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Department of Safety and Professional Services
Department of Safety and Professional Services
Programs

Fire Suppression Plan Submittal Guidelines

Fire Suppression Plans Required to be Submitted

In accordance with Wis. Admin. Code SPS 361.30, the State of Wisconsin has adopted the component review of all Fire Protection Systems for buildings that require plan submittal effective January 1, 2012.  Exceptions to required review will only be as follows:

  1. Projects involving the alteration or addition of 20 or fewer sprinklers to an existing fire sprinkler system do not need to be submitted.

  2. Kitchen hood fire suppression systems not supplied by the building’s automatic fire suppression system.  Basic information on kitchen hood fire suppression systems shall be noted with the kitchen hood submittal.

  3. Standalone fire suppression systems used solely for the protection of industrial equipment (e.g., printing presses and spray booths) and not supplied by the building’s automatic fire suppression system.

  4. Hospitals, Nursing Homes, CBRF and Hospice buildings (reviewed by DHS).
    Note:  Dedicated underground mains supplying only automatic fire sprinkler systems are required to be reviewed by DSPS.  This type of review should be scheduled, and fees based upon, a miscellaneous review.

Please note that the trigger date for fire protection system plan review is based on the date of the original building plan submittal.  The submittal of a stand-alone fire suppression system installation or alteration will be based on the permit date.

There are two options for submission of fire suppression plans for review:

  1.  Submit plans and additional documentation to DSPS via eSLA.

  2. Submit plans and additional documentation to a municipality on the Delegated Agent List

Delegated Municipality

Some municipalities are delegated agents of the department to perform plan review and inspection of fire detection and suppression system per Wisconsin State Stat.101.12(3). Fire suppression and fire alarm plans may be submitted to these delegated agents. An exception is that DSPS retains jurisdiction for plan review and inspection for all state-owned buildings, as well as projects for which the owner chooses to submit plans to DSPS.  Contact the municipality for more information on submission of fire suppression and fire alarm plans.

Note for City of Milwaukee

Fire suppression plans for buildings or structures (other than State-owned) constructed within the limits of Milwaukee shall be submitted to the City of Milwaukee for review, in lieu of submitting to DSPS.

What to Submit

The following shall be in PDF format, as applicable.

  1. A completed online plan review application via eSLA

  2. Within the application, identify the Transaction ID No. related to the parent building plan review approval (CB-xxx, DIS-xxx, etc.).

  3. Required Supervising Professional signature if entire building exceeds 50,000 cubic feet of volume. This signature is required for stand-alone plan submittals with no previous related building transaction ID. Have a properly credentialed individual sign as the Supervising Professional and include this signature page with your submittal. The original supervising professional’s signature for the building project is applicable to fire suppression submittals and a separate signature is not required. Stand-alone fire suppression system submittals require a supervising professional signature.

  4. Complete properly signed/sealed fire suppression plan set. A supervising professional is required to be credentialed as a Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer or Designer of Engineering Systems (Fire Protection).

  5. Submit additional documentation.  Combine the following into one file for submittal in eSLA:

    1. Hydraulic calculations (include if applicable).

    2. Applicable material data sheets. 

      • It is only necessary to include data sheets for those materials which include specific criteria relative to its listing (e.g. sprinklers, backflow assemblies, pumps, etc.).

    3. When protecting high-piled combustible storage SPS 362.0202(1) or high-hazard Group H occupancies IBC 307, detailed information shall be provided to clearly depict the parameters used for establishing the design criteria.  Our agency offers the SBD-8121, Fire Suppression Storage and High Hazard Worksheet to assist in preparing your submittal.

    4. A completed SBD-8128, Checklist for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review Summary Sheet for Fire Suppression / Underground Main plan review.

  6. Instructions on how to Submit a Fire Suppression Plan Review Application online via eSLA.

Signing / Sealing Plans 

  1. There are two options for taking responsibility for the working plans:

    1. The fire protection system working plans shall be signed and dated by the contractor responsible for the design and installation of the system.  The Wisconsin license number of the automatic fire sprinkler contractor shall be included with their signature.

    2. A Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer, or Designer of Engineering Systems (Fire Protection) may assume responsibility for the design of the fire protection working plans.  Where this option is selected, the plans shall be signed, dated, and sealed by the design professional. 

  2. Each sheet shall be individually signed / sealed.  If more than one sheet is bound together in a PDF plan set, the registrant may sign/seal and date only the title or index sheet if the signed sheet identifies clearly all other sheets comprising the bound PDF plan set.

  3. Electronic Signature/Seal: Designers shall provide an electronic version of their Wisconsin Professional Architect/Engineer/Designer original signature and seal or original signature/date, with the contractor license number, applied to the PDF plan documents prior to upload.  If an electronic signature is used, attestation shall be included indicating this signature is an electronic signature.  Plans shall not be uploaded as certified. 

Plan Review Fees

  1. Fees shall be determined in accordance with Table 302.31-1 or Table 302.31-2 found in Chapter SPS 302 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.   

  2. Reduced plan review fees (Table 302.31-2) may be utilized for projects in municipalities that perform inspections as an agent of the Division of Industry Services.

  3. Municipalities that have authority to perform inspections can be found on the Inspections Delegated Agent List.

  4. Reduced fees (Table 302.31-2) do not apply to State-owned buildings.

  5. In addition to the plan review fee, a plan entry fee of $100 shall be included with each submittal. 

  6. Per SPS 302.10, plan review fees shall be doubled for projects where the installation, erection or construction was initiated without the required DSPS approval.

  7. Payment of plan review fee shall be completed at the time of application submittal.  Plans will not be accepted for review until fees are paid in full.

General Notes

  1. Plans submitted to DSPS shall be submitted in PDF format.

  2. Consider scheduling a plan review consultation prior to the full plan review submittal. This consultation appointment provides a meeting with a DSPS plan reviewer to discuss the submittal process, code questions, etc. 

  3. Plans submitted for review shall be construction documents.  Plans submitted marked as “Preliminary” or “Not for Construction” will not be reviewed.

  4. Fire suppression submittals for new construction, building additions or building alterations cannot be reviewed prior to building plan approval.

  5. Plans submitted to DSPS shall be of sufficient clarity, character, and detail to show how the proposed design will conform to code. (e.g. site plan, building sections, ceiling configurations, etc.)  Construction plans shall comply with NFPA 13 (2013), Section 23.1. 

  6. One (1) set of plans bearing the DSPS stamp of conditional approval shall be kept at the building site and be open to inspection by DSPS or its authorized representative.

Resources

NFPA Standards*

  • NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2012 edition

  • NFPA 11, Low-, Medium- and High-Expansion Foam, 2010 edition

  • NFPA 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems, 2011 edition 

  • NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 13D, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 13R, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low Rise Residential Occupancies, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 14, Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 16, Installation of Foam-Water Sprinkler and Foam-Water Spray Systems, 2015 edition

  • NFPA 17, Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2013 edition 

  • NFPA 17A, Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2013 edition 

  • NFPA 20, Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 22, Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection, 2013 edition 

  • NFPA 24, Installation of Private Fire Mains and Their Appurtenances, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, 2011 edition

  • NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 2012 edition

  • NFPA 30B, Code for the Manufacture and Storage of Aerosol Products, 2011 edition 

  • NFPA 45, Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, 2015 edition

  • NFPA 70, National Electrical Code®, 2023 edition 

  • NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code®, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 409, Aircraft Hangars, 2011 edition

  • NFPA 2001, Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, 2015 edition

* This is not a comprehensive list of all State-adopted NFPA standards.  For a complete listing of the most current standards, refer to the 2015 International Building Code®, Chapter 35 – Referenced Standards and the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

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