Fire Sprinklers for Clothes Closets in Hospitals and Nursing Homes
“To be or not to be, that is the question?”….

As a Fire Protection Engineering Firm working with health care facilities, we have received quite a few questions on this subject. Following is a summary of what we have learned from contacts with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the people that write the sprinkler installation standard, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

The NFPA position is that there is no exception within their sprinkler installation criteria (NFPA 13) for clothes closets or free standing wardrobes in Hospitals and Nursing Homes – regardless of size or construction materials. The CMS, position is that free standing wardrobes are pieces of furniture and are not required to be sprinklered. And, according to Mr. Mayer Zimmerman, the Authority Having Jurisdiction for CMS, it may not be absolutely necessary to actually install a sprinkler head within a closet or a wardrobe unit attached to the wall. CMS has provided the following guidance to state agencies regarding possible alternatives:

1. Removal of the top of the closet/wardrobe unit
2. Drilling ½” holes in the top of the closet/wardrobe door and any interior shelves
3. Replace the solid door with a louvered or screen door
4. Install 2 or 3 sprinklers outside the closet/wardrobe unit to form a water curtain
5. Determine that a fully developed fire within the closet/wardrobe unit is unlikely to occur.

The guiding principal in determining if one of these alternatives is adequate, is whether or not water spray from other sprinklers within the room can penetrate the interior of the closet/wardrobe so that a ‘fully developed fire’ originating within the closet/wardrobe would be unlikely to occur. This is admittedly a subjective process, and should be undertaken only by knowledgeable fire protection professionals. Hopefully those agencies performing life safety surveys recognize the operational and cost impact of retrofitting sprinkler protection for closets/wardrobe units, and inspectors will carefully consider if closets/wardrobe units are a potential fire or life safety hazard. Should it be determined that one of the above alternatives is adequate, the selected alternative should be identified in the Plan of Correction submitted to the state agency or Regional CMS office.

Poole Consulting Services recommends Hospitals and Nursing Homes carefully consider and discuss all available alternatives with their state agency inspector. Should the inspector believe additional sprinklers are the only acceptable solution, it is essential to confirm that the installation of additional sprinklers will not adversely affect the sprinkler protection posture for the rest of the room – i.e.: area/density of sprinkler discharge and other NFPA 13 installation criteria.

PCS is available to assist Hospitals and Nursing Homes with their assessment of fire and life safety risk factors, develop plans of correction or waiver requests for engineered alternatives, and/or design/engineer cost effective, code compliant solutions for this and other fire safety issues. Anyone having questions or desiring further clarification may contact Andy Miller, Risk Control Manager - (913) 829-8650, ext. 27.