Fire Protection Research Foundation will host a free webinar on “Impact of Elevated Walkways in Storage on Sprinkler Protection”
The Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) will be hosting the first webinar of its 2023 Annual Webinar Series on Tuesday, January 31, on “Impact of Elevated Walkways in Storage on Sprinkler Protection”.
Solid and open metal grate walkways are often installed in aisles as part of rack storage. Further, open metal grates are also used as mezzanine levels above storage. Historically, there has been little information on how these walkway and mezzanine installations impact current storage protection requirements. The technical committee for NFPA 13, Standard for Installation of Sprinkler Systems, is seeking technical substantiation and guidance for sprinkler protection in the presence of elevated walkways in storage occupancies. A project commissioned by the Fire Protection Research Foundation entitled “Impact of Elevated Walkways in Storage on Sprinkler Protection” sought to answer questions, including:
- When is this type of installation considered a problem from a sprinkler protection standpoint
- At what point do walkways interfere with pre-wetting of adjacent arrays?
This webinar will address knowledge gaps related to the impact of walkways and mezzanines on sprinkler performance and characterize how the presence of a mezzanine or walkway grating interferes or interrupts the spray or delays activation of the sprinklers as a result of the grate’s influence on the plume, or the impact of pre-wetting of adjacent racks.
Dr. Noah Ryder, Fire and Risk Alliance, LLC., is leading this research activity and will lead this webinar discussion. The annual webinar series is a successful outreach of the research activities undertaken by the FPRF. Webinar registration is free and required to attend live; register for this webinar or visit www.nfpa.org/webinars and watch on-demand archived FPRF webinars.
This webinar is supported by the FPRF 2023 Webinar Series Sponsors:
- AXA XL Risk Consulting
- Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc.
- Telgian Engineering and Consulting
- The Zurich Services Corporation
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Fire Protection Engineering Program
