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Conquest Firespray, a manufacturer of fire-rated architectural and engineered duct systems, has announced that the State of Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation has issued an official “Declaratory Statement” concerning building code Chapter 7 (“Fire and Smoke Protection Features”) sections 707.3.1, 713.4, 713.14, and 909.21.3. The Department affirmed that fire-rated HVAC duct systems must be tested for vertical and horizontal configurations for “fire inside” and “fire outside” conditions.
The “Declaratory Statement” comes after Conquest Firespray presented the matter of horizontal non-compliance in Broward County, Dade County, and others. These jurisdictions recognized the importance of compliance and trained their code officials in the proper enforcement of fire-rated duct systems. This Declaratory Statement is a matter of public record (link) and is now a matter of law in the State of Florida.
Conquest Firespray recently made the remarkable statement that, within Florida and elsewhere, industry-standard, horizontal HVAC fire-rated assemblies are not in compliance with requirements of the International Building Code (IBC). That conclusion was reached, and confirmed, in the market during discussions with numerous state and local code officials, contractors and engineers over a twelve-month period. This work has revealed broad non-compliance.
“There’s an enormous number of horizontal duct systems in place today that lack the proper testing and are therefore non-compliant with IBC. This creates not only a life safety hazard, but a potential liability to project architects, engineers, and contactors,” said John Pattillo, a Conquest principal and head of engineering. “This Florida Declaratory Statement, now a matter of law, recognizes the need for testing of all types of ducts, vertical and horizontal.”
In response to this situation, Conquest and its fully code-compliant Flamebar BW11 solution, has introduced a no-cost / no-obligation online education program to help specifiers, design professionals, and contractors achieve compliance, with education modules in five key areas: Architects, Engineers, Building Code Officials, Fire Marshals, and Mechanical Contractors.
Direct links to the no-cost / no obligation code education modules:
· Architects: http://conquest-firespray.com/architect/
· Engineers: http://conquest-firespray.com/engineer/
· Building Code Officials: http://conquest-firespray.com/codeofficial/
· Fire Marshals: http://conquest-firespray.com/firemarshal/
· Mechanical Contractors: http://conquest-firespray.com/mechanicalcontractor/
