Important Announcement From DCA

October 10, 2012

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An open letter from Edward M. Smith, Director, State of New Jersey, Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards

September 26, 2012

Dear Construction Officials and Electrical Subcode Officials:

As you may be aware, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has pulled its listing of all fire resistive cable, including listings for electrical circuit protective systems using fire resistive cable. I am writing to offer guidance on how to handle the withdrawal of these listings based on the information available.

Currently, UL still is investigating how and whether these products fail to perform and under what circumstances. We will continue to monitor this investigation closely and we will provide updated information and instructions as warranted. For now, code officials are advised to follow the below guidance:

Existing installations in any building or project for which a certificate of occupancy has been issued regardless of its age should be left as is. There is no recall or retrofit at this point in time.

For projects for which permits have been issued, but for which no certificate of occupancy has been issued, and for projects for which permit applications have been received, but for which no permit has been issued, the project should be allowed to proceed with the use of the product since the product was listed at the time of permit application. However, the applicant and the owner, if other than the applicant, should be given a copy of the enclosed notice informing them of the current situation and allowing them to make decisions based upon what is known at this time.

Projects for which applications are filed after today’s date cannot use a product for which there is no listing. In these cases, an alternate method of compliance must be used to achieve required fire rating.

Should you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact our Code Assistance Unit at (609) 292-7899 or codeassist@dca.state.nj.us.

Sincerely,

Edward M. Smith
Director
Division of Codes and Standards

TAKE NOTICE THAT UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES (UL) HAS WITHDRAWN ITS LISTING OF ALL FIRE RESISTIVE CABLE, INCLUDING ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS USING FIRE RESISTVE CABLE. UL IS CONTINUING ITS INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE PRODUCTS. PROJECTS FOR WHICH PERMITS HAVE BEEN ISSUED MAY CONTINUE. BE ADVISED THAT, DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE PRODUCTS, APPLICANTS INSTALL THESE PRODUCTS AT THEIR OWN RISK. BELOW PLEASE FIND A LINK TO INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY UL WHICH MAY AIDE IN DECIDING HOW TO PROCEED.

http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/perspectives/regulator/fire/cables/

Information on the UL announcement may be found at the below link:

http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/newsroom/newsitem.jsp?cpath=%2Fglobal%2Feng%2Fcontent%2Fcorporate%2Fnewsroom%2Fpublicnotices%2Fdata%2Ful-and-ulc-announceimportant-changes-to-certification_20120912090000.xml

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