NFPA® 99
Health Care Facilities Code
2012 Edition
NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169-7471 An International Codes and Standards Organization
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
Customer ID
129195
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/category.asp?category_name=Membership+|+New+Membership&Page=1&order_src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/catalog_home.asp?src=catalog&order_src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/category.asp?category_name=National+Fire+Codes%26reg%3B+Subscription+Service&Page=1&order_src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/category.asp?category_name=Training&Page=1&order-src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/product.asp?pid=99HB12&order_src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/product.asp?pid=9912rl&order_src=C560
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/services/customer/VerifyEbook.asp?subid=%7B4D2BF775%2D5815%2D4932%2D9D2A%2D5F0FB25F2161%7D
http://www.nfpa.org/catalog/services/customer/VerifyEbook.asp?subid=%7B4D2BF775%2D5815%2D4932%2D9D2A%2D5F0FB25F2161%7D
NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY CONCERNING THE USE OF NFPA DOCUMENTS NFPA® codes, standards, recommended practices, and guides (“NFPA Documents”), of which the document contained herein is one, are developed through a consensus standards development process approved by the American National Standards Institute. This process brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve consensus on fire and other safety issues. While the NFPA administers the process and establishes rules to promote fairness in the development of consensus, it does not independently test, evaluate, or verify the accuracy of any information or the soundness of any judgments contained in NFPA Documents.
The NFPA disclaims liability for any personal injury, property or other damages of any nature whatsoever, whether special, indirect, consequential or compensatory, directly or indirectly resulting from the publication, use of, or reliance on NFPA Documents. The NFPA also makes no guaranty or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.
In issuing and making NFPA Documents available, the NFPA is not undertaking to render professional or other services for or on behalf of any person or entity. Nor is the NFPA undertaking to perform any duty owed by any person or entity to someone else. Anyone using this document should rely on his or her own independent judgment or, as appropriate, seek the advice of a competent professional in determining the exercise of reasonable care in any given circumstances.
The NFPA has no power, nor does it undertake, to police or enforce compliance with the contents of NFPA Documents. Nor does the NFPA list, certify, test, or inspect products, designs, or installations for compliance with this document. Any certification or other statement of compliance with the requirements of this document shall not be attributable to the NFPA and is solely the responsibility of the certifier or maker of the statement.
ISBN: 978-145590102-9 (Print) ISBN: 978-145590145-6 (PDF) 12/09
IMPORTANT NOTICES AND DISCLAIMERS CONCERNING NFPA DOCUMENTS ®
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
EB7DE0A0-9486-4FE9-B7BC-1B1D10C9FBFA
IMPORTANT NOTICES AND DISCLAIMERS CONCERNING NFPA DOCUMENTS
ADDITIONAL NOTICES AND DISCLAIMERS
Updating of NFPA Documents Users of NFPA codes, standards, recommended practices, and guides (“NFPA Documents”) should be aware that these documents may be
superseded at any time by the issuance of new editions or may be amended from time to time through the issuance of Tentative Interim Amendments. An official NFPA Document at any point in time consists of the current edition of the document together with any Tentative Interim Amendments and any Errata then in effect. In order to determine whether a given document is the current edition and whether it has been amended through the issuance of Tentative Interim Amendments or corrected through the issuance of Errata, consult appropriate NFPA publications such as the National Fire Codes® Subscription Service, visit the NFPA website at www.nfpa.org, or contact the NFPA at the address listed below.
Interpretations of NFPA Documents A statement, written or oral, that is not processed in accordance with Section 6 of the Regulations Governing Committee Projects shall not be
considered the official position of NFPA or any of its Committees and shall not be considered to be, nor be relied upon as, a Formal Interpretation. Patents The NFPA does not take any position with respect to the validity of any patent rights referenced in, related to, or asserted in connection with an
NFPA Document. The users of NFPA Documents bear the sole responsibility for determining the validity of any such patent rights, as well as the risk of infringement of such rights, and the NFPA disclaims liability for the infringement of any patent resulting from the use of or reliance on NFPA Documents.
NFPA adheres to the policy of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) regarding the inclusion of patents in American National Standards (“the ANSI Patent Policy”), and hereby gives the following notice pursuant to that policy:
NOTICE: The user’s attention is called to the possibility that compliance with an NFPA Document may require use of an invention covered by patent rights. NFPA takes no position as to the validity of any such patent rights or as to whether such patent rights constitute or include essential patent claims under the ANSI Patent Policy. If, in connection with the ANSI Patent Policy, a patent holder has filed a statement of willingness to grant licenses under these rights on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to obtain such a license, copies of such filed statements can be obtained, on request, from NFPA. For further information, contact the NFPA at the address listed below.
Law and Regulations Users of NFPA Documents should consult applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. NFPA does not, by the publication of its
codes, standards, recommended practices, and guides, intend to urge action that is not in compliance with applicable laws, and these documents may not be construed as doing so.
Copyrights NFPA Documents are copyrighted by the NFPA. They are made available for a wide variety of both public and private uses. These include both
use, by reference, in laws and regulations, and use in private self-regulation, standardization, and the promotion of safe practices and methods. By making these documents available for use and adoption by public authorities and private users, the NFPA does not waive any rights in copyright to these documents.
Use of NFPA Documents for regulatory purposes should be accomplished through adoption by reference. The term “adoption by reference” means the citing of title, edition, and publishing information only. Any deletions, additions, and changes desired by the adopting authority should be noted separately in the adopting instrument. In order to assist NFPA in following the uses made of its documents, adopting authorities are requested to notify the NFPA (Attention: Secretary, Standards Council) in writing of such use. For technical assistance and questions concerning adoption of NFPA Documents, contact NFPA at the address below.
For Further Information All questions or other communications relating to NFPA Documents and all requests for information on NFPA procedures governing its codes
and standards development process, including information on the procedures for requesting Formal Interpretations, for proposing Tentative Interim Amendments, and for proposing revisions to NFPA documents during regular revision cycles, should be sent to NFPA headquarters, addressed to the attention of the Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, MA 02169-7471; email: stds_admin@nfpa.org
For more information about NFPA, visit the NFPA website at www.nfpa.org.
12/09
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
EB7DE0A0-9486-4FE9-B7BC-1B1D10C9FBFA
t H S a M A
F l C
C s d t i s u e
D
b t
(
( (
C c a f a c
u N i t
o
99–1
NFPA and National Fire Pr
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
Copyright © 2011 National Fire Protection Association®. All Rights Reserved.
NFPA® 99
Health Care Facilities Code
2012 Edition
This edition of NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, was prepared by the Technical Commit- ees on Electrical Systems, Fundamentals, Health Care Emergency Management and Security, yperbaric and Hypobaric Facilities, Mechanical Systems, Medical Equipment, and Piping
ystems, released by the Technical Correlating Committee on Health Care Facilities, and cted on by NFPA at its June Association Technical Meeting held June 12–15, 2011, in Boston, A. It was issued by the Standards Council on August 11, 2011, with an effective date of ugust 31, 2011, and supersedes all previous editions.
Tentative interim amendments (TIAs) to Chapters 8 and 9 were issued on August 11, 2011. or further information on tentative interim amendments, see Section 5 of the NFPA Regu-
ations Governing Committee Projects available at: http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/ odesStandards/TIAErrataFI/TIARegs.pdf
This edition of NFPA 99 was approved as an American National Standard on August 31, 2011.
Origin and Development of NFPA 99 The idea for this document grew as the number of documents under the original NFPA
ommittee on Hospitals grew. By the end of 1980, there existed 12 documents on a variety of ubjects, 11 directly addressing fire-related problems in and about health care facilities. These ocuments covered health care emergency preparedness, inhalation anesthetics, respiratory
herapy, laboratories in health-related institutions, hyperbaric facilities, hypobaric facilities, nhalation anesthetics in ambulatory care facilities, home use of respiratory therapy, medical– urgical vacuum systems in hospitals, essential electrical systems for health care facilities, safe se of electricity in patient care areas of health care facilities, and safe use of high-frequency lectricity in health care facilities.
A history on the documents that covered these topics can be found in the “Origin and evelopment of NFPA 99” in the 1984 edition of NFPA 99.
What was then the Health Care Facilities Correlating Committee reviewed the matter eginning in late 1979 and concluded that combining all the documents under its jurisdic- ion would be beneficial to those who used those documents, for the following reasons:
1) The referenced documents were being revised independently of each other. Combining all the individual documents into one document would place all of them on the same revision cycle.
2) It would place in one unit many documents that referenced each other. 3) It would be an easier and more complete reference for the various users of the document
(e.g., hospital engineers, medical personnel, designers and architects, and the various types of enforcing authorities).
To learn if this proposal was desired or desirable to users of the individual documents, the ommittee issued a request for public comments in the spring of 1981, asking whether pur- hasers of the individual documents utilized more than one document in the course of their ctivities and whether combining these individual documents would be beneficial. Seventy- ive percent of responses supported such a proposal, with 90 percent of health care facilities nd organizations supportive of it. Based on this support, the Correlating Committee pro- eeded with plans to combine all the documents under its jurisdiction into one document.
In January, 1982, a compilation of the latest edition of each of the 12 individual documents nder the jurisdiction of the Correlating Committee was published. It was designated FPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code. The Correlating Committee also entered the document
nto the revision cycle reporting to the 1983 Fall Meeting for the purpose of formally adopting he document.
For the 1984 edition of NFPA 99, in addition to technical changes, administrative and rganizational changes were made.
otection Association are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169.
EB7DE0A0-9486-4FE9-B7BC-1B1D10C9FBFA
99–2 HEALTH CARE FACILITIES CODE
2
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
For the 1987 edition of NFPA 99, the third and final step in the process of combining the previous individual documents took place — that of integrating the content of these individual documents into a cohesive document. In addition, there were again technical changes made. The 1987 edition also saw the incorporation of NFPA 56F, Standard on Nonflammable Medical Piped Gas Systems, into NFPA 99.
For the 1990 edition of NFPA 99, some structural changes were made and some modifiers were added to make it easier to determine where requirements are applicable. Technical changes made included the following: correlation with NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®; changes for compressed medical air systems on the use of gas-powered medical devices operating at a gauge pressure of 200 psi, and piped gas systems in general; changes in leakage current limits for patient care electrical appliances; clarification that patient care areas and wet locations are mutually exclusive; and further guidance on the effects of a disaster on staff.
For the 1993 edition of NFPA 99 there were further efforts to make the document more user-friendly (e.g., placing all “recommended” guidance either in notes or in the appendix). Significant technical changes included the follow- ing: adding requirements and recommendations to further prevent or minimize fires in operating rooms; making major changes to requirements in Chapter 4 for installing, testing, inspecting, verifying, and maintaining nonflam- mable medical piped gas systems; adding new sections on dental compressed air and dental vacuum requirements in Chapter 4; changing leakage current limits of patient care–related electrical appliances to correlate more closely with an international document on the subject; revising laboratory requirements to correlate more closely with NFPA 45, Standard for Laboratories Using Chemicals; changing essential electrical system requirements in ambulatory health care clinics and medical/dental offices; and extensively revising hyperbaric chamber requirements (Chapter 19).
For the 1996 edition of NFPA 99, further changes to make the document more user-friendly were made. These included restructuring Chapters 3 and 4 so that all requirements for a Type 1, 2, or 3 essential electrical system, or a Level 1, 2, 3, or 4 piped gas or vacuum system, were contained in one section.
Other technical changes included the following:
(1) Moving requirements on flammable anesthetizing locations and the use of flammable inhalation anesthetics to a new Appendix 2
(2) Upgrading the subject of emergency preparedness from guidance to a new chapter containing requirements (3) Adding a new chapter (Chapter 18) on home health care (4) Revising Section 1-1 to reflect the intent that NFPA 99 applies only to facilities treating human beings (5) In Chapter 3, revising load testing requirements for emergency generators to reference NFPA 110, Standard for
Emergency and Standby Power Systems, and revising emergency lighting criteria for operating rooms (6) In Chapter 4, revising requirements for medical compressed air systems, dental compressed air systems, waste
anesthetic gas disposal systems, and dental piped gas/vacuum systems; adding a new section on “headwall units” (“manufactured assemblies”); and clarifying and moving requirements for transfilling containers of liquid oxygen to Chapter 8
(7) In Chapter 8, adding requirements for storage rooms containing cylinders and containers totaling less than 3000 ft3
(8) In Chapters 12 to 17, revising criteria for gas and vacuum systems (9) In Chapter 19, in addition to many technical changes, adding criteria for mobile hyperbaric facilities
For the 1999 edition, significant technical and structural changes included the following:
(1) Chapters 13, 14, and 15 (on ambulatory health care centers, clinics, and medical/dental offices, respectively) were replaced completely by new Chapter 13 covering health care facilities other than hospitals, nursing homes, and limited care facilities as defined in Chapter 2.
(2) Requirements for Level 2 gas and vacuum systems were developed (Section 4.4 in Chapter 4). (3) Subsections 12.3.4, 16.3.4, and 7.3.4 were revised to correlate with the two significant changes in (1) and (2). (4) In Chapter 3, load testing requirements for emergency power supplies of the essential electrical system were
changed through reference, and the testing interval (“monthly”) was reworded to be more responsive to needs of health care facilities.
(5) Clarification of transfer switches and branches of the emergency system was made. (6) Clarification on the use of emergency power supplies other than for emergency power was made in 3.4.1.1.5. (7) Paragraph 4.3.1.2, Distribution Requirements for Level 1 Gas Systems, was completely revised and restructured. (8) Chapter 4 was made more user-friendly by reducing the number of internal cross-references between Sections
4.3 and 4.5. (9) The order of installation and testing requirements for piped gas and vacuum systems was revised.
(10) Emphasis on emergency preparedness was made in Chapter 11 and its appendix material. (11) Chapter 19, “Hyperbaric Facilities,” was extensively revised in the areas of electrical wiring, air quality, ventilation
lighting, equipment, communication, and safety management. (12) A new chapter (Chapter 20) on freestanding birthing centers was added.
The 2002 edition included format and technical revisions. The Manual of Style for NFPA Technical Committee Docu- ments, April 2000 edition, was applied to this document, resulting in changes to its structure and format. Introductory material in Chapter 1 was formatted for consistency among all NFPA documents. Referenced publications that apply to the document were relocated from the last chapter to Chapter 2, resulting in the renumbering of chapters. Informa- tional references remained in the last annex. Appendices were designated as annexes. Definitions in Chapter 3 were
012 Edition
EB7DE0A0-9486-4FE9-B7BC-1B1D10C9FBFA
r n o M r a s
w
a h A
c
r m g v e m a
R
a m
r
d d
H u
c
f c t b o
r
b i
e v r p
99–3ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF NFPA 99
Copyright 2013 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Licensed, by agreement, for individual use and single download on August 6, 2013 to IUPUI for designated user BARBARA CHRISTE|. No other reproduction or transmission in any form permitted without written permission of NFPA. For inquires or to report unauthorized use, contact licensing@nfpa.org.
eviewed for consistency with definitions in other NFPA documents, were systematically aligned, and were individually umbered. Paragraph structuring was revised with the intent of one mandatory requirement per section, subsection, r paragraph. Information that often accompanied many of the requirements was moved to Annex A, Explanatory aterial. Exceptions were deleted or rephrased in mandatory text, unless the exception represented an allowance or