Minimize fire hazards by staying up-to-code. The 2018 edition of NFPA 37 governs the installation and use of stationary engines and gas turbines fueled by liquid or gaseous fuels as prime movers for emergency generators, fire pumps, and stand-by and peak power systems. Requirements address system installation, fuel supplies, lubricating systems, engine exhaust systems, control and instrumentation, instructions, and fire protection features.

Designers, installers, and AHJs will work more efficiently and confidently with the latest provisions, including key changes:

• New definitions cover the terms inlet gas pressure, line pressure regulator, overpressure protection device, rated pressure, and service regulator.
• A new requirement mandates investigation of any situation that results in a trip of the high-pressure limit control prior to manual reset.
• The allowable operating time for automatic safety shutoff valves (ASSVs) has been changed from 1 second to 2 seconds, to be consistent with ANSI Z21.21, Automatic Valves for Gas Appliances.
• The section on Overpressure Protection is revised to provide for protection for gas trains that operate between 2 psi and 125 psi, which are not addressed in NFPA 54: National Fuel Gas Code (ANSI Z223.1)
• Subsection 4.1.3, Engines Located on Roofs, has been revised to clarify the provisions related to the proximity of engines and weatherproof enclosures to combustible construction.
• A new subsection and detailed related annex material address proper anchoring of flexible connectors.
• Annex text is revised to address the concerns of products of combustion, particularly carbon monoxide, from the exhaust of stationary engines.
• Annex text to Paragraph 5.3.1.2 has been replaced with an extensive discussion of "lock-up" of pressure regulators, as addressed in ANSI Z21.80, Line Pressure Regulators.

Loss prevention professionals; designers and installers of stationary engines for fire pumps, standby power supplies, and emergency generators; insurers; and AHJs need the 2018 edition of NFPA 37 to help improve safe engine operation and minimize fire hazards.