37 Tex. Admin. Code § 263.51 - Smoke Management
(a) General. Jails
shall have a sufficient means of managing smoke from a fire to permit orderly
movement of inmates from the area of a fire incident. Smoke management shall
limit the exposure of staff to untenable conditions when responding to a fire
emergency. The means of smoke management shall be a combination of
compartmentation, control of smoke migration from the affected area, and means
of removing smoke to the exterior of the building. The smoke management system
shall include the consideration of:
(1)
automatic and manual fire detection;
(2) automatic and manual fire
alarm;
(3) automatic and manual
smoke control system activation;
(4) automatic and manual fire
suppression;
(5) maintenance of
safe means of egress;
(6) movement
of inmates from affected area to an area of safety;
(7) containment of smoke to space of fire
origin;
(8) automatic and manual
removal of smoke.
(b)
Coverage.
(1) Smoke management shall be
provided throughout all detention and support areas within the security
perimeter.
(2) Mechanical smoke
control systems and smoke removal systems shall be provided for all inmate
housing areas, including cells, day rooms, dormitories, and special purpose
cells.
(3) For the purpose of smoke
control and smoke removal systems, the affected area shall be deemed to be the
compartment consisting of a cell, day room, dormitory, or special purpose cell,
in which the fire incident originates. Where open grating or mesh walls are
used, the affected area shall be restricted to the cell(s) and the adjacent day
room.
(c)
Compartmentation. Smoke barriers shall be provided in accordance with the Life
Safety Code, NFPA 101 14.3 concerning Subdivision of Building Spaces.
(d) Control of Smoke Migration.
(1) The fire detection system shall promptly
detect smoke within the affected area.
(2) Upon detection, an alarm system shall
automatically alert the control station(s) and initiate the automatic smoke
control system.
(3) The smoke
control system shall automatically, by pressure differential and/or air flow,
contain smoke in the area of fire origin.
(4) Smoke control systems shall be designed
so that smoke is restricted from entering the means of egress during the
evacuation of inmates by providing sufficient air flow through exit access
doors, when open.
(5) A manual
override capability shall be provided in the event of detection failure and for
testing purposes.
(e)
Smoke Removal.
(1) All jails shall be
provided with smoke removal capability, except as provided under subsection (g)
of this section, relating to exceptions.
(2) The smoke removal system shall have the
ability to remove smoke from the affected area to the exterior of the building
using fixed mechanical equipment. Existing facilities (in operation prior to
December 23, 1976) may be exempt from using fixed equipment when portable
equipment is provided.
(3) During
smoke removal, smoke shall not migrate from the affected area to other areas of
the building.
(4) Smoke removal
systems shall be designed to develop air flow patterns within the affected area
which contribute to the dilution and removal of smoke. Air devices for supply
and exhaust shall be separated by a distance of not less than 75% of the
horizontal dimensions of the compartment and so arranged to provide air flow
coverage of at least 50% of the vertical dimension of the compartment.
Alternate air device configurations which have demonstrated effectiveness by
field testing or mock-up testing may be approved.
(5) Capacity of the smoke removal system
shall be sufficient to comply with subsection (f) of this section relating to
smoke testing. Facilities in operation or initiated prior to March 31, 1991,
which are not provided with a complete smoke management system (as required by
this section) shall provide smoke removal capability, being automatically
activated by the smoke detection system when utilizing fixed equipment, meeting
the smoke testing criteria established by the commission on September 27, 1989.
Designs for smoke removal systems which provide air change rates of less than
15 air changes per hour shall not be utilized. Design consideration shall be
given to system configuration, friction loss, pressure drops and differentials,
air leakage, and other construction characteristics, which may necessitate
safety factors being included in design calculations.
(6) A manual override capability shall be
provided in the event of detection failure and for testing purposes.
(f) Testing.
(1) General. Testing of the smoke management
systems in all facilities shall be in compliance with the requirements of this
section.
(2) Functional Testing.
(A) Air Balancing Certification. Prior to any
other testing of new smoke management systems, an air balance report prepared
in accordance with nationally recognized practices shall be submitted to the
county. Such report shall bear certification that the smoke control and removal
systems meet the engineer of record's design requirements with respect to
pressure differentials achieved and air flow rates necessary to meet the
intended smoke management operation. A copy of the air balance report shall be
maintained at the facility and made available to the commission's inspector
during all tests and inspections. An air balance report on an existing system
may be required by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards when there is
evidence that the smoke management system has been impaired due to
modifications to the system or inadequate maintenance.
(B) System Operation. A test of smoke
management system's initiating devices and control systems' output shall be
performed. Such testing shall verify that, upon activation of a smoke detector,
water flow indicating device, manual fire alarm station, or other smoke
management system initiating device, the smoke management system components
will automatically commence operation. The engineer of record shall provide a
"cause and effect" chart to indicate the appropriate smoke management operating
mode for all affected equipment based on the operation of each initiating
device. Acceptance of functional testing shall be predicated upon all input and
output devices performing as indicated by the "cause and effect"
chart.
(3) Smoke
Testing.
(A) General smoke testing of the
smoke management systems shall be accomplished in accordance with this section.
The smoke management system shall be tested in both normal and emergency power
modes.
(B) Smoke Detection.
Artificial smoke shall be introduced into the space to be tested. The rate of
introduction of smoke shall be two times the volume of the space to be tested.
The commission may establish a minimum amount of smoke to be introduced into a
space. The smoke detection system shall alarm and initiate the smoke control
and removal system(s) within 60 seconds of the beginning of smoke
introduction.
(C) Smoke Migration.
The smoke management system shall be deemed to be controlling smoke migration
if smoke from the detection test does not migrate from the affected area for a
period of ten minutes from the time of detection and activation of the smoke
control system. The inspector may conduct the smoke migration test with the
compartment exit door open or closed.
(D) Smoke Removal. Utilizing the procedure
for testing smoke detection, smoke removal shall be completed in the space to
be tested within fifteen minutes from the time of system activation.
(4) Maintenance and Retesting. The
smoke management systems shall be regularly maintained to assure consistent
performance. The smoke management systems shall be operationally tested
quarterly and may be tested by the commission's inspector on an annual basis
utilizing the smoke testing procedures.
(g) Exceptions.
(1) Fully sprinklered, minimum security
facilities may be exempt from these requirements if approved by the sheriff,
the local fire marshal, and the commission; however, smoke detection and alarm
systems shall be provided for all facilities. Approval shall be based on review
of each facility, the degree of overall protection achieved, and a high degree
of freedom of movement afforded the inmates. Such facilities shall be inspected
by local fire protection authorities monthly.
(2) Single story, new construction, minimum
security facilities whose exit doors are incapable of being locked from the
inside and which provide direct exiting to the exterior of the building from
the inmate sleeping area(s) and day room(s) may be constructed without smoke
control, smoke removal, or sprinkler systems. However, these facilities shall
provide proper compartmentation and smoke detection.
(3) Facilities that were in operation or
initiated prior to March 31, 1991, and which comply with subsection (e) of this
section, relating to Smoke Removal, may be exempt from other requirements of
this section relating to smoke management.
Notes
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