Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels and repealing Council Directive 82/714/EEC (2006/87/EC) (repealed)

Article 10.03a Permanently installed fire-fighting systems in accommodation spaces, wheelhouses and passenger spaces

1. Fire protection in accommodation spaces, wheelhouses and passenger spaces is to be provided only by suitable automatic pressurised water sprinklers as permanently installed fire-fighting systems.

2. Installation or conversion of the systems shall be carried out only by specialised firms.

3. The systems shall be made of steel or equivalent non-combustible materials.

4. The systems shall be able to spray water at a rate of at least 5 l/m² per minute over the area of the largest room to be protected.

5. Systems spraying smaller quantities of water shall have a type-approval pursuant to IMO Resolution A 800(19) or another standard recognised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(2) of this Directive. Type-approval shall be carried out by an approved classification society or an accredited testing institution. The accredited testing institution shall comply with the European standard for general requirements for the competence of testing and calibrating laboratories (EN ISO/IEC 17025: 2000).

6. The systems shall be checked by an expert:

(a) before being put into service;

(b) before being put back into service after they have been triggered;

(c) after any modification or repair;

(d) regularly at least every two years.

7. When carrying out the check in accordance with paragraph 6, the expert shall verify whether the systems meet the requirements of this paragraph.

The check shall at least include:

(a) external inspection of the entire system;

(b) functional testing of the safety systems and nozzles;

(c) functional testing of the pressure tanks and pumping system.

8. An inspection certificate, signed by the inspector, shall be issued, showing the date of inspection.

9. The number of installed systems shall be entered in the Community certificate.

10. For protecting objects in accommodation spaces, wheelhouses and passenger spaces, permanently installed fire-fighting systems shall be permissible only on the basis of recommendations from the Committee.