December 20, 2004—As a result of their move to a new fire test facility, Factory Mutual (FM) has conducted full-scale benchmark fire testing of various sprinklers over the past several months. The most recent battery of tests has focused on Large Drop sprinkler technology.
As a result of inconsistencies between these benchmark tests and the original full-scale fire testing for these products, Factory Mutual has suspended its approval of all manufacturers Large Drop fire sprinklers. FM has advised all producers, including Viking Corporation, to immediately cease all production of Large Drop sprinklers bearing FMs mark of approval.
Any of the affected products manufactured by Viking prior to this action are still considered to be FM Approved. This action by Factory Mutual is intended to suspend future applications of Large Drop sprinklers until further research is conducted. UL Listed Large Drop sprinklers are still available from Viking. At this point, the UL listing for these products remains unchanged.
Factory Mutual is conducting further testing to determine the cause of the inconsistent test results. Based on these results, FM will reevaluate their approval of large drop sprinklers. Additional approval information will be communicated after FM has completed the full test program.
For more information, contact Factory Mutual.
