Unlike many other building systems, fire protection systems are mandated to be tested, inspected, and maintained at regular intervals. The simple reason for this is: when it needs to work, it needs to work! When you turn a light switch on and the light bulb burns out, you can just replace the light bulb and you have light again. If your air conditioning goes out, it may be hot for a while until you can get it repaired or replaced. However, if your fire protection system does not work properly when you have a fire, the potential for loss of property is great and the potential for any loss of life is greater. This is why, as a fire/life safety system, it is so important that water-based fire protection systems be inspected, tested, and maintained. Also important is that this be performed by a qualified and certified technician who not only has the knowledge, but the skill level to safely and effectively perform these tasks.
The first truly automatic sprinkler head was invented around 1870 by Philip Pratt and, thus, the first automatic sprinkler system. But it wasn’t until 120 years later that a standard would be developed for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of automatic fire sprinkler systems. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) developed NFPA 25, Standard for Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Base Fire Protection Systems, and released the first edition in 1992. This first edition was a collection of inspection, testing, and maintenance provisions and was intended as an extension of two other standards already in place – NFPA 13A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Sprinkler Systems, and NFPA 14A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection Testing, and Maintenance of Standpipe and Hose Systems. NFPA 25 was a guidebook to help property owners and authorities having jurisdiction navigate the inspections of water-based fire protection systems in their buildings and jurisdictions. Eventually, NFPA 25 would become its own standard.
According to NFPA’s 2017 report, U.S. Experience with Sprinklers, of the reported 660 sprinkler system failures per year, 59 percent – or three of every five sprinkler systems that failed – were due to the sprinkler system being shut off. Additionally, 10 percent were due to lack of maintenance, and 7 percent due to damaged system components. All which could have been corrected with a strong inspection, testing, and maintenance program, performed by certified technicians, in place. Combining these three statistics, 502 fires could have been extinguished before they got large enough to become a fire loss or at least controlled long enough for fire fighters to completely extinguish the fire. The adoption and implementation of NFPA 25 by local jurisdictions, combined with enforcement, would have made this possible. This shows the effectiveness of proper inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire sprinkler systems. NFPA 25 doesn’t just cover fire sprinkler systems – it covers all water-based fire protection systems, from underground fire mains to fire pumps to water storage tanks and water mist systems, helping to ensure that all components function when required.
Adopting NFPA 25 and enforcing its requirements is not the complete answer to solving the fire protection issue. Having qualified technicians perform the work is crucial. Many states do not require the person performing the inspection, test, or maintenance to be certified. Some state and local jurisdictions require a certification from the National Institute for Certification on Engineering Technologies (NICET) as a requirement to perform these functions. Other locations may have fire authorities that have their own certification process. While NICET is a good certification, one is only required to take a written test to become certified. The entry level, of which there are three levels, only requires a minimum of six months of related work experience. NFPA also has a certification program for water-based fire protection systems. However, once again, the certification process only requires a written exam. This leaves out a critical component to the whole process – doing the work. Someone could conceivably have an entry level amount of fire protection system book knowledge, but never have physically worked on one. ASSE has taken this a few steps further with the introduction of ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI Series 15000, Professional Qualifications Standard for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. To be eligible for the ASSE 15010 Water-Based Fire Protection Certification, the technician must have a minimum of five years of documented practical experience and must have successfully completed a minimum of 80 hours of inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) related training on water-based fire protection systems. The ASSE 15010 Certification combines a 200-question written test, which includes aspects of the ASSE 15010 Standard, with a hands-on practical test that must include the testing of a dry-pipe system, preaction system, main drain test, electric motor driven fire pump, and a diesel engine driven fire pump. Once that is all complete, the tester must have knowledge of how to evaluate the test results of what they have just tested. This makes the ASSE 15010 certification the model for verifying a technician’s competency level. When it comes to evaluating the performance of a fire life safety system like a water-based fire protection system, only those that are qualified and certified should be allowed to perform these functions.
The inspection, testing, and maintenance of water-based fire protection systems is only effective if the technician has the skill, knowledge of what they are testing, and how to evaluate the test results that they see. It is not enough to just have the knowledge. Technicians also need the skill level to operate these complex systems and verify their operation. Along with this is the need to not damage anything in the process. Another key component of the practical ASSE 15010 Certification exam is for the participant to perform a walk-through test, as if they were performing the test in a real-life scenario. The exam participant is graded on three categories: Listening Skills/Interviewing Customer, Preparation, and a System Test with anywhere from nine to 30 steps depending on the system being tested. The practical test requires the exam participant to collect key information from the exam proctor who is acting as the property owner or designated representative. Furthermore, the exam participant must develop an action plan for testing, and the safety precautions and personal protective equipment required. The exam participant also has to ensure that the discharge water from system being tested will not damage anything. These are all real-world considerations. Many times, when something is damaged at a facility – like landscaping or a stored product – it is due to the tester not considering where the discharge water will go, and what might be in the path of that water, creating a liability issue for them or the contractor they are working for. These incidents can be avoided if the tester has an action plan and has done some preplanning, possibly saving their contractor thousands of dollars.
There are many considerations that go into inspection, testing, and maintenance outside of the actual testing of the systems. If done incorrectly, or inappropriately due to lack of training or certification, it could result in a fire/life safety system that does not operate or is ineffective. On the other hand, if the fire protection system is inspected, tested, and maintained in accordance with the applicable standards and done correctly by a trained, qualified, and certified technician, that system will function as designed and provide fire protection that can save lives and property. No building with a fire sprinkler system in it should be lost to fire. Having strong inspection, testing, and maintenance programs that are adopted by authorities having jurisdiction and enforced and performed by certified technicians would dramatically reduce the number of buildings lost to fire. If this is not being done, we have a lot lose. But if we can do this right, we have a lot to gain.
