Aircraft hangars are challenging buildings to construct from a Building and Fire Code perspective. The partial adoption of certain NFPA standards generally requires clarity through an Engineering Basis of Design document. This document allows the Fire Protection Engineer to guide the project design team as well as communicate to the local AHJ.
Technology, as well as environmental concerns are changing the protection requirements for aircraft storage. The US Air Force has recently concluded, after reviewing 32 years of historical data, that the installation of AFFF foam suppression did not extinguish a single fire in an aircraft hangar. Therefore, the Pentagon following a congressional mandate, has come out with a sunset policy to eliminate the requirement for foam suppression by October 2022.
Options to AFFF (High and Low Expansion) foam include overhead deluge water sprinklers systems and an ignitable liquid drainage floor assembly which evacuates the spilled fuel to a safe location.
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