House Bill 0993
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 993
By Representatives Brown, Futch and Trovillion
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to fire protection systems;
3 amending s. 553.79, F.S.; revising provisions
4 relating to fire sprinkler documents required
5 for issuance of certain building construction
6 permits; raising the threshold for which such
7 documents are required; providing permitting
8 requirements for installation of fire sprinkler
9 systems; amending s. 633.021, F.S.; revising
10 definitions relating to fire protection system
11 contractors and sprinkler system
12 point-of-service, to conform; providing
13 legislative findings with respect to fire
14 protection system design and installation;
15 providing effective dates.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 553.79, Florida
20 Statutes, is amended to read:
21 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.--
22 (6) No permit may be issued for any building
23 construction, erection, alteration, repair, or addition unless
24 the applicant for such permit provides to the enforcing agency
25 which issues the permit any of the following documents which
26 apply to the construction for which the permit is to be
27 issued:
28 (a) Electrical documents for any new building or
29 addition which requires an aggregate service capacity of 600
30 amperes (240 volts) or more on a residential electrical system
31 or 800 amperes (240 volts) or more on a commercial or
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 993
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1 industrial electrical system and which costs more than
2 $50,000.
3 (b) Plumbing documents for any new building or
4 addition which requires a plumbing system with more than 250
5 fixture units or which costs more than $50,000.
6 (c)1. Fire sprinkler design criteria documents for any
7 new building, for a new fire sprinkler system in an existing
8 building, or for any addition to an existing fire sprinkler
9 system when the which includes a fire sprinkler system or
10 addition to be installed which contains 100 50 or more
11 sprinkler heads, which must be prepared by or under the
12 supervision of, and bear the seal of, a professional engineer
13 registered in this state who is qualified to perform such
14 work.
15 a. The fire sprinkler design criteria documents
16 required by this subparagraph shall include, where applicable,
17 the following:
18 (I) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) hazard
19 classifications.
20 (II) Prescriptive National Fire Protection Association
21 (NFPA) standards.
22 (III) Water supply characteristics and requirements.
23 (IV) Special fire department requirements, if any.
24 (V) Special water purveyor requirements, if any.
25 (VI) Special insurance requirements, if any.
26 (VII) Interface direction with other building
27 components.
28
29 However, the engineer of record may determine that the
30 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards adopted
31 by the State Fire Marshal provide sufficient design parameters
2
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 993
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1 for the project's fire sprinkler system without further
2 engineer involvement and, therefore, may specify such
3 prescriptive standards as the design criteria for that
4 project. In such event, the fire sprinkler design criteria
5 documents are not required to be sealed by the engineer of
6 record as otherwise required by this subparagraph.
7 b. Upon review and approval of the fire sprinkler
8 design criteria documents by the permitting authority, the
9 permit for construction of the building may be issued.
10 Thereafter, a permit for the installation of the fire
11 sprinkler system shall be requested by and issued to a fire
12 protection system contractor certified under s. 633.521, upon
13 review and approval by the permitting authority of the
14 technical installation drawings and installation hydraulic
15 calculations. Such technical installation drawings and
16 installation hydraulic calculations are not required to be
17 sealed by a registered professional engineer.
18 2. A Contractor I, Contractor II, or Contractor IV,
19 certified under s. 633.521, may design a fire sprinkler system
20 of 99 49 or fewer heads and may design the alteration of an
21 existing fire sprinkler system if the alteration consists of
22 the relocation or, addition, or deletion of not more than 99
23 49 heads, notwithstanding the size of the existing fire
24 sprinkler system. Such plans may not be required by any local
25 permitting authority to be sealed by a registered professional
26 engineer.
27 (d) Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning
28 documents for any new building or addition which requires more
29 than a 15-ton-per-system capacity which is designed to
30 accommodate 100 or more persons or for which the system costs
31 more than $50,000. This paragraph does not include any
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1 document for the replacement or repair of an existing system
2 in which the work does not require altering a structural part
3 of the building or for work on a residential one-family,
4 two-family, three-family, or four-family structure.
5 (e) Any specialized mechanical, electrical, or
6 plumbing document for any new building or addition which
7 includes a medical gas, oxygen, steam, vacuum, toxic air
8 filtration, halon, or fire detection and alarm system which
9 costs more than $5,000.
10
11 Documents requiring an engineer seal by this part No such
12 document shall not be valid unless a professional engineer who
13 possesses a valid certificate of registration has signed,
14 dated, and stamped such document as provided in s. 471.025.
15 Section 2. Effective January 1, 2001, subsection (6)
16 of section 553.79, Florida Statutes, as amended by chapter
17 98-287, Laws of Florida, is amended to read:
18 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.--
19 (6) No permit may be issued for any building
20 construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, or
21 addition unless the applicant for such permit provides to the
22 enforcing agency which issues the permit any of the following
23 documents which apply to the construction for which the permit
24 is to be issued and which shall be prepared by or under the
25 direction of an engineer registered under chapter 471:
26 (a) Electrical documents for any new building or
27 addition which requires an aggregate service capacity of 600
28 amperes (240 volts) or more on a residential electrical system
29 or 800 amperes (240 volts) or more on a commercial or
30 industrial electrical system and which costs more than
31 $50,000.
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1 (b) Plumbing documents for any new building or
2 addition which requires a plumbing system with more than 250
3 fixture units or which costs more than $50,000.
4 (c)1. Fire sprinkler design criteria documents for any
5 new building, for a new fire sprinkler system in an existing
6 building, or for any addition to an existing fire sprinkler
7 system when the which includes a fire sprinkler system or
8 addition to be installed which contains 100 50 or more
9 sprinkler heads, which must be prepared by or under the
10 supervision of, and bear the seal of, a professional engineer
11 registered in this state who is qualified to perform such
12 work.
13 a. The fire sprinkler design criteria documents
14 required by this subparagraph shall include, where applicable,
15 the following:
16 (I) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) hazard
17 classifications.
18 (II) Prescriptive National Fire Protection Association
19 (NFPA) standards.
20 (III) Water supply characteristics and requirements.
21 (IV) Special fire department requirements, if any.
22 (V) Special water purveyor requirements, if any.
23 (VI) Special insurance requirements, if any.
24 (VII) Interface direction with other building
25 components.
26
27 However, the engineer of record may determine that the
28 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards adopted
29 by the State Fire Marshal provide sufficient design parameters
30 for the project's fire sprinkler system without further
31 engineer involvement and, therefore, may specify such
5
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1 prescriptive standards as the design criteria for that
2 project. In such event, the fire sprinkler design criteria
3 documents are not required to be sealed by the engineer of
4 record as otherwise required by this subparagraph.
5 b. Upon review and approval of the fire sprinkler
6 design criteria documents by the permitting authority, the
7 permit for construction of the building may be issued.
8 Thereafter, a permit for the installation of the fire
9 sprinkler system shall be requested by and issued to a fire
10 protection system contractor certified under s. 633.521, upon
11 review and approval by the permitting authority of the
12 technical installation drawings and installation hydraulic
13 calculations. Such technical installation drawings and
14 installation hydraulic calculations are not required to be
15 sealed by a registered professional engineer.
16 2. A Contractor I, Contractor II, or Contractor IV,
17 certified under s. 633.521, may design a fire sprinkler system
18 of 99 49 or fewer heads and may design the alteration of an
19 existing fire sprinkler system if the alteration consists of
20 the relocation or, addition, or deletion of not more than 99
21 49 heads, notwithstanding the size of the existing fire
22 sprinkler system. Such plans may not be required by any local
23 permitting authority to be sealed by a registered professional
24 engineer.
25 (d) Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning
26 documents for any new building or addition which requires more
27 than a 15-ton-per-system capacity which is designed to
28 accommodate 100 or more persons or for which the system costs
29 more than $50,000. This paragraph does not include any
30 document for the replacement or repair of an existing system
31 in which the work does not require altering a structural part
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1 of the building or for work on a residential one-family,
2 two-family, three-family, or four-family structure.
3 (e) Any specialized mechanical, electrical, or
4 plumbing document for any new building or addition which
5 includes a medical gas, oxygen, steam, vacuum, toxic air
6 filtration, halon, or fire detection and alarm system which
7 costs more than $5,000.
8
9 Documents requiring an engineer seal by this part shall not be
10 valid unless a professional engineer who possesses a valid
11 certificate of registration has signed, dated, and stamped
12 such document as provided in s. 471.025.
13 Section 3. Subsections (5) and (17) of section
14 633.021, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
15 633.021 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
16 (5)(a) "Contractor I" means a contractor whose
17 business includes the execution of contracts requiring the
18 ability to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter,
19 repair, and service all types of fire protection systems,
20 excluding preengineered systems.
21 (b) "Contractor II" means a contractor whose business
22 is limited to the execution of contracts requiring the ability
23 to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter, repair, and
24 service water sprinkler systems, water spray systems,
25 foam-water sprinkler systems, foam-water spray systems,
26 standpipes, combination standpipes and sprinkler risers, all
27 piping that is an integral part of the system beginning at the
28 point where the piping is used exclusively for fire
29 protection, sprinkler tank heaters, air lines, thermal systems
30 used in connection with sprinklers, and tanks and pumps
31 connected thereto, excluding preengineered systems.
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1 (c) "Contractor III" means a contractor whose business
2 is limited to the execution of contracts requiring the ability
3 to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter, repair, and
4 service CO2 systems, foam extinguishing systems, dry
5 chemical systems, and Halon and other chemical systems,
6 excluding preengineered systems.
7 (d) "Contractor IV" means a contractor whose business
8 is limited to the execution of contracts requiring the ability
9 to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter, repair, and
10 service automatic fire sprinkler systems for detached
11 one-family dwellings, detached two-family dwellings, and
12 mobile homes, excluding preengineered systems and excluding
13 single-family homes in cluster units, such as apartments,
14 condominiums, and assisted living facilities or any building
15 that is connected to other dwellings.
16 (e) "Contractor V" means a contractor whose business
17 is limited to the execution of contracts requiring the ability
18 to lay out, fabricate, install, inspect, alter, repair, and
19 service the underground piping for a fire protection system
20 using water as the extinguishing agent beginning at the point
21 at which the piping is used exclusively for fire protection
22 and ending no more than 1 foot above the finished floor.
23
24 The definitions in this subsection must not be construed to
25 include fire protection engineers or architects and do not
26 limit or prohibit a licensed fire protection engineer or
27 architect from designing any type of fire protection system.
28 However, persons certified as a Contractor I, Contractor II,
29 or Contractor IV under this chapter may design fire protection
30 systems of 99 49 or fewer heads, and may design the alteration
31 of an existing fire sprinkler system if the alteration
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 993
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1 consists of the relocation or, addition, or deletion of not
2 more than 99 49 heads, notwithstanding the size of the
3 existing fire sprinkler system. Such plans may not be required
4 by any local permitting authority to be sealed by a registered
5 professional engineer. Furthermore, the Legislature recognizes
6 and finds that for the safety and welfare of the public the
7 State Fire Marshal has been authorized under this chapter to
8 establish fire protection system design criteria, that the
9 State Fire Marshal has adopted and may continue to adopt
10 nationally recognized fire protection system design criteria
11 pursuant to the authority granted under this chapter, that the
12 repetitive and routine process of preparing technical drawings
13 and installation hydraulic calculations for the layout of a
14 fire protection system based on the adopted national fire
15 protection design standards and engineer design criteria does
16 not require the use of engineering principles and knowledge,
17 and that preparing the technical drawings and installation
18 hydraulic calculations for the installation or alteration of a
19 fire protection system by a fire protection system contractor
20 as defined and certified under this chapter, when such
21 contractor follows the engineer design criteria or the fire
22 sprinkler design criteria adopted by the State Fire Marshal or
23 both, does not constitute the practice of engineering.
24 (17) "Point-of-service" means the point at which the
25 underground piping for a sprinkler system using water as the
26 extinguishing agent becomes used exclusively for the sprinkler
27 system. The point-of-service is designated by the engineer
28 who sealed the plans for a system of 100 50 or more heads or
29 by the contractor who designed the plans for a system of 99 49
30 or fewer heads.
31
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1 Section 4. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
2 act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
3
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5 HOUSE SUMMARY
6
Revises provisions relating to fire sprinkler documents
7 required for issuance of certain building construction
permits. Raises the threshold for which such documents
8 are required. Provides permitting requirements for
installation of fire sprinkler systems. Revises
9 definitions relating to fire protection system
contractors and sprinkler system point-of-service, to
10 conform. Provides legislative findings with respect to
fire protection system design and installation. See bill
11 for details.
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