General Instructions

Impairment Requests are required for fire protection system impairments (alarm or suppression) due to planned or emergency conditions (ex- construction, drywall sanding, vacuuming, soldering, brazing).

Requests must be submitted by a Project Manager, CU Fire and Life Safety, CU BMO Employee, or another CU Representative.  External customer requests should be routed through Fire and Life Safety for approval.

Approval will come from the Fire and Life Safety Team. 

Important Notes

• Normal Business Hours: Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM
• Noise-Related Testing: Must be completed between 5:00am to 7:00am. (Speaker/Strobe Testing)
• Testing Affecting Normal Building Operations (ex- air supply systems, elevators, etc.) requires coordination and approval from the University Utility Outage Department prior to impairment approval.
• Outages Related to Inspections - Must be coordinated with the CU Building Department and are contingent on scheduling with the building inspectors through City Inspect.
• Pre-Planned impairments (excluding noise-related testing) should occur between 6:00 AM and 2:30 PM, Monday through Friday, unless otherwise arranged with the Fire Alarm Supervisor (Anschutz Campus), Facilities Management. (Denver Campus).
  

Special Requirements

• Special Hazard Systems (ex- FM-200) must be disabled and re-enabled by the requestor.
• Hot Work Impairments: Require an approved Hot Work Permit (digital form | manual form) from the Campus Fire Marshal or Safety Manager.
• Fire Sprinkler Suppression Impairments Exceeding 8 Hours: Will be routed through appropriate parties for approval (Campus Fire Marshal, Risk Management, CU Safety Manager, CU Police Department and University Insurance Underwriter-FM Global).
• Construction: If ceiling tiles are removed and cannot be reinstalled at the end of each workday, temporary heat detection must be installed for the duration of the project, and fire sprinkler heads must be adjusted accordingly.
• As an alternative to temporary heat detection, a UL Listed fire-rated sheeting may be used to replace the ceiling tiles. This alternative requires inspection and approval by the CU Building Department.
• For any impairment exceeding 8 hours, a representative from Fire and Life Safety will notify FM Global upon impairment and after system restoration.  

Contact Risk Management for questions: [email protected]

System Restoration

• Fire protection systems must be restored and verified by CU Fire and Life Safety.
• The Fire Alarm Supervisor or Campus Fire Marshal will notify the local fire department and FM Global at their discretion.

Submitting Impairment Requests

• External Contractors/Projects (Normal Hours): Submit 7 business days in advance.
• Internal Customers/Facilities (Normal Hours): Submit 3 business days in advance.
• All Customers (Outside Normal Hours): Submit 10 business days in advance.
  

Impairment Type Definitions

• General: Routine maintenance or minor modifications. Anything not directly tied to a “Project”. (ex- painting/sanding, hot work, brazing, fire sprinkler backflow inspections, system malfunctions, preventative maintenance operations)
• Project: Impairments related to construction requiring a permit and/or is being managed by a Project Manager
• System Pre-Test: Contractor pre-test before final inspection. Project Manager involvement
• System Final Inspection: Coordination with the CU Building Department for final approval.  Project Manager involvement
• Emergency: Unexpected system failures (ex- frozen pipes, equipment malfunctions)

Contacts

*For Fire Sprinkler System questions, contact the Project Manager, or the Fire Alarm Supervisor.  Coordination will occur between Fire Alarm Supervisor / PM and Fluids Supervisor/Leads.