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Re: fire code compliance



On Tue, 16 Jul 2002 11:11:28 -0500, Pope, Barbara <bpope@STLCOP.EDU> wrote:

>Our archives room is a very tiny room, probably smaller than some people's
>bedrooms.  Up to now, there have been no sprinklers in the room, which is
>good, but I don't how we managed it. Our books and serials are housed in
>wooden shelves which are built into the walls.

So the shelving then is strictly along the perimeter of the room. if so then
the sprinkler heads will be situated in the middle of the room to provide
maximum coverage.

 They have a metal mesh in
the
>front, but no glass, and they are definitely not water proof. Our
>photographs, drawings, slides, and negatives are housed in acid free boxes
I
>bought from Metal Edge and stacked in a short row of compact shelving,
which
>is also definitely not water proof.

Okay you have compact shelving in the middle of the room. You will no longer
be able to put items on top of the shelving as their must be at least 18"
inches of clearance from the sprinkler head to the top of whatever is
underneath the sprinkler. the items on the shelving should not be put flush
against the edge of the shelve but rather they should be at least half to
one inch from the edge. This will insure that ends of the books, cereals and
boxes don't suffer from the waterfall effect if the pipes break.

> what can I do to protect the collection from
>ruin by potential accidental setting off of the sprinklers or a pipe leak,
>but still be compliant with the fire code?

1. put all items at least half to one inch from the edge of the shelving.
2. Find out if the system is a 'wet' or 'dry' system
3. Ask if there will be a surge monitor/alarm as part of the system, if
there is make sure that you are part of the team notified if the system goes
off especially if it is in your area.

> How do you do this? Our
>collection is not heavily used and I am usually the only one to go in the
>room, so if a leak occurs during a weekend or something, it would not be
>realized until at least the following Monday. So, short of buying all new
>cabinets, what can I do? Any and all suggestions welcomed.

consider retrofitting some sort of glass or other see through material
behind the wiremesh. Use plastic sheeting for the compact shelving units.

find out who designed the system, find out who is in charge of the project,
arrange a meeting with them (preferably in your room) and ask them to
explain how the system works, what are the built-in protections, how it will
work in your area and explain your concerns.

Peterk


>I apologize it it sounds like I am rambling. It just seems like many of the
>decisions on this construction project were made without regard to how they
>would affect the library and archives.
>
>Barbara Pope
>St. Louis College of Pharmacy
>bpope@stlcop.edu
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>