gas bottles for purging prior to filling. Chair Debbie Freeland thanked Jeff Kochelek for the presentation. 12. GENERAL SERVICE ADMINISTRATION FIRE PROTECTION INITIATIVES Laura Doyle gave the committee an overview of the work being undertaken by GSA related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. GSA looks after around 480 historic buildings, 25% of the total stock under their control. They have $5.5BN to be spent as quickly as possible on energy efficiency measures, green initiatives etc and they do not have sufficient numbers of qualified FPEs to do the large amount of design work required. GSA has written fire safety guidelines in particular one for photovoltaic installations She indicated that there was a need for more guidelines particularly for green roofs which were not addressed in current building codes. GSA facilities standards has adopted the International Building Code 13. EU ACTIVITIES Historic Scotland Guide for Practitioners No 7 Mike Coull Mike Coull informed the committee of the work being done by the Historic Scotland s Historic Buildings Fire Liaison Group. The group has produced 4 Technical Advice Notes (TANS) giving advice on various aspects of fire safety and protection in historic buildings. Following new building regulatory changes and the increasing use of a fire 8 14 of 20

15 engineering approach there was a need to update this guidance. Historic Scotland s Historic Buildings Fire Liaison Group had produced, in cooperation with the Building Standards Agency a Guide for Practitioners No. 7 Fire Safety Management in Traditional Buildings which was intended to be used as a guide for the AHJ, Architects and building owner/user. The guide was published in two parts Part 1 Principles and Practice and Part 2 Application and Solutions. The intention was to open people s minds to alternative solutions for meeting the requirements of the Building (Scotland) Act The document will be officially launched by Historic Scotland and CACFOA on the 8 th July The Fire Liaison group included Mike Coull, Stewart Kidd (editor), Bill Jackson and Nick Jordan. The document will be available to download from the Historic Scotland website. Historic Scotland had commissioned Mike Coull to develop and deliver a number of training initiatives. Initially training in fire fighting in traditional buildings for trainee fire fighters at the Fire Services College in Scotland; then training for fire fighters in fire stations in fire fighting, damage limitation and salvage in traditional buildings; and finally he will develop training for enforcement officers and fire safety officers. He intends to demonstrate, through the use of the guides, alternative ways of meeting the intent of the regulations to produce a more flexible approach to applying the regulations and so avoiding irreversible damage to historic structures and fabric. Institute of Fire Engineers Heritage Special Interest Group Nick Jordan Following the publication of the final report of the Cost Action C17: Built Heritage Fire Loss to Historic Buildings the Institute of Fire Engineers felt that it was important that there was a continuation of the momentum generated by Cost C17. The institution had therefore set up the Heritage Special Interest Group to develop guidance on fire safety in small and medium sized churches, thatched buildings etc. One of the key areas of concern to the group was whether historic doors needed to be upgraded for fire resistance. They were working with the Chief Fire Officers Association to try and reduce the impact on historic fabric. One of the problems is that fire resistance of doors is measured from flashover but in almost all cases there is time between a fire starting and flashover to act. This was especially true in large rooms with high ceilings. In many instances in historic buildings it can take up to 30 minutes to reach flashover so why is there a need to upgrade the door? Nick Jordan went on to describe the problems that the National Trust had experienced with arson fires in their properties. In the last few years they had experienced 11 fires 7 of which were arson. In one property, Chastleton House they had suffered 4 arson incidents up to July There had been a number of events prior to a more major event. All involved fires set with a burning candle, luckily apart from the stand alone ticket office the incidents had been confined to the rooms of origin but this was more through luck than design. Although there were strong suspicions on who had been involved it had not been possible to prove it. Farnborough Hall had also experienced a number of attacks involving oil/diesel or gas storage vessels of 20

16 The learning point from the arson related incidents was the need to carry post incident reviews and risk assessments in order to tackle the issues early before they escalated. 14. COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG CORROSION ISSUES Danny McDaniel gave an update to the committee on the corrosion problems that they had experienced in their Collection and Conservation facility. This facility was completed in 1997 and at the design stage a wet pipe sprinkler system had been recommended but this was not acceptable to the conservation staff so the system had been redesigned with a dry pipe system. In 2002 pinhole leaks had developed where water had been trapped in the pipe work, at the time this had been thought to be related to MIC. The complete system was replaced with a wet pipe system while the collections stayed in place. An air reduction and water treatment system was introduced that injected chemicals into the system. In October 2005, 2 years after installation of the new system, crystals started to appear around the Victaulic fittings and screwed joints. These continued to grow and appeared at all joints in the system. The crystals on the outside of the pipe were found to have a ph of 11.5, which was a cause for concern. Joints were cut out for testing. Victaulic reported that their gaskets had lost elasticity and hardened so leaks might develop. The obvious concern was how long would the gaskets last? Victaulic had identified amines on the gasket and these were also a concern in CPVC system. Nobody understood what the problem was and where the amines came from but it was understood that the gaskets would have to be replaced and that there could also be damage to the CPVC pipe work in some of the zones. When the original system was replaced in 2003 sprinkler pipe was difficult to source due to demand in the construction industry. The pipe had to be ordered well ahead of need at that time. It appears that in 2003 Tyco had started treating the inside of pipes with chemicals and in 2006 they confirmed that this treatment had amines in it and the amines could damage CPVC pipe. The audit trail for the supply of pipes to this project was incomplete so unable to confirm whether the pipes were from Tyco. The chemical injection system has been decommissioned and the system needs to be flushed to remove whatever residues are within the system. This will probably not cleanse the system fully of amines. Screwed joints, Victualic joints and gaskets, CPVC pipe and water from the system have been removed for testing. A project is being planned to replace Victaulic gaskets and to clean the outside of the pipes at joints. Fortunately the insides of the piping are not corroded. The crystal material is a hygroscopic ionic surfactant of carbonate and is hazardous to the collection materials stored under the system. The crystals being hydroscopic could damage the outside of the pipes. To carry out the replacement of the Victaulic gaskets and clean the screwed joints is going to be a major project involving the relocation of collects from under the work areas. At present the Victualic gaskets are still holding but the life expectancy is not known of 20

17 15. NFPA 914 REVISION Sheila Palmer indicated that there were a number of areas where revisions would be considered. 1 Fire Protection and Security Plan. This section in NFPA 909 is focused on contents whereas NFPA 914 is only concerned with the structure. There is a need to look at arson, terrorism and vandalism three areas which have direct impact on historic structures. 2 Need to look at definitions, some structures maybe beyond the scope of NFPA 914 like the Library of Congress Jefferson Building or Schoenbrunn Palace where NFPA 914 is not adequate. There is a need to consider definition of monumental, so large that it is not suitable to apply NFPA 914. So revision will require careful consideration of the definitions as monumental may or may not also be iconic. 3 Remote historic districts fire codes. May need to look at case for district wide protection as per examples in Cost C17. Stewart Kidd is looking at 6 sites in Europe for protection methods of historic districts. 4 Case studies. Explore other ways to publish studies as some studies were very extensive and so better suited to electronic publishing via NFPA website. This would also allow updating and inclusion of appropriate new case studies into NFPA Performing arts centres. The Kennedy centre is probably beyond the scope of NFPA 914 but should it be included? The building has historical significance but is this sufficient for inclusion? 6 Scope change. There maybe a need for a big change in the committee scope and this will need to be considered in more detail by the task group to come back to the committee. 7 Historic structures in remote areas. A good example is the Georgia O Keeffe house in New Mexico and there are many more examples in New Mexico and other states. Sheila will be working with the task group to develop these areas and come back to the committee with firm proposals. 16. NFPA 13 CORROSION ISSUES: PROPOSALS FROM CULTURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE Danny McDaniel felt that there was no clear sense where our committee was going with the issue. He would prefer to see what comes out of the NFPA 13 task group work. He proposed that we should review their findings and the changes the task group propose to NFPA and it would be helpful if the Cultural Resources Committee could endorse their findings. The committee agreed to this proposal and we will ask the NFPA 13 task group to circulate their report and we can then ballot our committee to support the proposals. Wording for substantiation will be developed to allow the committee to vote on supporting the NFPA13 task group findings of 20

18 It was also agreed that the presentation and white paper on corrosion presented at yesterdays sessions will be added to the committee web pages. 17. PROTECTING OUR HERITAGE Marilyn Kaplan was unable to attend this meeting but had circulated a paper dated 10 th June 2010 outlining the background of the task group considerations over last few years and included extracts from the original document. Marilyn stated that although she was supportive of producing a new document she was unable to chair such a group. Fred Leber and Sheila Palmer felt that it would be useful to have a revised document published. The original document was first published in 1948 and reprinted in Consideration had previously been given to revision but NFPA policy was not to support this type of publication but to focus on codes, standards and recommended practice publications. The committee agreed that it would be useful to review the situation and that it fitted under the remit of the NFPA914 task group. All agreed that the task group should take it forward as part of their task group considerations. Fred Leber, Daniel Hubert, Andy Wilson and Cheryl Domnitch expressed an interest in assisting with the review and Cheryl agreed to do a document search to see what was published about the subject and report to the next meeting. 18 Other Business Jack Watts informed the meeting that at the NFPA World Safety Conference, there had been the presentation of 4 papers that were of interest to the committee. Ken Lauziere of the Architect to the Capitol s Office gave a presentation on the US Capitol Visitor Centre project. A similar presentation was given on the University of Chicago Library addition. Hughes Associates gave a presentation on Developing a Performance Measure for a Fire Extinguisher Testing Programme. A paper on analytical study of cables from older homes. Jack indicated that these presentations should be available electronically. 19. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 on the 16 th June Minutes prepared by William Jackson, Secretary of 20

19 Updated August 2010 NFPA Safety Alert Regarding Antifreeze in Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems Background Automatic fire sprinkler systems with antifreeze solutions have more than 60 years of successful use in commercial applications and an equally successful experience since they have been in use in residential applications. Most fire fatalities occur in the home, and when home sprinklers are present, the risk of dying in a home fire decreases by 83%. NFPA supports and urges the expanded use of residential sprinkler systems as the most effective way to prevent fire injury and death in the home and other residential occupancies. While NFPA emphasizes that residential sprinkler systems are and remain reliable and effective, a recent fire incident involving a sprinkler system that contained a high concentration antifreeze solution has raised concerns about the combustibility of antifreeze solutions in residential sprinkler systems. The incident involved a grease fire in a kitchen where a sprinkler system with a reported 71.2% concentration of antifreeze deployed. The fire resulted in a single fatality and serious injury to another person. (Recently, NFPA received a report of another incident, this time in a living room, which may have been exacerbated by the presence of an antifreeze solution.) Following the first incident, NFPA initiated a research project with the Fire Protection Research Foundation (Foundation) and an initial set of fire tests was also conducted by Underwriters Laboratories. Based on information learned from these efforts, NFPA issued an interim safety alert and recommendations in July 2010 and began additional research to gain further information on antifreeze solution performance under various fire scenarios. The Foundation has completed this additional research in a report entitled "Antifreeze Solutions in Home Fire Sprinkler Systems: Phase II Research Interim Report" (2010), and NFPA is providing updated safety information and guidance based on the test results (see the box below). Key findings of fire tests Antifreeze solutions with concentrations of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and concentrations of glycerin exceeding 50% have the potential to ignite when discharged through automatic sprinklers. Both the 40% propylene glycol and 50% glycerin solutions demonstrated similar performance to that of water alone for fire control throughout the series of tests. Based on the results of this research, antifreeze solutions of propylene glycol exceeding 40% and glycerin exceeding 50% are not appropriate for use in residential fire sprinkler systems. Consideration should be given to reducing the acceptable concentrations of these antifreeze solutions by an appropriate safety factor. NFPA Standards Council Action Based on the Foundation report, the NFPA Standards Council, the body that oversees the NFPA standards development process, issued tentative interim amendments (TIA) to NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems; NFPA 13D, Standard for Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two- Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes; and NFPA 13R, Standard for Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies Up To and Including Four Stories in Height banning the use of antifreeze in sprinkler systems in new construction of residences and in the dwelling unit portions of other occupancies. (8/16/10) For more information on this, topic visit 19 of 20

20 New Systems Important safety information and NFPA guidance regarding antifreeze in residential fire sprinkler systems For now, and until any further action by NFPA consensus standards committees, NFPA sprinkler standards prohibit the use of antifreeze in new residential fire sprinkler systems. NFPA standards prohibit the use of antifreeze in residential fire sprinkler systems in new construction following the August 16, 2010, issuance of tentative interim amendments (TIA) to NFPA 13, NFPA 13D, and NFPA 13R. If you are putting in a new residential fire sprinkler system (including all NFPA 13D applications and the dwelling-unit portions of NFPA 13 and NFPA 13R systems), refer to the latest editions of NFPA 13, NFPA 13D and NFPA 13R, as amended by TIAs 1000, 995, and 994. Existing Systems NFPA sprinkler standards are installation standards and do not currently address the problem of antifreeze in existing systems. NFPA, in its role as a safety advocate, believes that owners and contractors should take immediate steps to review the status of their existing residential sprinkler systems and take appropriate action. A complete ban on antifreeze is appropriate for new systems during the period that the NFPA standards committees review the Fire Protection Research Foundation reports and determine whether limited use of antifreeze in these systems is appropriate. A more difficult problem presents itself, however, with existing systems, some of which cannot be easily retrofitted or redesigned so as to avoid the need for antifreeze. Because of the lifesaving benefit of these systems, simply shutting down these systems should not be an option. For owners and contractors who now must determine how to handle these systems, NFPA is offering the following guidance regarding existing systems: Residential fire sprinklers are extremely effective fire protection devices, significantly reducing deaths, injuries, and property loss from fire. These systems should not be disconnected. Existing residential fire sprinkler systems, whenever possible, should not contain an antifreeze solution. If you have, or are responsible for, an existing residential occupancy with a fire sprinkler system, contact a sprinkler contractor to check and see if there is antifreeze solution in the system. If there is antifreeze solution in the system, determine if other means, such as insulation, can be used to provide adequate freeze protection. If there is no viable alternative to antifreeze solutions, NFPA recommends the following: o o o o Use only propylene glycol or glycerin antifreeze solution. The antifreeze solution should be the lowest possible concentration required for the needed freeze potential, but under no circumstance should the antifreeze solution exceed a maximum concentration of 40% of propylene glycol or a maximum concentration of 50% of glycerin. Consideration should be given to reducing these concentrations by an additional safety factor. The antifreeze solution should only be a factory pre-mixed solution; use of factory pre-mixed solutions is essential to ensure the proper concentration level and solution integrity. Antifreeze solutions should only be used with the approval of the local authority having jurisdiction. For more information, including copies of the Foundation reports and the TIAs, and to stay up to date on any further guidance or information that NFPA may provide on this issue, regularly consult August 2010 For more information on this, topic visit 20 of 20