Navigating Under-Designs and

Over-Designs:
Advice from a Fire Protection Design Consultant
Warren Olsen is well qualified to know whether or not a fire Avoid under-designing to save costly delays
protection design is going to be approved – or more importantly,
help to adequately protect lives and property. In a competitive marketplace, there is a tremendous incentive to
be as thrifty as possible in designing a fire detection system. A
Olsen is vice president of Fire Safety Consultants, Inc. (FSCI), lower bid can win the business. For design/build firms, a bare-
an Elgin, Illinois-based leader in fire and building code review minimum fire protection design can help keep total estimated
and consulting. With 44 years of experience, he has reviewed costs within clients’ expectations.
hundreds of fire protection plans, conducted scores of training
programs, and consulted with a multitude of building owners, However, don’t think that cutting corners will pass muster.
architects, and builders on code compliance. He’s worked closely
Some of the typical under-design issues Warren Olsen sees
with fire marshals, city governments, and fire protection system
include:
designers. Based on his experience, Olsen understands that not
everybody is as knowledgeable as they should be about NFPA • Improper installation of initiating devices. When ceiling
and local building codes. assemblies are not smooth – for example, featuring beams
or joist construction – local codes may require those initiating
“The simple fact of the matter is that 95 percent of people
devices to be spaced closer together than on a smooth ceiling.
designing fire protection systems are not fire protection
engineers,” noted Olsen. Without that background and training, • Incorrect spacing of heat detectors on ceilings higher than
errors are inevitable. 10 feet. As ceiling heights rise, heat detectors need to be
spaced closer together. The required number and spacing
Warren Olsen has some helpful advice for those system
of smoke detectors is also affected by ambient conditions,
designers who want to make the process of designing and
such as room temperature, humidity, air flows, and the burn
gaining approval of fire protection systems as smooth, stress-
characteristics of the building material.
free, swift, and profitable as possible.
These errors are usually caught in the review process, but Olsen recommends that designers don’t simply add extra devices
multiple design iterations can cause costly delays. Worse yet, if to their designs to cover themselves.
an under-designed system were to receive approval, lives and
property could be put at greater risk due to a potential delay in “Instead, take the time to become better acquainted with code
detector operation. requirements,” he suggested. “A short course will more than pay
for itself over time. Second, learn how to use innovative products
To preclude the delays and risks of under-designed systems, to solve design challenges and simplify your overall network.
Olsen offers several recommendations: Suppliers like Johnson Controls provide a wealth of information
and design resources that you can take advantage of.”
• Take a three-day NFPA or similar course. You don’t have to
become a full-fledged fire protection design engineer to master Get to know your fire marshal
the basics of code requirements for designing. Courses are
available nationwide from a variety of reputable sources, Warren Olsen’s final piece of advice requires no out-of-pocket
including the NFPA. expense at all: get better acquainted with your local fire marshal.

• Engage a fire protection design consultant to review your Why should that be recommended? You might think that meeting
design before submission. Fire protection design consultants local code requirements would be straightforward; all it should
are experts at spotting both issues and opportunities. A design take to get a plan approved is to find out which version of NFPA
review does not take long and can save you time and effort. the jurisdiction has adopted, what the local building codes
mandate, and design to those requirements.
These recommendations do require some up-front costs, but
they will be worth it compared to the time and labor costs of But it’s not that simple.
redesigns, additional reviews, and occupancy delays.
Olsen notes that individual fire marshals often have their own
If you don’t over-design, you may win more business standards that go above and beyond NFPA and local codes.
and avoid long-term costs
“For example, a fire marshal may insist on including fully
Strange as it may seem, according to Olsen, over-designs are as automatic detection even when a building is fully equipped with
much of a problem as under-designs. sprinklers and is not a residential facility with people sleeping
through the night and therefore not in need of automatic
“Designers sometimes include more smoke detectors than detection,” he said.
necessary, either because they’re not aware of code variations
due to physical factors, or because they want to ensure they’re Olsen therefore recommends that fire detection system
covered,” noted Olsen. “While plans will not typically be rejected designers get to know their local fire marshals and learn their
during the review process for over-design, the increased cost of particular preferences for design features above and beyond code
installing and maintaining an over-designed system is shouldered requirements.
by the building owner.”
“In addition, the level of training among fire marshals can vary
Building owners aren’t the only ones to pay. For independent fire greatly,” said Olsen. “If you think your local fire marshal could use
protection system companies, the impact of over-designs can be a little extra fire alarm training, try offering to sponsor them in a
especially costly. If you consistently over-design systems, you training class to increase their knowledge.”
may be underbid on projects, unnecessarily pricing yourself out of
A little knowledge goes a long way
contention for business.
Above all, Warren Olsen stresses that it doesn’t take years of
One over-design issue that Warren Olsen often encounters is
intensive training or large investments to become knowledgeable
incorrect spacing of smoke detectors.
about effective fire protection system design. An affordable three-
“For example, according to code, the nominal spacing for smoke day course can impart the basics and keep you up-to-date on the
detectors is every 30 feet,” noted Olsen. “However, if you’re latest innovations, while experts like Simplex offer resources,
designing a fire detection system for a building with five-foot-wide webinars, videos, and other training programs that can be
corridors, those detectors could be spaced every 42 feet. If those extremely helpful – and many of them are free.
corridors are long and it’s a multi-story building, your design could
specify dozens more smoke detectors than necessary to provide
To learn more, visit www.simplex-fire.com
adequate protection.”

The negative ramifications of over-designs can be significant.

There is the greater cost to the building owner to purchase and
install the extra smoke detectors. There is the increased cost of
annual inspection and testing. If you specify 30% more detection
devices than necessary, that’s 30% more potential sources of
nuisance alarms.
SX-AMERXXXXUS-ENG
©2019 Johnson Controls. All Rights Reserved.