Fire Sprinkler Permit Application Form
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Permit Application
You may download the application form and mail it to the address on the form with the check. The form is simple and explains the permit fee and how to make out the check however, the best way to submit for a permit is to do it online. When submitting through that link a permit application form is not even needed. The procedure will ask you basic questions about the job, giving you choices to click for your answers. That information is imported into my database as the job record, saving me data entry as well. You can attach electronic plans and calcs using the online permit submittal, and pay for the permit fee with a credit card too. All of the contractors who have tried the online permit submittal process prefer to use it because it saves them time and money, and is easy to use. About 98% of the permit submittals are done online.
Remember to throw away all of your old forms, and to print new first-quality forms from here whenever you need them. (Prior forms will not be accepted.) And don't forget that it is always good to have a backup file.
If you have any question about whether or not a permit is required, then please call 207-626-3889 or email gerald.r.leach@maine.gov.
Fire Sprinkler Permit Fee Schedule
Make checks payable to: "Treasurer, State of Maine"
- $1/ fire sprinkler head in new systems/ additions to existing systems. (This includes all new heads)
- $.50/ relocated fire sprinkler head. (This applies only to existing heads being reused)
- $100 for each fire pump installation, where the fire pump is listed for fire service. This does not apply to Hydro-Pro, Maine Life Safety, and NFPA 13D systems. It also does not apply to NFPA 13R standards when the pump is not listed for fire service such as small pumps as outlined in our small pump policy, (found on our website under "Fire Pumps" under "Design & Installation Issues").
- $25/ dwelling unit of each NFPA 13D system regardless of the number of fire sprinkler heads.
- $50 extra for preliminary permission to begin installation before the full submittal can be received. Typically the full submittal is received in 1 to 3 weeks. Should the full submittal not come for 6 months, and there is no communication for an extension request or reasonable explanation for the delay, then the job will be cancelled. The money will not be returned. Court action with fines may be applicable if installation work was started, and in particular if it was completed.
- $100 minimum. This $100 minimum is not added to the cost of heads when the cost of heads adds up to at least $100. The cost of the heads is conversely not added to the $100 minimum when the total cost of the heads is less than $100. For example 87 heads would cost $100, and a job with 115 heads would cost $115. The $100 minimum does not apply to NFPA 13D systems, which are $25 per dwelling unit regardless of the number of heads used.
(Permits are not required for maintenance replacement of heads, including recall programs, where there is no increase in pipe length. Plan reviews won't begin until the appropriate fee is received in the correct amount.)
Any commercial or industrial installation over $1,000,000.00 shall require review by a fire protection Engineer at additional expense to the fire sprinkler contractor.
Please call 207-626-3889 or email at gerald.r.leach@maine.gov if there are any questions.
Fire Sprinkler Permit Expiration Date
Every Fire Sprinkler System Permit has an expiration date on it. This expiration date is always at midnight of the day that is 6 months from the date the permit is issued. Does this mean that the project must be completed by that date? No, it doesn't. So what does it mean?
The significance of the expiration date is that the project must be started before the expiration date. During the 6-month time period it is possible that newer codes or rules may have been adopted, such that the newer regulations may be in place that might have requirements different from what was originally permitted. The fire sprinkler industry should alert their clients that if the project is not started before the expiration date, then a new fire sprinkler system permit is required. This also means a new permit fee would be required.
The expiration date may be extended with communication to our office if it is anticipated that the project would begin within a reasonable time after the expiration date. Once the installation begins, the permit is good for the duration of the project, regardless of how long it takes for the installation, as long as the work is fairly continuous and substantial. If the installation ceases before completion, and the job is expected to lie dormant for at least 6 months, then call our office to discuss the situation. It is possible that the remainder of the project will then need a new permit before commencing in the future.
Please call 207-626-3889 or email gerald.r.leach@maine.gov if there are any questions.
When a Fire Sprinkler Job Requires a State Permit
The fire sprinkler law requires that:
"…prior to construction of any fire sprinkler system, or prior to an addition involving more than 20 new sprinkler heads to a fire sprinkler system.a fire sprinkler system contractor shall obtain a permit…"
Replacing sprinkler heads with new heads is maintenance and does not require a permit, regardless of the number of sprinkler heads. But once extra heads are added, or pipe is added, removed or relocated, then a permit will be required when more than 20 heads are involved.
If you are about to start a job that is borderline in requiring a permit, and suspect that it is possible that once on the project, the scope of the project may expand to where a permit is required, then email or mail or fax an application form to me in advance, with a note on it, "Informational Only at This Stage." No check, plans or calcs would be required. If the job then expands to where a permit is required, then you will not be caught installing without notification to our office. If the job expands to where a permit is required, then call and let me know that the check and plans/job description will follow shortly.
The fire sprinkler law mandates regulation of the fire sprinkler industry within the State of Maine. The law does not give exceptions for private homes, non-profits, municipal, or state buildings. There are exceptions for some Federal buildings as explained on the link, "Federal Buildings & Permit Extension".
Renovation jobs do not always require a set of plans. Sometimes a typical detail and brief description of the job are adequate. It is not the intent of the office to bog the industry down with paperwork for "day-work jobs."
Please call on renovation jobs that are difficult to design. When time allows, I will be happy to do a walk-through site inspection before you begin, and then suggest how much design detail is required for the job. It could save you a lot of design time. Renovation jobs that have typical detail and brief description of the project in lieu of the plans are jobs that I prioritize for field inspection.
When in doubt about whether or not a job requires a permit, or on how much design is required, please contact me at 207-626-3889 or gerald.r.leach@maine.gov