Fire Alarm Strobes in Warehouse

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qms006

Member
Anybody know of any requirement for fire alarm strobe layout in warehouse rack aisles longer than 100'? I know 100' typically for corridors but should we mount to the racks for the aisles longer than 100'?
 

qms006

Member
One last question - How does the that work with the 80" AFF or 6" BFC - or is there an exception depending on the room size and ceiling height?
 

ron

Senior Member
Ceiling strobes have their own mounting requirements. You're thinking of wall mounted units.
You need the equivalent of 15cd at the floor. Section 7.5.4.4 doesn't prohibit ceiling strobes.
Check out NFPA 72 Table 7.5.4.3.1(b) for mounting coverage in a room.
 

nhfire77

Senior Member
Location
NH
Imho

Imho

I have done quite a few "big box stores", the aisles are 100' but ceiling mount strobes 30 feet AFF or less work great. If you do use wall mounts to the racks 80" AFF plan on being out there replacing them on a regular basis if they are using fork trucks and hire 18 year old kids to operate them. Of course there are protection devices to cover the strobes, but check for the listing and the AHJ approval first.
 

Stallzer

Member
Location
MN
Best thing for Warehouses is a walk through with the local AHJ, many times they will not require as strict placement as say in the office building. Most AHJ's understand that to properly cover a warehouse for A/V the price tag can get very steep. We just finished a new building with a very large warehouse with 40' ceilings and the bill to do it to code would have exceeded 15K due to lift rentals, amount of devices, labor, NAC extenders...etc.
The building was sprinkled and only approx. 7-10 people man the warehouse so the Fire inspector allowed a kind of scattered placement.
 

DM2-Inc

Senior Member
Location
Houston, Texas
One thing you need to consider is who has the jurisdiction with regard to strobe lights. You need to remember that the requirements for strobes originally stems from the ADA. Because ADA is federal, local jurisdictions don't have the authority to enforce the ADA. Fire inspectors will enforce the fire codes, however many states have their own "Accessibility requirements" and will enforce them. These requirements are equal to, or more restrictive than federal requirements. They may not care what the fire inspector has to say about your planned location for strobes. The proof of this is that you'll never find a state agency issuing a citation for a federal violation (i.e. ADA). It's more of a matter where the case goes to court...Federal or State. If your in federal court, drag out your copy of the CFR's...if your in State court, drag out your copy of the State Accessibility requirements. Remember ADA is a public law not restricted to Federal Property. There isn't a "Federal ADA" inspector that cites you, it's Joe citizen...that's how ADA gets enforced. Joe Citizen can take the building owner to Federal or State court, depending on what's been violated or where he stands the greatest chance to win the case.

In the state of Texas, for new construction, you'll have a state "Accessibility" inspector visit your building. Besides looking at ramps, bathroom and the like, he'll look at strobe lights. Not all states do this but the state your working in might.

On a project that involved Labs for an oil company in the city of Houston, the labs were classed as hazardous locations (class I, Div 2) by the oil company due to their own risk assessment, even though NFPA didn't require them to be. As a result the strobe lights had to be Class I, Division 2. The only manufacture of a Class I, Div 2 strobe light, that's compliant with ADA issues, is Federal Signal. But they don't have a nice easy form to reference relative to light dispersion. As a result, I had to do the calculations myself and demonstrate to the "Accessibility" inspector (not the fire inspector) that they conformed with the State "Accessibility" code.

Regards,
Dan
 
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