32A-124 130702-Letter-13D-FormalRequest (1)
coldhamandhartman.com 49 S. Pleasant Street, Suite 301 Amherst, MA 01002 413.549.3616
Louis Hasbrouck
Building Commissioner
City of Northampton
July 2nd 2013
Ref: A 2 Z Residential Addition— request for approval of NFPA 13D fire
suppression system
Dear Louis,
This letter is to request that you grant a modification to Mass 8th Table 903.2 that would appear to
require a full NFPA 13 fire suppression system — but just for the new portion — of our project at
57 King Street in Northampton. Please allow as a compliance alternative the installation of an
NFPA 13D system to the full extent (existing and new) of the Residential portion of the building.
This for the following reasons:
1. This is a far more logical outcome than an obviously over-blown system on only a small
part of the whole.
2. There is dispute between informed professional opinion as to how Table 903-2 should be
interpreted (in context of the deletion of IBC-09 Section 1002.3 by the Mass
Amendments). As you know my code consultant Hal Cutler PE believes “Table 903.2
contains the threshold criteria for when sprinklers are to be provided in buildings. Note a is
not a requirement for sprinklers but rather a requirement that when sprinklers are required
in large residential buildings or in mixed use buildings, the system shall be designed in
accordance with NFPA 13”
3. We had earlier agreed that and NFPA 13 R system would be the subject of this
compliance alternative request, but that was with the understanding that the incoming
existing waster line form the King Street main was 1 ¼ inch in diameter. We now find that
the line is in fact only a one inch diameter. This is sufficient to support a NFPA 13D flow
(with the installation of a Tyco flow control valve to direct the entire flow to the sprinkle
system in the event of a sprinkler triggering event) but not enough to support an NFPA
13R system.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely
Bruce Coldham FAIA