NFPA 101 Code Changes for Aviation Facilities

The new editions of any code or standard often bring significant changes. The 2018 edition of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code has several changes to life safety at aviation facilities. Though there were multiple text deletions and revisions, there were several instance in which new material was added. Listed below, are the most significant revisions that may require action or operational changes.

Airport Traffic Control Towers (101:11.3.4)

• Terminology changed from “air traffic control tower” to “airport traffic control tower” (11.3.4)
• Language changed to clarify permissible uses of tower accessory levels. Language now clearly states, “uses that support tower operations”. (11.3.4.2)
• Added two additional requirements for allowance of a single exit (11.3.4.4.1):
• Fire alarm system is required in accordance with 9.6
• Smokeproof enclosures are to be provided in accordance with 7.2.3
• New requirement has been added for the provision of an emergency command center (11.3.4.8).
• Only applies to towers having an occupiable story 75’ above the lowest level of fire department access
• Provides a list of items and control functions that are to be located within and controllable from the emergency command center
• New requirement has been added for the development and provision of an Emergency Action Plan.
• The EAP should be developed and written in accordance with the guidance of NFPA 101:4.8.
• Annual fire drills for tower employees are required.
• Tower employees are to receive annual training on the emergency action plan

Two other sections of the Life Safety Code specifically apply to aircraft storage and servicing areas.  These are Chapter 40, Industrial Occupancies and Chapter 42, Storage Occupancies.  While their are no changes to the aviation specific sections of these chapters the chapters, as a whole, do have a few changes that should be observed.

• During construction, alteration, or demolition operations the requirements of NFPA 241 must be met. Sections 101:40.1.1.6 and 101:42.1.1.4 provide a directional pointer to this standard as referenced in NFPA 101:4.6.10.2.
• If hazardous materials are used the additional egress requirements of NFPA 101:7.12.2 must be met. (40.2.11.3; 42.2.11.3)
• Integrated testing is required in accordance with NFPA 101:9.11.4, which points to NFPA 4. (40.7.4; 42.9.4)

Related Posts:

• Fire Protection for Control Towers
• How to Write an Airport Emergency Plan
• Hazardous Materials
• When Is Integrated Testing Required?

Risk Assessment Workshop [FREE COURSE]

This workshop will enable you to conduct a thorough fire risk assessment and create a plan to mitigate risks. This is the companion course to Aaron Johnson's book, Risk Assessment Guide for Aviation Facilities. This course is your complete guide to understanding risk, conducting a risk assessment, and applying assessment findings to mitigate fire loss.

Course objectives:

1. Define the meaning of 'risk'.
2. Understand the purpose, importance, and components of a risk assessment.
3. Apply the risk assessment process to your own facility.

The course content is built specifically for fire inspectors, code officials, life safety consultants, facility managers, and airport operators.

This course is FREE and includes many resources, templates, and downloads.

Fire Protection for Engine Test Facilities

Long before an aircraft takes flight, each component undergoes a rigorous barrage of tests. Aircraft engines must be tested to ensure that they meet the design goals, can withstand set tolerances, and are in accordance with FAA airworthiness standards.  These engine tests take place at a designated engine test facility within an engine test stand or cell (the enclosed space where a test engine is installed) .

Engine Test Cell - MDS

NFPA 423, Standard for Construction and Protection of Aircraft Engine Test Facilities outlines the fire protection features that must be in place to adequately protect these expensive assets.  An engine test facility is defined as any "integrated system that includes a building(s), a structure(s), and services used to test aircraft engines within a test cell or on a test stand."  

NFPA 423 provides four components for adequate fire protection of engine test facilities.

1. Portable Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers are required to be provided throughout the facility and located outside of the engine test area.  The primary hazard to be accounted for is the fuel and other flammable liquids that are integral to the engine testing and operation process. Extinguisher selection in the engine test areas should be appropriate for a Class B, Extra Hazard location.  Proper selection of these fire extinguishers is outlined in NFPA 10, chapter 5.

2. Fire Alarm and Communications Systems

A fire alarm system is required and must be installed in accordance with section 9.6 and section 40.3.4 of NFPA 101, and NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.

*Authors Note: it is unclear from NFPA 423:6.1.6 whether the intent is to require fire alarm systems at all engine test facilities or in only those test facilities that meet the occupant load factors of NFPA 101:40.3.4.1.  This question has been submitted to the NFPA.  When an answer is received, it will be posted in the comments section below this post. How would you interpret this section?

3. Fixed Fire Protection Systems

Each engine test cell area must have its own fixed fire protection system.  NFPA 423 allows the use of carbon dioxide, gaseous agents, dry chemical, foam, or water spray systems.  However, due to the sensitive nature of the engine components, it is advisable to utilize a clean agent system (i.e., Halotron).  These systems do not leave any residue, or create any additional mess when activated, and will prevent additional down-time.

Clean agent systems are required to be designed, installed, and maintained in accordance with NFPA 2001, Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems. Each system must have a 100% agent reserve supply available for immediate manual discharge.  A system activation must also close all fuel supply valves to the engine and activate the fire alarm.

4. Personnel Training

All personnel that will be involved with engine testing operations or working within the facility are required to receive regular fire safety training. All personnel are to be trained on the proper operation of all types of fire extinguishers throughout the facility. 

Select personnel, on each operational shift, are be trained in the operation and activation of the fixed fire protection systems.  These personnel should have a clear understanding of the features of the system, activation procedures, and the area it protects.  Key personnel should be designated the responsibility for the inspection and maintenance of the fixed fire suppression system.

Click the picture for actual engine test video

Fire Safe Hangar Space [FREE COURSE]

Try my new course, "Fire Safe Hangar Space" for FREE:

What do you need to know about aircraft hangars?

Aviation facilities come with their own unique challenges, fire protection requirements, and construction guidelines. This course walks you through each of these and will enable you to:

• understand and identify the protection, construction, and maintenance requirements for aircraft hangars.
• practically apply codes, standards, and fire protection/life safety requirements
• implement a plan of action to ensure facility compliance

The course content is built specifically for fire inspectors, code officials, life safety consultants, facility managers, and airport operators.

This course provides many FREE resources and templates, including the NFPA 409 - Resource Guide.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the fire protection requirements for aircraft hangars
2. Properly apply fire protection/life safety codes to an aviation facility
   
3. Create a plan to maintain compliance

Aviation Fire Protection Professionals Group

With his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill created the concept of mastermind groups.  He explains that master mind groups are established to help create an environment that nurtures and supports growth, and helps to organize useful knowledge, creating a virtual encyclopedia from which each member can draw information.

Napoleon Hill discusses the Mastermind Principle

  

TheCodeCoach.com is launching the Aviation Fire Protection Professionals Group. This is an exclusive, peer-to-peer mentoring group for individuals whose primary concern includes fire protection and life safety within aviation environments and facilities.  This group is dedicated to helping members navigate through challenges using the collective knowledge, skills, and experiences of others.

Members of the group will receive 1-on-1 monthly coaching calls, group training sessions, discussions with special experts, a members-only LinkedIn group for sharing information, anytime e-mail access, an annual live event, and free books, resources, and exclusive content.

Being part of this group provides 5 distinct benefits: 

1. Advisement - being part of the group is like having your own team of dedicated advisers.
2. Collaboration - being part of the group provides the opportunity to work with others to develop solutions to your complex projects and issues.
3. Expanded network - being part of the group will grow your network of relationships and increase your knowledge base.
4. New learning - being part of the group will enable you to learn from the shared knowledge and skills of all of its members
5. Broad thinking - being part of the group will give you a fresh perspective and enable you to think bigger and stretch beyond your boundaries

Join - Aviation Fire Protection Professionals Group

Deadline to apply for the 2016 program is August 15.

Fire Risk FAQ

Q: What is risk?

A: Risk can be defined as the combination of the likelihood of an accident occurrence and severity of the potential consequences.

Q: What is a risk assessment?

A: What is the likelihood of a fire event occurring within this space? What degree of loss (life and property) would be expected?  What scale would this be measured on? How can we reduce the possibility of a fire occurrence, and eliminate the chance of any life or property loss?  This is the information that a fire risk assessment will present.

A fire risk assessment is a tool used to assess the fire risks pertaining to a building or other structure. The assessment identifies the risks and present and provides actions and recommendations to mitigate those risks.

Q: How can risk be mitigated?

A: The first step toward mitigation is awareness. Know what the risks are, specific to your facility.  Following that, there are 5 categories that can be examined or applied to reduce that risk.  These categories are:

1. Building construction type
2. Fire alarm systems
3. Fire suppression systems
4. Building upgrades
5. Water supply and reliability

Q: What areas of a facility pose the greatest risk?

A: When determining the areas of greatest risk we want to look at three factors:

1. Ignition sources - What systems or processes create situations in which they may cause a fire or fuel to be ignited? Some of these might include: hot work operation (welding, cutting, etc.), cooking, or open flame processes.
2. Fuel load - How much flammable and combustible materials are within the space? This can refer to the structure itself, stored items, or the buildings contents.
3. Occupant load - How many people can potentially fill this space?  How many people actually operate in the space?  Are exiting and egress components adequate?

Q: What are the impacts of fire?

A: The United States Fire Administration has identified five impacts of fire:

1. Economic impact - loss of production, loss of jobs, loss of organizational assets, increased insurance premiums
2. Organizational impact - low employee morale and high turn-over, life loss of organizational leaders
3. Legal impact - civil litigation and lawsuits, fines and fees
4. Psychological impact - traumatic experience to those involved and witness to the incident
5. Political impact - decreased property values, loss of respect within the community, increased regulation and regulatory oversight

Q: What are the critical components of a risk assessment?

A: The critical components of an assessment are the potential hazard factors and the risk reduction factors. The potential hazard factors are those items that pose the greatest risk of fire/life loss within a structure. The risk reduction factors are the items that can reduce the risk of fire/life loss.

Q: How is a risk assessment conducted?

A: We utilize a 3 step process to conduct risk assessments:

1. Site visit and completion of the risk assessment field checklist.
2. Input information into the digital pre-plan template.
3. Completion of the fire risk assessment score-sheet matrix.

My book, Risk Assessment Guide for Aviation Facilities, is a complete reference manual for understanding risk, conducting a risk assessment, and applying assessment results to mitigate fire loss.

For free risk assessment guides, resources, and information visit the website - www.AviationFireRisk.com.

Buy the Kindle edition.

Buy the Print edition.

Risk Assessment Guide - AVAILABLE NOW!

How do you know if your facility is at risk for fire loss? This guide will enable you to conduct a thorough fire risk assessment, and create a plan to mitigate those risks. This is your complete reference manual for understanding risk, conducting a risk assessment, and applying assessment findings to mitigate fire loss.

You will discover:

• The meaning of ‘risk’.
• The purpose, importance, and components of a risk assessment.
• How to conduct your own risk assessment.
• All the tools, resources, and references needed for the complete assessment process.

Mitigate fire risk at your facility.  This guide will show you how!

Available now from:

www.AviationFireRisk.com

Buy now - Kindle $9.99

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Conducting the 3 Step Risk Assessment

Seeing the need for simple risk assessment process that could be conducted by individuals of any knowledge, skill, or ability level, we created our 3 step fire risk assessment process.  This system was developed after a thorough review of the types of assessments in place and recommended best practices.

Though the fire risk assessment is composed of many parts, the process can be broken down into 3 basic steps.

Step 1. Site visit and completion of the risk assessment field checklist. A site visit and walk-through will be conducted. You can utilize the risk assessment field checklist  tool that we have created. This checklist will guide you through the information needed to adequately assess your level of fire risk.

Step 2.  Input information into the digital pre-plan template.  The information gathered from the site visit, and risk assessment field checklist, can be input into our digital pre-plan template.  This template is designed so that the field checklist information can be organized into a neat, easy-to-read, format.  This allows the information to be quickly accessed and easily viewed when needed.

Step 3.  Completion of the fire risk assessment score-sheet matrix.  Utilizing the information gathered in Step 1 and its organization in Step 2, the structure can be given a numeric value that represents the level of fire risk present.

In conducting these 3 steps you can be provided with a clear picture of the structure, its fire protection and life safety systems and features, and any hazards present.

3 Step Risk Assessment from Aaron Johnson

All the tools and resources can be freely accessed from, www.AviationFireRisk.com.

Buy the Book:

Kindle edition

Print edition

Are you at risk?

How can you know if your facility is at risk of loss from fire? What features and processes are in place that decrease or enhance that risk?  What mitigations can be put into place to minimize the fire risk?

Risk can be defined as “the combination of the likelihood of an accident occurrence and the severity of the potential consequences”. A fire risk assessment is a direct assessment of the fire risks pertaining to a building or other structure.  By conducting a fire risk assessment the level of risk can be identified, specific hazards can be realized, and action can be taken to mitigate these risks.

When conducting a fire risk assessment you want to thoroughly examine your structure or facility.  Your examination should focus on identifying potential fire hazards (those items that contribute to increased fire/loss risk), and fire risk reduction factors (Items currently in place that reduce fire/loss risk).  

Potential fire hazards to be identified are:

1. Ignition sources present - Is there open flame in the area? Do hot work operations take place in the area? Is smoking allowed?  Do industrial process create their own ignition source?  Are their cooking facilities in the structure?
2. Fuel load present - Does the area contain a large amount of flammables or combustibles? Would the materials within the space contribute to excessive fire load? Are the interior finishes flammable? How are items stored and configured?
3. Occupant load - How many people can potentially occupy the space? How many people actually, regularly occupy the space? If a fire occurred, how many people would potentially be impacted?

There are five risk reduction factors that can reduce the risk of fire loss to a structure:

1. Building construction type - Construction types I, II, IV provide the greatest degree of fire and heat resistance. Construction types III, and V are the least resistive to fire. Related Post: Understanding Building Construction and Loads
2. Fire alarm systems - Fire alarm systems provide advanced notice of fire incident occurrence and can quickly contact emergency services.  To ensure the reliability of these systems, they must undergo regular inspection, testing, and maintenance. Related Post: Beginners Guide to Fire Alarm Systems
3. Fire suppression systems - Fire suppression systems are designed to control fires and keep them from growing to an unmanageable level.  These systems, to be effective when needed, must be regularly inspected, tested, and maintained. Additionally, these systems must be installed and appropriately engineered to appropriately protect the hazard that they are installed for.  Relate Post: Understanding Pre-Action Sprinkler Systems
4. Building upgrades - As structures age they can become more susceptible to fire risk.  As more is learned about building structure and systems, codes and standards are created and revised to make full use of the latest developments. Related Post: Aircraft Facility Fire Codes Index
5. Water supply and reliability - The successful extinguishment of a fire relies heavily on the water supply availability, and how quickly and easily that water can be accessed.  Related Post: How to Conduct Hydrant Flow Testing

Are your tenants, employees, and customers really safe, or are they truly at risk, with just a perception of safety?

My book, Risk Assessment Guide for Aviation Facilities, is a complete reference manual for understanding risk, conducting a risk assessment, and applying assessment results to mitigate fire loss.

For free risk assessment guides, resources, and information visit the website - www.AviationFireRisk.com.

Buy the Kindle edition.

Buy the Print edition.











Related posts:

• Conducting the 3 Step Risk Assessment
• The Risk Assessment Guide
• Fire Risk FAQ