Prankster causes mayhem in North Vancouver

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The RCMP say the prankster who was calling hotels in North Vancouver asking guests to tamper with sprinklers is now targeting local restaurants.

The man called some restaurants on the North Shore, including McDonald's, A&W, and Denny's, overnight, posing as a fire marshal at times. In two cases, restaurant employees tripped the sprinkler system, causing water and foam damage.

Police say the man called a North Vancouver hotel yesterday, posed as a sprinkler maintenance man and talked a guest into activating the sprinkler system. The prank has caused thousands of dollars in water damage to the room. Late last night, he managed to convince another guest at the hotel to do the same thing.

Corporal Peter Devries with North Vancouver RCMP says they believe the same person is behind the calls, but they can't rule out a copycat. "The difficulty in identifying the person arises from the fact that the calls were placed in some cases through Skype, which is difficult to trace."

He says businesses need to warn their employees about the trick. 

It's believed the calls are coming from the US. Police say the prankster could face up to 10 years in prison.  



http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/183338--sprinkler-prankster-targeting-north-shore-restaurants

CASA Update on Antifreeze Systems

From NFSA e-Tech Bulletin

Update on New NFPA Antifreeze TIA Proposals

 

The Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) to NFPA 13, 13R and 13D issued by the NFPA Standards Council in August of 2010 effectively banned the use of antifreeze in new dwelling units. Those TIAs failed to address the use of antifreeze in other types of occupancies, and also provided no restrictions or guidance on the use of antifreeze in existing systems. NFPA staff attempted to provide its own guidance through the issuance of an updated Fire Safety Alert in that same month, which recommended that existing systems be limited to a maximum concentration by volume of 50% glycerin or 40% propylene glycol, and that only factory premixed solutions be used to ensure adequate mixing.

The NFPA sprinkler committees and the NFPA Committee on Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water Based Fire Protection Systems have now had time to study the matter, review the relevant research, and propose their own Tentative Interim Amendments to the NFPA standards.  Balloting within the committees has been completed, and a new series of TIAs are going forward to the NFPA Standards Council for consideration and possible issuance at its meeting at the end of February.

Four TIAs have achieved the necessary three-fourths (75%) affirmative vote of their respective committees for both technical content and emergency nature and will be proceeding to the Standards Council, one each for NFPA 13D (TIA 1012), NFPA 13R (TIA 1013), NFPA 13 (TIA 1015) and NFPA 25 (TIA 1014).  The TIAs would result in the addition of a definition of the term “premixed antifreeze solution” along with limitations for sprinkler systems in both new and existing systems in all types of occupancies. While the TIAs consist of many pages of deleted and added text, the essence of where they end up can be summarized as follows:

The definition…

“Premixed Antifreeze Solution. A mixture of an antifreeze material with water that is prepared by the manufacturer with a quality control procedure in place that ensures that the antifreeze solution remains homogeneous.”

For new systems…

·         Antifreeze solutions would be limited to premixed solutions of glycerin at a maximum concentration of 48% by volume, or propylene glycol at a maximum concentration of 38% by volume. The antifreeze manufacturers would be required to provide a certificate indicating the type, concentration by volume and freezing point.

·         Other premixed solutions would be permitted for use if specially listed, including existing solutions listed for use with ESFR systems. 

For existing systems…

·         Antifreeze solutions would be limited to solutions of glycerin at a maximum concentration of 50% by volume, or propylene glycol at a maximum concentration of 40% by volume.

·         Annually, antifreeze solutions would be tested.  If any sample of the existing solution is in excess of the permitted concentrations, or if the type of antifreeze in the system cannot be reliably determined, the system would be required to be drained completely and refilled with a new acceptable solution.  If a concentration greater than what is currently acceptable is needed to prevent freezing, alternative methods of preventing the pipe from freezing must be employed.

·         For NFPA 25, newly introduced solutions would be limited to premixed solutions of glycerin at a maximum concentration of 48% by volume, or propylene glycol at a maximum concentration of 38% by volume. For NFPA 13D, newly introduced solutions could include premixed solutions of glycerin at a maximum concentration of 50% by volume, or propylene glycol at a maximum concentration of 40% by volume.

·         Other premixed solutions would be permitted for use if specially listed. 

·         When systems are drained, it is not typically necessary to drain drops, but consideration should be given to draining drops over 36 inches if there is evidence that unacceptably high concentrations of antifreeze have collected.

A separate TIA 1016 was proposed for NFPA 25, which would have allowed higher concentrations of antifreeze to continue for “unoccupied” building areas. It failed to obtain the necessary three-fourths committee support as some members concerned with the subjectivity of determining normally unoccupied areas joined those opposed to any restrictions on antifreeze in existing systems.