The NFPA has spoken on fuel gases including natural gas and liquefied petroleum gases (LP-Gas) such as propane and butane are used to supply many pieces of equipment within households such as stoves, portable space heaters, ranges, furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers, gas refrigerators, gas lamps and fuel-gas-burning fireplaces.
Fuel gases can be piped into the structure from a distribution network, or they can be stored on site in cylinders.
The NFPA has warned about to the combustible nature of these gases, leaks within residential structures continue to cause fires and explosions every year.
Fuel gases are laced with mercaptan, which is a harmless but distinct-smelling chemical which enables someone to detect a fuel gas leak based on the sulfur-type smell created.
However, studies have shown that the human smell succumbs to a phenomenon known as olfactory fatigue after a minute or two of being exposed to the same odor, meaning you can no longer smell it and if a leak occurs underground, the earth can essentially extract the mercaptan out of the gas.
Additionally, if the occupants are either sleeping or not in the home at the time of the leak, they will not be aware of the smell.
This is why it is important to have fuel gas detection and a way to warn the occupants of a leak so they can take the proper precautions, which includes evacuating the home and calling either the fire department or fuel gas supplier.
NFPA 715, Standard for the Installation of Fuel Gases Detection and Warning Equipment, was created to provide requirements on the selection, design, application, installation, location, performance, inspection, testing, and maintenance of fuel gas detection and warning equipment in all buildings.
NFPA 715 does not require that fuel gas detection be provided; instead, NFPA 715 is a standard that is used when designing a fuel gas warning system or when placing single and multiple stations when required by other building or fire codes.
Fuel gas alarms are intended for the purpose of detecting fuel gas and alerting occupants by a distinct audible signal; they incorporate a sensor, control components and an alarm notification appliance in a single unit operated from a power source either located in the unit or obtained at the point of installation.
Fuel gas alarms are designed to alarm at a concentration at or below 25 percent of the lower explosive limit (LEL), which provides the occupants time to evacuate and notify the proper authorities of the issue.
Fuel gas alarms are required to be tested by a third party recognized laboratory to stringent product standards such as UL 1484, Residential Gas Detectors.
When the product passes the required testing, it will be labeled (shown on packaging and on the label of the alarm) by the recognized testing laboratory that completed the testing.
The most common place that alarms are used are in dwelling units such as one- and two-family homes and apartments. There are many different types of alarms in addition to fuel gas alarms, including smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and even heat alarms.
The NFPA has spoken about fuel gases including natural gas and liquefied petroleum gases.
They have highlighted their NFPA 715 as being a guide for fuel gas detection and warning equipment in all buildings/
