News: Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Disputes Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Determinatio
Posted on Tuesday, December 22 @ 04:56:36 PST
Topic: Legislative Issues
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 Elmsford, New York – December 2009
The Virginia State Fire Marshal has recently issued a memoranda concerning dry sprinklers. Reliable Sprinkler strongly disagreed with the Fire Marshal’s Memoranda which appear to call for a statewide replacement of all Reliable G-3
dry sprinklers, particularly in state owned buildings, and after discussions with Reliable, the
Fire Marshal issued a clarification Memorandum on November 23, 2009.
In issuing his earlier Memorandum, the Fire Marshal relied on tests applicable to new product
approvals rather than on reasonable criteria for sprinklers that had been in the field for many
years in harsh environments. In addition, it should be noted that the test results indicated that
virtually all of the dry sprinklers for which sprinkler-specific data was available showed some
level of corrosion and many had been installed in harsh environments. Furthermore, based
upon the manufacture date stamped on the dry sprinklers, almost all of the sprinklers for
which sprinkler-specific data was available were installed 10 or more years earlier. Moreover,
the earlier Memorandum made no mention of the fact that NFPA 25 and Virginia law require
property owners and operators, not the manufacturer, to (i) maintain their sprinkler systems,
(ii) conduct at least annual inspections of sprinklers, especially those located outside and in
harsh environments, (iii) test their sprinklers and, (iv) where necessary, replace those
sprinklers if there are signs of damage or corrosion or if dry sprinklers have been installed for
more than 10 years (5 years for any sprinkler that has been installed in a harsh environment,
such as outside exposure to weather). Reference was made to fires in Virginia where Reliable
G-3 dry sprinklers allegedly failed to perform. In at least one of those cases, the dry sprinkler
operated when tested, and in the other cases corrosion and serious installation issues
negatively impacted normal operation. More particularly, there are questions as to whether
the systems were ever inspected, tested and maintained in accordance with NFPA 25. It
should also be noted that the production of the Model G-3 dry sprinkler was discontinued in
early 2003.
“Reliable is a responsible manufacturer and stands behind its products” said F.J. Fee III,
President of Reliable. “But what the Virginia State Fire Marshal did was to unfairly cast our
products in a bad and false light. To his credit, when we brought our concerns to the State
Fire Marshal’s attention, he issued a clarifying memorandum dated November 23, 2009,
which confirmed our view that virtually all of the tested dry sprinklers for which
sprinkler-specific data was available were corroded, many had been installed in harsh
conditions, and almost all had been installed 10 or more years ago.”
Continued on Page 2
Importantly, the Fire Marshal stated the following concerning the responsibility of building
owners under NFPA 25:
Based on the provisions of the State Fire Prevention Code, it is the responsibility of building
owners, not sprinkler manufacturers, to inspect, test, maintain, and replace, as necessary, fire
protection systems.
Reliable and the State Fire Marshal can now say with one voice to all building owners - follow
NFPA 25 - inspect, test, maintain and replace, as necessary. Should building owners find through
inspection and testing that time and environment necessitate replacement of sprinklers,
Reliable will have product available on a timely basis so that the integrity of the sprinkler system
can be restored promptly.
About The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co. Inc.
Reliable is a third generation family-run company founded by Frank J. Fee in 1918. Reliable and
its employees take great pride in manufacturing state-of-the-art automatic fire sprinklers, valves
and accessory products, and Reliable is a major distributor of sprinkler systems components.Page 2
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