Network Cabling Specification and Installation Practices Impact Building Safety
What Works: Best Practices to Reduce Cable Fire Risk
Based on experience, two key initiatives are considered best practices with regard to communications cables in today's rapidly advancing IT environment. Taken together, these two practices represent the optimum available safeguard against reducing fire risk and promoting sustainability within a building.
Use of Cables with Advanced Fire Resistance
To prevent or minimize the effects that a fire will have on their business, companies invest in safety measures. Using LCC cables with advanced fire resistance like UL listed FHC 25/50, is a passive fire protection measure, and an important element in a fire protection strategy. Passive protection measures, which seek to compartmentalize a fire through walls, doors, ceilings and their components, are often more reliable than active methods, which encompass systems that must be activated, such as sprinklers, or fire alarms. In fact, studies have shown that sprinklers fail to operate in one of six fires and when they do operate, they only extinguish the fire 25 percent of the time. In comparison, passive measures rarely fail. Yet both active and passive measures must be employed as an effective way to protect people, facilities, and equipment.
It's important to consider that advanced fire resistant cabling is not a major expenditure. While higher performance cable costs more than cable which meets only minimum requirements, the average increase in total installation costs (labor and materials) of a system that includes LCC is minimal, less than 10 percent, when compared to traditional combustible plenum cable. Fire retardant cable helps protect a cabling system against obsolescence as data rates increase, and avoids costly recabling. In terms of life cycle costing, enhanced cable performance along with electrical properties that remain stable and reliable over time can help maximize the long-term value of a network investment. Studies have shown that in the context of total network cost, the incremental cost of premium performance cable is less than one percent.
Removal of Abandoned Cable
A main cause to the rising amount of cable in a building is the continual upgrading of existing equipment. As equipment is upgraded, existing cable often becomes out of date. Removing this cable is considered an unnecessary expense, and it is often left where it is, although it is no longer used. In place, though unused, cable is so-called abandoned cable. Most at risk for an abandoned cable problem are older buildings and those with a high turnover or those that have undergone renovations within the past five years. In addition, buildings with one long-time large and/or multi-floor tenants or those serviced by multiple vendors and contractors may also have an abandoned cable problem.
Abandoned cable is problematic because it constitutes a hidden fire hazard, contributing unnecessary fuel and smoke load, creating structural problems, interfering with air flow and leaving no room for new cable. Insurance companies recommend its removal. Recognizing the serious potential hazard, the National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that abandoned cable be removed or tagged for future use. The NEC is the most widely recognized and adopted model from which most states and local jurisdictions develop their codes. Jurisdictions that have adopted the 2002 or 2005 NEC require the removal of abandoned cable. While most jurisdictions follow the NEC and require the removal of abandoned cable, specific requirements for the jurisdiction in which the building is located must be followed. Failure to comply with codes requiring the removal of abandoned cable can result in fines and the withholding of certificates of occupancy. Failure to comply may also result in liability in the event of a building fire. Left unmanaged, abandoned cables can also create problems in obtaining building permits and in negotiations with network users and/or tenants.
While the NEC calls for removal of abandoned cable, it does not address the issue of when to remove abandoned cable. Most end-users initiate removal projects when new cabling systems are added, or when a major renovation is being done. However, timing is up to local jurisdiction. Another issue not addressed by the NEC is how to dispose of abandoned cable once removed. Local code and statutory requirements may come into play here. Some states do not allow disposal of these cables in landfills. While the copper in cables is often recovered and recycled, the major problem is adequately disposing of the large amount of plastic material used for insulation and jacketing. In the past, this problem has not been adequately addressed through recycling. However, advanced cable recycling technology available in the marketplace converts end-of-life abandoned cables to reusable copper and separated plastic streams.
Proper management of abandoned cable will facilitate code compliance and building safety. First, an assessment of existing conditions and plans and budgets for abatement projects should be developed. Such an assessment can fulfill several objectives. Not only will it help building owners, property and network managers identify and evaluate the magnitude and nature of abandoned cable in their structure, an assessment is also a critical cost-effective tool for project planning as well as developing a budget and specifications for the removal project by fully understanding conditions up front. In addition, for installed cable in-use, an assessment can identify critical deficiencies that can affect the performance of the communications infrastructure. Subsequently, an experienced contractor must be identified to handle safe removal. A plan for proper disposal of the entire cable must be prepared and implemented, taking into account that plastics can be recycled in addition to copper. Completely recycling abandoned cable-widely recognized as the new Best Practice-may contribute to LEED Certification under the following categories:
- New Commercial Construction & Major Renovation Projects
- (LEED-NC)
- Existing Building Operations (LEED-EB)
- Commercial Interiors Projects (LEED-CI)
- Core & Shell Projects (LEED-CS)
- Homes (LEED-H)
- Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND)
Once the old combustible abandoned cable is removed, it is a wise management practice to minimize the future buildup of fuel load by installing cable with advanced fire safety performance.