Section 263.51 - Smoke Management(a) General. Jails shall have a sufficient means of managing smoke from a fire to permit orderly movement of inmates from the area of a fire incident. Smoke management shall limit the exposure of staff to untenable conditions when responding to a fire emergency. The means of smoke management shall be a combination of compartmentation, control of smoke migration from the affected area, and means of removing smoke to the exterior of the building. The smoke management system shall include the consideration of: (1) automatic and manual fire detection;(2) automatic and manual fire alarm;(3) automatic and manual smoke control system activation;(4) automatic and manual fire suppression;(5) maintenance of safe means of egress;(6) movement of inmates from affected area to an area of safety;(7) containment of smoke to space of fire origin;(8) automatic and manual removal of smoke.(b) Coverage. (1) Smoke management shall be provided throughout all detention and support areas within the security perimeter.(2) Mechanical smoke control systems and smoke removal systems shall be provided for all inmate housing areas, including cells, day rooms, dormitories, and special purpose cells.(3) For the purpose of smoke control and smoke removal systems, the affected area shall be deemed to be the compartment consisting of a cell, day room, dormitory, or special purpose cell, in which the fire incident originates. Where open grating or mesh walls are used, the affected area shall be restricted to the cell(s) and the adjacent day room.(c) Compartmentation. Smoke barriers shall be provided in accordance with the Life Safety Code, NFPA 101 14.3 concerning Subdivision of Building Spaces.(d) Control of Smoke Migration. (1) The fire detection system shall promptly detect smoke within the affected area.(2) Upon detection, an alarm system shall automatically alert the control station(s) and initiate the automatic smoke control system.(3) The smoke control system shall automatically, by pressure differential and/or air flow, contain smoke in the area of fire origin.(4) Smoke control systems shall be designed so that smoke is restricted from entering the means of egress during the evacuation of inmates by providing sufficient air flow through exit access doors, when open.(5) A manual override capability shall be provided in the event of detection failure and for testing purposes.(e) Smoke Removal. (1) All jails shall be provided with smoke removal capability, except as provided under subsection (g) of this section, relating to exceptions.(2) The smoke removal system shall have the ability to remove smoke from the affected area to the exterior of the building using fixed mechanical equipment. Existing facilities (in operation prior to December 23, 1976) may be exempt from using fixed equipment when portable equipment is provided.(3) During smoke removal, smoke shall not migrate from the affected area to other areas of the building.(4) Smoke removal systems shall be designed to develop air flow patterns within the affected area which contribute to the dilution and removal of smoke. Air devices for supply and exhaust shall be separated by a distance of not less than 75% of the horizontal dimensions of the compartment and so arranged to provide air flow coverage of at least 50% of the vertical dimension of the compartment. Alternate air device configurations which have demonstrated effectiveness by field testing or mock-up testing may be approved.(5) Capacity of the smoke removal system shall be sufficient to comply with subsection (f) of this section relating to smoke testing. Facilities in operation or initiated prior to March 31, 1991, which are not provided with a complete smoke management system (as required by this section) shall provide smoke removal capability, being automatically activated by the smoke detection system when utilizing fixed equipment, meeting the smoke testing criteria established by the commission on September 27, 1989. Designs for smoke removal systems which provide air change rates of less than 15 air changes per hour shall not be utilized. Design consideration shall be given to system configuration, friction loss, pressure drops and differentials, air leakage, and other construction characteristics, which may necessitate safety factors being included in design calculations.(6) A manual override capability shall be provided in the event of detection failure and for testing purposes.(f) Testing. (1) General. Testing of the smoke management systems in all facilities shall be in compliance with the requirements of this section.(2) Functional Testing. (A) Air Balancing Certification. Prior to any other testing of new smoke management systems, an air balance report prepared in accordance with nationally recognized practices shall be submitted to the county. Such report shall bear certification that the smoke control and removal systems meet the engineer of record's design requirements with respect to pressure differentials achieved and air flow rates necessary to meet the intended smoke management operation. A copy of the air balance report shall be maintained at the facility and made available to the commission's inspector during all tests and inspections. An air balance report on an existing system may be required by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards when there is evidence that the smoke management system has been impaired due to modifications to the system or inadequate maintenance.(B) System Operation. A test of smoke management system's initiating devices and control systems' output shall be performed. Such testing shall verify that, upon activation of a smoke detector, water flow indicating device, manual fire alarm station, or other smoke management system initiating device, the smoke management system components will automatically commence operation. The engineer of record shall provide a "cause and effect" chart to indicate the appropriate smoke management operating mode for all affected equipment based on the operation of each initiating device. Acceptance of functional testing shall be predicated upon all input and output devices performing as indicated by the "cause and effect" chart.(3) Smoke Testing. (A) General smoke testing of the smoke management systems shall be accomplished in accordance with this section. The smoke management system shall be tested in both normal and emergency power modes.(B) Smoke Detection. Artificial smoke shall be introduced into the space to be tested. The rate of introduction of smoke shall be two times the volume of the space to be tested. The commission may establish a minimum amount of smoke to be introduced into a space. The smoke detection system shall alarm and initiate the smoke control and removal system(s) within 60 seconds of the beginning of smoke introduction.(C) Smoke Migration. The smoke management system shall be deemed to be controlling smoke migration if smoke from the detection test does not migrate from the affected area for a period of ten minutes from the time of detection and activation of the smoke control system. The inspector may conduct the smoke migration test with the compartment exit door open or closed.(D) Smoke Removal. Utilizing the procedure for testing smoke detection, smoke removal shall be completed in the space to be tested within fifteen minutes from the time of system activation.(4) Maintenance and Retesting. The smoke management systems shall be regularly maintained to assure consistent performance. The smoke management systems shall be operationally tested quarterly and may be tested by the commission's inspector on an annual basis utilizing the smoke testing procedures.(g) Exceptions. (1) Fully sprinklered, minimum security facilities may be exempt from these requirements if approved by the sheriff, the local fire marshal, and the commission; however, smoke detection and alarm systems shall be provided for all facilities. Approval shall be based on review of each facility, the degree of overall protection achieved, and a high degree of freedom of movement afforded the inmates. Such facilities shall be inspected by local fire protection authorities monthly.(2) Single story, new construction, minimum security facilities whose exit doors are incapable of being locked from the inside and which provide direct exiting to the exterior of the building from the inmate sleeping area(s) and day room(s) may be constructed without smoke control, smoke removal, or sprinkler systems. However, these facilities shall provide proper compartmentation and smoke detection.(3) Facilities that were in operation or initiated prior to March 31, 1991, and which comply with subsection (e) of this section, relating to Smoke Removal, may be exempt from other requirements of this section relating to smoke management.37 Tex. Admin. Code § 263.51
The provisions of this §263.51 adopted to be effective December 19, 1994, 19 TexReg 9526; amended to be effective June 14, 1996, 21 TexReg 5003.