After a Freeze-Up: Important Next Steps

Training Notebook ❘ By GERARD J. NAYLIS

Freeze-ups are inevitable, no matter how hard you may try to avoid them. In “Preventing Fire Protection Pipes from Freezing” (Training Notebook, January 2024 ), we covered ways to avoid freeze-ups and best practices for responding. Having post-freeze-up requirements in place will make life a lot easier when it’s time to act. Here’s a look at what you need to know about setting up a post-freeze-up plan.

What to Expect

During the response, water will continue to leak or drain from the sprinkler system through the cracked or broken pipe. If the crack or break is small enough, use a small bucket or garbage pail to collect escaping water.

Concurrently, a firefighter should be sent to the sprinkler system drain valve, usually located at the main sprinkler system control valve. If this is the case, the firefighter who closed the sprinkler system control valve can also open the main drain valve. This action will allow the water in the sprinkler system to drain out, and this step will reduce the amount of water escaping from the crack or break in the sprinkler system piping.

The fire department may elect to deploy tarps or plastic sheeting to reduce water damage to furniture, stock, or supplies. Some fire departments maintain rolls of plastic sheeting for just this purpose. It is more economical than tarps and can be left in place after the fire department leaves the scene.

Depending on the design and arrangement of the automatic sprinkler system, the water for the affected area where the break or leak in the sprinkler system is located may be segmented with the help of sectional or divisional control valves. When possible, it may be advisable to close sectional or divisional control valves and use the drain valve for just the affected area rather than attempting to drain the entire sprinkler system. This is especially true for larger buildings and high-rise buildings. Once the affected area has been isolated, close the sectional or divisional valve for the area where the break or leak occurred. Then, reopen the main sprinkler control valve and the sectional or divisional control valves. This will reestablish sprinkler protection in the areas not impacted by a crack or break.

Backup Plan

All sprinkler systems should have a supply of spare sprinklers and a sprinkler wrench. Sprinklers that have activated should get replacement sprinklers with new fusible links or glass bulbs.

Next, the sprinkler control valve can be reopened to reestablish sprinkler protection in the affected area. Regardless of who replaces the sprinkler, a licensed or certified fire protection or sprinkler company should be notified to confirm that the change out has been done properly. In many jurisdictions, the fire department issues a “Notice to Correct,” which requires that the sprinkler system be inspected by a licensed or certified entity. This ensures that the sprinkler system can function as originally intended and in accordance with the fire code for the jurisdiction.

(1) A check of sprinkler piping above a drop ceiling using a small level revealed that the pipe leading to the condensate nipple at the ground floor level was pitched in the wrong direction. Note the bubble in the level at the left side of the sight glass. This portion of the pipe leads to the condensate nipple and is higher than the right side. It should be lower to allow condensation to drain from the pipe. The condensation in the sprinkler pipe froze and cracked, causing the dry pipe sprinkler system to lose air pressure. The dry pipe valve tripped and filled the system with water that leaked out of the cracked sprinkler pipe. A check of the piping with a torpedo level would have revealed the error at the time of installation. (Photos by author.)

Post-Freeze-Up Requirements

For any freeze-up, at some point, especially when the crack or break is in the piping, the fire department will leave the scene. You then have a building or a section of a building without required sprinkler protection. At this point, requirements must be fulfilled. Here’s an overview:

1. Fire protection system must remain operational. Almost all fire codes, such as the International Fire Code and NFPA Fire Code, have a requirement that fire protection systems must remain operative at all times. When an impairment occurs, these codes also mandate steps that must be taken when a system or portions of a system are out of service.
2. The fire official must be notified of the impairment. In addition to the fire department being notified of the impairment, the fire official (the person responsible for fire code enforcement) must also be notified. The required notification ensures that the fire official will determine whether an imminent hazard exists. If an imminent hazard is identified, a building evacuation or an approved fire watch will need to be implemented until the impairment is resolved.
3. An approved fire watch must be in place. In these situations, an approved fire watch must be provided with at least one means for contacting and notifying the fire department in case of a fire. Their only responsibility is to perform constant patrols of the premises and to look for fires. According to the fire code, the individuals assigned as the fire watch are not to do any other work
4. A tag must be used to indicate that a fire protection system or portion thereof has been taken out of service. Fire codes mandate that a tag must be posted at each fire department connection, sprinkler system control valve, fire alarm control unit, fire alarm annunciator, and fire command center indicating what system or part thereof has been removed from service. The fire codes assign the responsibility of determining where the tag is to be placed with the fire code official.
5. Increased risks must be identified and handled.Aside from determining the extent and duration of the impairment, the areas and building involved need to be inspected so the increased risks can be determined. These risks may require an increase in preventive steps that need to be taken. Here are some preventive steps

• Stop all hot work or hazardous processes in the affected area. This will reduce the occupant load and prevent occupancy in the affected area, depending on the extent of the impairment.
• Discontinue cooking operations during a sprinkler impairment. This includes the use of warming trays using open cans of gel-type fuels.
• Smoking and open flames (candles, decorative torches, gas lighting, etc.) must be prohibited during an impairment to sprinkler protection.

In addition, when a fire protection system is taken out of service for any reason, an impairment coordinator must be assigned. In the absence of a specific designee, the property owner is considered the impairment coordinator. This may be the building owner or the business owner. In many cases, there is contractual language that names the responsible party. (This might be in a lease, for instance.) Regardless, one of these parties must act as the impairment coordinator unless a specific designee is assigned this responsibility.

The fire codes also require that the insurance carrier, alarm company, building owner or manager, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) also be notified. Supervisors in the affected area must be made aware of the situation.

Final Steps

When an impaired sprinkler system is repaired and protection is restored to normal working order, all necessary inspections and tests need to be conducted to verify that the affected system are operational and fully functioning.

Once verified, all parties previously notified of the sprinkler system impairment need to be advised that the impairment has been resolved. This includes the following:

• The fire department.
• All area supervisors.
• The building owner or manager.
• The insurance carrier.
• The alarm company.
• Any other involved parties, including AHJs.

At this point, all tags that have been installed when the impairment was noted may be removed.

An impairment may last a few hours or a day. Sometimes the impairment can last several days or, in a serious situation, up to a month or longer—especially when the water supply for a sprinkler system is involved.

Regardless of the cause (freeze-up or otherwise) and the duration, a fire could occur at any time. It is incumbent on the fire service to be proactive and take necessary steps to protect property when a building’s fire protection system is compromised. Part of that responsibility is fulfilled in educating building owners and operators of the steps they need to take should an impairment occur. Fires in buildings with impaired fire protection create unnecessary danger for firefighters.

REFERENCES

1. NFPA 13: Automatic Sprinkler Systems Handbook, 2022 Edition. National Fire Protection Association (Quincy, MA).

2. The Handbook of Property Conservation, Third Edition, 1983, Factory Mutual System (Norwood, MA).

3. International Fire Code, 2015, 2018, and 2021 Editions.

4. NFPA 1: Fire Code, National Fire Protection Association (Quincy, MA).

---

GERARD J. NAYLIS, ARM, CFI, is a veteran of the fire service and served as a certified firefighter, fire officer, fire inspector, fire official, and fire investigator with public fire departments. Additionally, he spent more than 15 years in the HPR property insurance field with FM Global and its legacy insurance company, Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co. He served more than two years with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as the eastern regional manager for field operations. He is currently in private practice, where he conducts loss examinations and evaluations, fire protection analysis, and code consulting.