24.183.1501    Fire Protection Shop Drawings

(1) When fire protection shop drawings are used to finalize engineering concepts:

(a) The licensee (a licensed professional engineer) shall provide the design concept adequate for shop drawing preparation by others. The design concept for sprinkler systems must include as a minimum:

(i) the density and water flow pressure requirements for the sprinkler system design;

(ii) the classification of commodities to be protected; and

(iii) confirmation of adequate water supply.

(b) A properly qualified technician or licensee shall execute the design concept and prepare shop drawings. Shop drawings for sprinkler systems must include as a minimum:

(i) layout of risers;

(ii) cross-mains;

(iii) branch lines;

(iv) sprinkler heads;

(v) sizing of pipe;

(vi) hanger locations; and

(vii) hydraulic calculations, in accordance with the design concepts.

(2) The licensee should not seal the shop drawings. A letter of review must be prepared indicating the licensee's acceptance of the shop drawings as being in accordance with the design concept. Such review letter may be made available to appropriate jurisdictional authorities and interested parties.

(3) For the purposes of (1) (b) , a "qualified technician" is a person who has at least one of the following qualifications:

(a) a national institute for certification in engineering technologies (NICET) level III technician certification;

(b) a NICET level IV technician certification; or

(c) 20 years experience in the field of automatic sprinkler layout in Montana, with the end of the 20-year experience term terminating February 1, 2002.

(4) A licensee shall not be required to provide design concepts or letter of review for:

(a) projects exempt from building code requirements for fire protection;

(b) remodeling involving less than 100 sprinklers to an existing fire protection system, provided there is no change in occupancy classification, storage configuration, or other change in occupancy use that would require design concept modifications; or

(c) routine maintenance, when accomplished in accordance with national fire protection association (NFPA) standard #25, "Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems."

(5) Information regarding the organizations referred to in this rule can be obtained from:

(a) NICET, 1420 King Street, Alexandria, VA 23314, or via the internet at http://nicet.org; and

(b) NFPA, PO Box 9101, Quincy, Massachusetts, 02269- 9101, or via the internet at http://www.nfpa.org/Home/index.asp.

History: 37-67-202, MCA; IMP, 37-67-101, MCA; NEW, 2002 MAR p. 3152, Eff. 11/15/02.