NFPA25

FAQs

ResponsestoFAQsarepreparedbyNFPAtechnicalstafftoassistusersinreadingandunderstandingNFPAcodesand
standards.Theresponses,however,arenotFormalInterpretationsissuedpursuanttoNFPARegulations.Anyopinions
expressedarethepersonalopinionsoftheauthor(s),anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficialpositionoftheNFPAor
itsTechnicalCommittees.Inaddition,theresponsesareneitherintended,norshouldbereliedupon,toprovide
professionalconsultationorservices.

1. Wheninspectinganoldsystem(60yearsorolder),when/wheredoesNFPA25requirea
systemtobeupgradedtopresentstandards?

NFPA25doesnotrequireanysystemmodificationstobringanoldsystemuptopresent
standards.Thereareexceptionshowever.Iftheauthorityhavingjurisdictiondeterminesthat
anunsafeconditionexists,Section1.2permitscorrectiveactioninexcessoftheminimum
requirementsofthestandard.Anotherexceptiontothisrequirementcanbefoundin
Section5.3.1.11.1whichstates"sprinklersinstalledpriorto1920shallbereplaced"

2. Ifanexistingsystemisfoundtocontaininstallationdeficiencies,whereinthestandarddoes
NFPA25requirecorrectiveaction?

NFPA25isnotintendedtoaddressinstallationdeficiencies.Infact,Section1.1states
"Whereasystemhasnotbeeninstalledinaccordancewithgenerallyacceptedpractices,the
correctiveactionisbeyondthescopeofthestandard"

3. AmIrequiredtohavealicenseinordertoperformtestingormaintenanceonawaterbased
system?

Manystateorlocaljurisdictionsrequirelicensingorcertification,NFPA25doesnot.Section
4.1.2.3statesthat"Thesetasksshallbeperformedbypersonnelwhohavedeveloped
competencethroughtrainingandexperience".

4. Whattypeoftests,ifany,arerequiredwhenasystemcomponentisreplacedorrebuilt?

Section4.5.6requirestestinginaccordancewiththeoriginalacceptancetestforthat
componentorsubsystem.Thisinformationcanbefoundintheinstallationstandardforthe
typeofsysteminvolved.

5. Isanobstructioninvestigationrequiredeveryfiveyears?

TherearetwoactivitiesthatarerelatedtoobstructionsinChapter13thatrequireour
attention.Thefirstisaninvestigationthatisactuallymoreofaninspectionasdescribed
inSection13.2.1thatmustbeconductedeveryfiveyears.Whilethesprinklersystemisshut
downforthepurposeofinternalvalveinspections(SeeTable12.1),theflushingconnection
attheendofonecrossmainandasinglesprinklerattheendofonebranchlinemustbe

NFPA 25 FAQs
 removedandtheinsideofthepipingistheninspectedforthepresenceoforganicand
inorganicmaterial.

InSection13.2.2amorecomprehensiveobstructioninvestigationmustbeconducted
whenanyofthe14conditionslistedinthatsectionarepresent.Thismorecomprehensive
obstructioninvestigationisconductedbyinternallyexaminingthefollowingfourpointsina
system:systemvalve,riser,crossmainand,branchlineandisonlyrequiredwhenoneofthe
14problemslistedinSection13.2.2ispresent.Thisobstructioninvestigationisnotaroutine
procedure,itisonlyneededwhenaproblemexists.Ifanyobstructingmaterialisfound,a
completeflushingprogrammustbeconductedtoremoveanyremainingobstructing
material.

6. Arebags(paperorplastic),acceptabletoprotectsprinklersfromaccumulationofdustor
otherpotentialcontaminants?

Bagsareonlypermittedwhensprinklersareprotectingspraycoatingareas.Plasticbagsmust
haveaminimumthicknessof0.003in.(0.076mm)orsmallpaperbagsmaybeused.
Sprinklersprotectingareasotherthanspraycoatinghazardsarenotpermittedtohavebags
placedoverthesprinklers.

7. Whatismeantby"indivdualsprinklersample"asreferencedinSection5.3.1.2,doesthis
pertaintothestyleofthesprinkler(suchasupright,pendentetc.)?

Individualsprinklersamplereferstoeachtypeofsprinklerinasystem.Forexample,ifa
systemcontainsuprightandpendentsprinklers,onepercentornotlessthanfourofeach
typemustberemovedfortesting.

8. Ifasystemhasonlyoneriserbutservesseveraltenantspaces,suchasastripmall,shoulda
sprinklersamplebetakenfromthesystemasawholeorfromeachindividualtenant
space?


Inyourcase,asamplefromeachtenantspaceisnotrequired.Thesamplingrequirementin
Section5.3.1.2isintendedtoberandomsampling,meaningthatsprinklersshouldnotbe
removedfromasinglebranchlinebutshouldbetakenfromanumberofdifferentareasina
building(wherepractical).Removingsprinklersfromasmanydifferentareasaspossiblewill
betterrepresenttheconditionofallormostofthesprinklersinthatsystem.


9. Howmanysprinklersmustberemovedfromasystemfortesting?

Section5.3.1.2requiresthatonepercent(ornolessthanfour)beremovedandsubmittedto
atestinglaboratoryforevaluation.Ifasystemcontains500sprinklersforexample(400
uprightand100pendent)thenatotalofeightsprinklersmustberemoved;400X.01=4and
100X.01=1(butnotlessthan4).

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 10. Ourlocalhighschoolisfullysprinklered.Thesprinklerslocatedintheswimmingpoolarea
haveturnedgreen.Arethesesprinklersrequiredtobereplaced?

Yes.AnysprinklerfoundtobecorrodedmustbereplacedinaccordancewithSection
5.2.1.1.2.Anytimebrassisexposedtoconstantmoisture(particularlycombinedwith
chlorine),corrosionwillresult.Sprinklersexposedtotheseconditions,shouldbewaxcoated
toprotectthesprinklerfromcorrosion.Waxcoatedsprinklersareavailablefromany
sprinklermanufacturer.Waxisnotpermittedtobeappliedafterthesprinklerleavesthe
manufacturer.

11. Whenreplacingsprinklersinasystem,isitnecessarytoperformahydrostatictest?

Section5.4.3ofthestandardreferstoNFPA13"StandardfortheInstallationofSprinkler
Systems"whenmaintenanceorrepairinvolvesmorethan20sprinklers.Thissectionis
intendedtoaddresscommoninstallationissuessuchaspipe,fittings,hangersandsoon.Itis
sometimesacommonpracticetohydrotestasystemwithoutsprinklersinstalled,i.e.:with
"plugsinstalledinthebottomofadroptoapendentsprinklerandtheninstallthesprinkler
afterfinaladjustmentofthedroponcethefinishedceilingisinstalled.Bothstandardsare
silentonthisissue.Mysuggestionistoconsultthelocalfiremarshaltodeterminewhat
he/shewillaccept.Inmostcaseswhenreplacingsprinklersonly,andnotmodifyingthepipe,
anhydrostatictestisnotrequired.

12. Dostandpipesystemsrequireaperiodichydrostatictest?

Yes.However,onlydrystandpipesystemssuchasthosefoundinaparkingstructurefor
example,mustbetestedeveryfiveyears.Thehydrotestisrequiredtoverifypipingintegrity.
Wetsystemsdonotneedtoberoutinelyhydrotestedsinceleaksinthepipearereadily
apparent.

13. Ihaveastandpipesystemwithtworisers.Theoriginaldesignindicatesatotalflowof750
gpm(2839Lpm).AmIrequiredtoflowthismuchwaterforthefiveyearflowtest?

No.Whenconductingthefiveyearflowtest,oneriseristestedatatime.Therefore,theflow
shouldbeatotalof500gpm(1892Lpm),250gpm(946lpm)foreachofthetwotopmost
outlets.

14. ChapterfiveofNFPA25requiresaweeklyfirepumptesttobeconductedwithoutflowing
water.Doesthisincludethecirculationreliefvalve?

No.Thestandardsays"withoutflowingwater"sonooneflowswateratminimum,ratedand
peakflowseachweekasrequiredfortheannualflowtest.Thecirculationreliefvalvemust
flowwateranytimethepumpisrunningtoprovidepropercoolingofthepump.Withoutthis
smallflowofwater,thepumpwilloverheatresultingindamagetothepumpshaftorother
components.

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 15. Duringtheweeklyinspectionofthefirepumpinmybuilding,Ihaveobservedwaternear
thebaseplateofthepump.IsthisnormalordoIhavealeak?

Asmallamountofwaterinthebaseplatedrainisnormal.Thiswatershouldbedrippingfrom
thepackingglands.Thepackingglandsonthepumpmustbekeptwetforproperlubrication
(aboutonedroppersecond).Neveradjustthepackingglandtostopthedrippingofwater.
Todosowillpreventlubricationandwillresultinthedestructionofthepackinggland.

16. Duringtheannualtestofourfirepumpitwasnotedthatpumpperformancewasslightly
lessatpeakflow,thantheresultsobtainedduringtheoriginalacceptancetest.Isthisa
problem?

Thismaynotbeaproblem.First,youshouldverifythatallvalvesonthesuctionsideofthe
pumpandinthetestheaderareopenfully.Somedecreaseinperformancecanbeexpected
duetoslightwearofthepumporitscomponents,thisisnormal.Theannualtestisintended
toensurethatthepumpiscapableofsupplyingthemaximumsystemdemand.Thetest
resultsfromtheannualtestarenotrequiredtomeettheoriginalpumpcurveasinthe
originalacceptancetest.

17. Whenperformingthefiveyearinternalinspectionofawaterstoragetank,isitnecessary
todrainthewaterfromthetankorcanaqualifieddiverperformthenecessaryinspection?

InordertoperformtherequiredinspectionandmaintenanceactivitiesoutlinedinChapter9,
thewaterisnotrequiredtobedrainedfromthetank.Acertifiedcommercialdivercan
performtheinspectionwithoutdrainingwaterfromthetank.Inanycase,theinspection
shouldincludeverificationthatcentercolumnsoftubulardesignarenotholdingwater,spot
wetspongetestingandvacuumboxtestingtonameafew.

18. Ineedtoperformaflowtestthroughthebackflowpreventerinmysprinklersystem.Ihave
notestconnectionsizedtoaccommodatethismuchflow.WhatcanIdotocomplywith
thisrequirement?


Youhaveseveraloptions,theyare:

usethefirepumptestheader,ifpresent,asatestconnection
ifthebackflowpreventerisinstalledonthesuctionsideofthepump,theannualfire
pumptestwillalsoserveasaflowtestforthebackflowpreventer
thefiredepartmentconnectionmaybeusedasatestconnectionbyreversingthecheck
valveandflowingwateroutoftheFDC.Itmightbeagoodideatoinstallabypass
aroundthecheckvalvewithanormallyclosedcontrolvalveforfuturetesting

19. Whenisamaindraintestrequired?

Amaindraintestisrequiredannuallyoranytimethewatersupplycontrolvalveisclosed,
thisincludesanytimeasystemundergoesmaintenanceorrepair.Thistestisessentialto

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 ensurethatthewatersupplyvalveisfullyopen.Sprinklersystemsperformexceptionally
well,howeverwhentheydofailthemajorcauseoffailure(35%ofthecasesreportedto
NFPA)thewatersupplyvalvewasclosed,thustheverificationofanopenwatersupplyvalve
cannotbeoveremphasized.Theannualtestfrequencyisaminimumrequirement,NFPA25
permitsmorefrequenttestingifdesired.

20. Wehavebeenexperiencingpinholeleaksinoursprinklersystem.Ourmaintenance
contractorsuggeststhattheproblemmaybethepresenceofMIC.WhatisMICandhow
cantheproblembecorrected?


MICormicrobiologicallyinfluencedcorrosionistheresultofcertaintypesofbacteriainthe
waterthatattacksteelandcopperpipe.MICcanberecognizedbythepresenceoforangeor
blacktuberculesorblackmudlikeslimeinsteelpipeandblueorgreentuberculesincopper
pipe.

Thebestapproachtoaddressthissituationistosubmitasampleofthecorrosionbyproduct
toalaboratoryfortesting(suchlabscanbefoundontheinternet)andidentificationofthe
microorganismresponsible.Onceidentified,atreatmentstrategycanbedeveloped.This
mayinvolvealteringoneormoreenvironmentalconditionsinsidethepipesuchas:oxygen
levels,pH,temperatureorresidualchlorinecontent.IftheproblemisMIC,treatmentofthe
waterwillbenecessaryeachtimeyoutestorflushyoursystem.Introducingafreshsupplyof
waterandoxygenmayallowtheMICtorenewitsattackonthepipe.

NFPA 25 FAQs