Too often, those faced with the need to install a fire sprinkler system within a challenging occupancy aren’t aware of their options. And that’s where Lubrizol CPVC has made a difference with proactive education and a dedication to offering dependable solutions to those who need them.

So when fire sprinkler contractor Dave Karrick of AEGIS Fire Systems was tasked to help Jewish Home of San Francisco, a multistory retirement home, meet a revised fire code, he knew BlazeMaster systems were the solution — and the Lubrizol CPVC team stepped in to help make it happen.

“We’re very familiar with systems, and we’ve been very happy with the product in the applications where we’ve used it in the past,” Karrick said. “But local authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) weren’t as familiar—they didn’t realize that installing the system in this application was possible.”

Knowing the sensitive nature of the project — which would involve moving residents one story of the building at a time while work took place — AEGIS knew that steel, with its time-consuming and noisy installation, would pose many problems. BlazeMaster systems offered quick, quiet and clean installation that would minimize impact to the home’s operations.

Jewish Home of San Francisco is home to approximately 300 residents and is entrusted by numerous families to ensure their loved ones’ time there is safe, comfortable and secure. So with a major construction project, many additional considerations had to be made. “These are people’s loved ones. I thought about how I would want my grandmother to be taken care of in a similar situation,” 

Karrick said. “We wanted to be very considerate of getting in and getting the work done as quickly as possible.”

Jewish Home was required by a new national law, which mandated all skilled nursing facilities maintain fire sprinkler systems, to retrofit its complex with the necessary requirements. AEGIS, knowing the importance of this job, pushed for BlazeMaster systems to be the fire protection system of choice.

It was here that the support and expertise of the Lubrizol CPVC team shone through. Karrick and his team sat down with Lubrizol CPVC Territory Manager Dave Kokosenski before meeting with the appropriate decision makers — local AHJs and higher-ups within the Jewish Home — to walk them through the NFPA standards allowing for the use of BlazeMaster systems throughout 90 percent of the complex. Hallways, individual resident quarters and other areas of the home could all be retrofitted.

Retrofitting Jewish Home posed another challenge, with multiple areas requiring an exposed piping installation. To tackle this, AEGIS utilized JG Innovations’ 24-Gauge Soffi-Steel® Concealment System. The product boosted the overall aesthetic appearance of the exposed portions of the new fire protection system and met the requirements of the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). The Soffi-Steel system off ered the perfect complement, providing clean installation with minimal disturbance. 

California’s OSHPD Facilities Development Division had seismic requirements as well. Diff erent fasteners needed to be evaluated and approved with the concealment system before the submittal package was accepted. JG Innovations researched, recommended and supplied the appropriate fasteners that met and satisfi ed OSHPD’s requirements.

Overall, management at Jewish Home was very satisfi ed with how the installation took shape.

“We didn’t need to totally upend our operations to accommodate a more intrusive project” said Oleg Korsunsky, environmental health and safety manager at Jewish Home. “And our residents were as comfortable as possible during the time the project was completed.”

The installation was so unobtrusive, Korsunsky added, that residents barely noticed the work that had been completed upon returning to their residences. “I thought that was a great testament to how quiet and effi cient the installation had been,” Korsunsky said.

The best solution

In total, AEGIS retrofi tted five stories of the complex including a total of 1,685 sprinkler heads. The project was completed floor-by-fl oor, with residents temporarily relocated to an adjacent building while the work was completed.

“We really were shocked at the minimal noise caused by the construction,” Korsunsky said. “With any sort of construction project, you expect noise to become a problem, but with our new fire sprinkler system, there was practically zero noise to speak of. That was very valuable to us.”

The new sprinkler system also bring an environmental edge to the table: According to an ISO-compliant, peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment commissioned by Lubrizol, the pipe and fittings used in the project outperform comparative steel systems in 12 of 13 environmental impact categories. Most notable through this Life Cycle Assessment, it was found that the system has half the climate change impact as steel.

For AEGIS, utilizing BlazeMaster systems also helped cut down on time and labor costs. The flexibility and the ease with which the system can be installed, with its one-step solvent-welding solution for joining pipes and fittings, allowed the contractor to complete each floor of the complex far more quickly than with a comparative steel system. Easily cut and routed around obstructions or other utilities in any environment, the system offered versatility that metallic systems couldn’t match. 

With the system's on-site installation training, contractors can be sure they’re installing it correctly. And for further peace of mind, the FBCTM System Compatible Program enabled installers to easily reference ancillary products that were not chemically compatible with the system to ensure a sound installation.

With the full support of the Lubrizol CPVC team, helping to educate building managers and local offi cials on the applicability of CPVC in the complex, AEGIS and Jewish Home found a suitable, preferable solution for their fire protection needs. It’s how the Lubrizol CPVC team brings MORE INSIDETM to every project—expertise, education and value when it was truly needed.