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prEN 16925 Residential Sprinkler System Standard

FG Sprinkler Conference

21 March 2017

Alan Brinson

Agenda

Introducing prEN 16925

Points to note and next steps

Sprinkler campaigns and progress

Fire Sprinkler International 2018

Introducing prEN 16925

Fixed firefighting systems – Automatic

residential sprinkler systems – design,

installation and maintenance

Background

• Campaigns for residential sprinklers need a standard for regulatory

reference

• We already have BS 9251, INSTA 900-1, NEN 2077 and VdS 2896

• Yet most countries do not have a standard and few of those will

accept any of the above

• A European standard can be used by everyone

• It can also bring in learning from everywhere

Background – prEN 12259-14

prEN 12259-14

• Standard for the testing of residential sprinklers

• Referenced by prEN 16925

• Drafted from Nordic INSTA 900-2

• Has already been used by VdS to approve sprinklers

• UK asked it to be harmonised, which slows progress

• Comment review in parallel with prEN 16925

prEN 12259-14

Progress – prEN 16925

• First draft based on INSTA 900-1

• Six meetings 2012-14, many changes made

• Draft for enquiry October 2015 (prEN 16925)

• Over 550 comments (85% Germany & UK)

• Addressed in eight days over five meetings

• Norway well-represented (usually three people)

Where were most of the comments?

• 90 – introduction and scope (rewritten)

• 70 – definitions (many from EN 12845!)

• 30 – water supply drawings (moved to annex)

• 35 – extent of protection (revised)

• 35 – hydraulic design criteria (revised)

• 30 – water supplies and type

• 55 – pumps (revised)

• 45 – spacing and location of sprinklers

Points to note and next steps

A Regulatory Issue

• Regulators in several countries have shaped their standard –

INSTA 900-1 is an example

• They have decided which type of system is permitted for each

application, how many design sprinklers and what density to use

• Impossible to agree one set of design criteria

=> Table with ranges, a national foreword and a national

informative annex with guidance on usual national values

System Type Application

1

One or two family dwelling / house Pre-fabricated house Bed and breakfast

2

Apartment building A) House with multiple households sharing facilities A), B) Care home A), C) Child or adult day-care centre A), C) Student accommodation A)

3

Apartment building D) Care home A) Small hotels or hostels A)

A) Limited to four storeys or 18 m height B) Shared facilities are bathrooms and/or kitchens and living rooms C) 10 or fewer residents D) Over 18 m

Table 1 – System types and applications

Table 2 – Minimum design criteria

Type of residential

sprinkler system

Minimum design discharge density A)

(mm/min)

Number of design sprinklers B), C)

Minimum duration of water supply

(min)

1 2,1 1–2 10

2 2,1-4,1 1–4 30

3 2,1-4,1 2-4 30 A) Some countries may have a national informative annex with guidance on the usual minimum design discharge density for each system type

B) The number of design sprinklers is the number of sprinklers in the room, the lower figure in this table being the minimum and the higher figure the maximum

C) Some countries may have a national informative annex with guidance on the usual number of design sprinklers for each system type

Plans for a Norwegian national

foreword and national annex

• Comply to the building regulations (TEK17) where residential sprinkler installations are required,

• Minimum discharge density and number of design sprinklers will be fixed and kept as

today in NS-INSTA900-1 Table 2, • Limit the use of residential sprinklers in some type of buildings and areas where the

technology was not intended to be used when NS-INSTA900-1 was established, • Not accepted to use the technology as replacement for other fire protection measures.

Other key changes / highlights

• Multi-purpose systems removed (no market demand)

• Dry, pre-action and anti-freeze systems retained (Nordic)

• Loft insulation drawings added

• EC systems retained (Nordic)

• Priority demand valves and boosted mains included

Other key changes / highlights contd.

• Pump chapter revised and drawings updated

• Simplification of monitoring and alarms annex

• Hydraulic calculations moved to annex

• Water supplies drawings annex

Typical Water Supply Drawings

Next steps

• Circulate a second draft for enquiry spring 2017

• Resolve those comments summer/autumn 2017

• Circulate a final version for a vote end 2017

Publish spring 2018!

Sprinkler campaigns and progress

There is a lot going on and much of it will lead

to increased use of residential sprinklers

Ammonia Refrigeration Rooms

• EN 378-3 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps – Safety and

environmental requirements Part 3: Installation site and

personal protection banned sprinklers in ammonia refrigeration

machinery rooms

• This led to authorities in some countries demanding that

sprinkler systems in these areas be decommissioned

• Insurers were concerned about the significant increase in risk

Ammonia Refrigeration Rooms

• EFSN and its members engaged with the relevant CEN

committee and mirror committees in France, Germany and UK

• We explained that the ban was based on flawed thinking

• New edition of EN 378-3, published in November 2016,

permits sprinklers in ammonia refrigeration machinery spaces

Campaign led by François Asselman

• Flemish government fire tests to assess benefits of sprinklers in

common areas of care homes open to kitchens – positive report

• But loss of visibility because sprinkler cooled plastic cover

while foam burned underneath

• Sprinklers and smoke extraction retained visibility – both likely

to be required in new care home regulations (expected this year)

• Commercial market strong, so commercial installers uninterested

in residential sprinklers => we will encourage new players

• Draft car park regulation will require sprinklers in large,

underground car parks – publication expected this year

• Gained exemption for sprinkler pump diesel drivers from new

Flemish particulate emission limits for stationary diesel engines

• Led drafting of national standards for water tanks, pumps and

foam proportioners

• Demo unit in Flanders and planned for Wallonia

EFSN France

• Campaign led by Youcef Ouammou

• Regular meetings with officials and fire chiefs

• Two 2-day training seminars for fire officers at

ENSOSP in Paris (since 2010 over 300 trained)

• French EFSN members meet twice a year to

exchange information (30-40 participants)

• Live demonstrations at fire brigade meetings

and annual fire brigade congress

Live Demonstrations in France

EFSN France

• Residential fire tests in Bayonne on tenability in open staircase

• Approval to install first residential system in France – care

home in a converted hospital building in Nerac near Agen

• Two further residential projects expected soon

• Fire Brigade Union (the AHJ) to draft guidance on use of

sprinklers as a compensatory measure in residential buildings

• Regulation to require sprinklers in underground car parks held

up by Presidential election – many being sprinklered anyway

Germany

• Campaign led by Jörg Wilms-Vahrenhorst,

focussing on care homes and SMEs

• Articles in trade magazines and

presentations at conferences

• Meetings with regulators and consultants

• bvfa sprinkler forum at FeuerTRUTZ

Germany contd.

• Market remains very strong – installers cannot find staff

• Fire brigade training given in Würzburg (Bavarian FB school)

• Training to architects at a University (TAS Kaiserslautern)

• First residential systems per VdS 2896

• Review of VdS 2896 (EN 16925?)

Netherlands

• John van Lierop – full-time

• Focus on car parks, healthcare and residential

• Good contacts with officials, fire officers and consultants

• Regular news bulletins

• Conference presentations

Netherlands

• Underground car parks are being sprinklered, for business continuity reasons (otherwise fire brigade intervention unlikely)

• Government-funded analysis of healthcare buildings with sprinklers or water mist – positive report

• New hospitals and some care homes are being sprinklered

• Accreditation scheme for residential installers, NEN 2077 residential standard and beginnings of a residential market

Netherlands

• New sprinkler demonstration unit at Fire Brigade training ground in Twente

• Co-funded research on sprinkler use to reduce structural steel fire protection – national guidance being drafted with FB input

• This year will fund research on use of sprinklers to extend escape routes – aim again is to produce national guidance

UK

• Residential market booming – care homes, apartments, social

housing retrofits

• Welsh residential pilot study report positive – legislation should

have an impact this year – Scotland watching

• Fire service conducting research on maximum unsprinklered

warehouse size that fire-fighters can safely enter in a fire

UK

• BS 9999:2016 published – includes water mist

• BSA producing guidance for architects, etc. on designing with

sprinklers, showing the possible financial savings

• Big fight over watered-down schools guidance Articles and letters in newspapers, letters to MPs

Questions from MPs, Fire Chiefs on TV

Series of meetings with officials – sustained political pressure

Other Regulatory Reviews

• Finland – proposals for sprinklers: In wooden healthcare, hotels and assembly buildings 3-8 storeys

(already applies in apartments & offices)

To extend compartment areas

• Ireland – review to begin this year, expect sprinklers in: Warehouses >1,000 m2

Care homes

Wooden apartment buildings >2 storeys

All apartment buildings >3 storeys

• Slovakia – review started, first looking at high-rise buildings

Fire Sprinkler International 2018

Overview

• Two days: 13-14 June 2018

• Mornings – plenary session; afternoons: three parallel sessions

• Networking event on the first evening

• Gala dinner on the second evening (optional extra)

• Develop programme with Sprinklerfrämjandet of Sweden

• We are seeking strong Nordic participation!

Progress

• Conference in Radisson Waterfront Hotel

• 50 rooms in this hotel; 125 in Sheraton

• More sprinklered hotels nearby

• Gala dinner in Golden Hall of City Hall

• All sponsorship options sold

• Huge interest locally and internationally

Stockholm…

Radisson Waterfront Hotel

Fully-sprinklered!

In the heart of Stockholm

Huge

space!

14th June – Dinner in the Golden Hall

14th June – Dinner in the Golden Hall

Thank you!