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FIRE PROTECTION DESIGN MANUAL
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
INTRODUCTION
The primary goal of this manual is to protect human life from fire and products of combustion. Secondary
goals are to protect property from fire damage and maintain business activities. The criteria in this manual
are based on the assumption of a single fire source and are intended to protect occupants not intimate with
initial fire development from loss of life, improve the survivability of those intimate with initial fire
development, ensure critical business functions are not interrupted longer than 24 hours, and limit loss of
real and personal property to not more than 0,000.
1. GENERAL
1.1 Scope:
A. This manual contains fire protection engineering design criteria to meet the goals identified
above, by protecting patients, visitors, and staff; maintaining the continuity of important clinical
and administrative activities; and protecting VA property. This generally will require the
installation of automatic sprinkler protection in VA owned or occupied buildings. (Note:
Protection will not be required to limit the loss of non-VA property.)
B. This manual applies to all categories of VA construction and renovation projects, station level
projects, and acquisition of all VA property (including leases).
C. This manual supersedes new construction criteria contained in VA Circulars, Information
Letters, and Directives which are dated prior to the publication date of this manual.
1.2 Application:
A. Use this manual in conjunction with the Scope of Work paragraph in the Architect/Engineer
(A/E) Package and PG-18-15, Minimum Requirements for A/E Submissions, which defines
the information to be shown on drawings and work to be completed at each stage of design.
In addition, coordinate with requirements from other applicable VA criteria listed in
Appendices C and D.
B. The facility should solicit the services of the respective Network Safety Manager or Safety
and Fire Protection Engineer (SFPE) during design in order to insure the project complies with
applicable criteria (the earlier the better).
C. For code interpretation and enforcement, the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for all VA
projects is ultimately the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health, with the Safety and
Fire Protection Engineer (10NB) acting as the VA Fire Marshall. At the Medical Center and
Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) level, the respective Network Safety Manager
or Safety and Fire Protection Engineer (SFPE) acts as the AHJ representative on behalf of
10NB.
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