NFPA 13 Review

Words: 340
Pages: 2

You asked the following question: “A request has been made by the AHJ to install draft stops and fire sprinkler curtains adjacent to a stairway within an atrium. If the building code does not specify draft curtains and sprinklers, would the reference code (NFPA 13) carry precedence and mandate these protection measures be added?” In response to your question we have reviewed NFPA 13, 2013 edition that you indicated as the applicable standard. Our informal interpretation is that Section 8.15.4 is applied when sprinkler protection is serving as the alternative to the enclosure of the vertical opening.

Section 8.15.4.1 indicates that where moving stairways, staircases, or similar floor openings are unenclosed and where sprinkler protection