Scope Split at a Mixed-Use Tenant Build-Out
Ridgeline Fire Protection holds an Ohio fire protection system contractor license for suppression work. It is installing sprinklers in a 12,000 sq ft office tenant build-out in Columbus. The scope includes relocating 14 pendent heads, adding a 2-inch standpipe hose valve in the stair, and installing new flow and tamper switches on the riser. The building has an existing addressable fire alarm panel, and the fire alarm subcontractor is three weeks behind. The general contractor tells Ridgeline to 'just land the two switch wires on the panel' so the inspection is not delayed. Ridgeline's qualified designer is on medical leave; the project manager wants a NICET Level II technician to lay out the relocated heads and submit the drawing. The technician has six years of field experience but no Ohio designer credential. No permit has been pulled yet.
1. Which parts of the described scope may Ridgeline perform under its current license, and which parts require another licensed contractor? Explain the basis for the split.
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Ridgeline's suppression contractor license covers the sprinkler relocation and the standpipe hose valve because those are fire suppression system components. The flow and tamper switches are also part of the suppression system, so Ridgeline may install and mechanically connect them. The final electrical termination, programming, and trouble-shooting at the existing addressable fire alarm panel are fire alarm work. That work must be done by a contractor holding the appropriate fire alarm credential under the State Fire Marshal's licensing scheme, not by a suppression contractor acting outside its scope. The key fact is that the panel is existing life-safety equipment, not a dry contact supplied solely for the sprinkler contractor. Ridgeline should coordinate with the fire alarm subcontractor, leave the switch terminations for that contractor, and document the division in its contract and permit documents. Doing the panel wiring itself would be unlicensed activity and could expose both the company and the qualifier to discipline.
2. Can the NICET Level II technician prepare and submit the sprinkler layout? What must happen before the drawing is submitted?
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Field experience and NICET certification are useful, but they do not substitute for the designer credential required by the state licensing program. The technician may collect field dimensions, locate existing mains, and prepare a draft under supervision, but the final design and submittal must be by a qualified designer recognized by the State Fire Marshal. The project manager should not submit a drawing that is not prepared or sealed by the proper designer merely because the regular designer is on leave. Before submittal, Ridgeline should arrange for another qualified designer to review the layout, perform or verify the hydraulic calculations, confirm the standpipe and sprinkler spacing, and sign the shop drawings. The contractor should also pull the permit in its own licensed name before any installation begins; a permit cannot cure an unqualified design.
3. What should Ridgeline do about the general contractor's instruction and the missing permit?
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Ridgeline should decline the panel wiring instruction in writing and tell the GC to sequence the fire alarm contractor for terminations and programming. It should not start work without the permit, because the permit is the AHJ's authorization and the licensed contractor is responsible for the scope on it. The safe sequence is: obtain the permit, have a qualified designer complete and submit the drawings, install suppression work, coordinate switch wiring with the fire alarm contractor, and request inspection only after the work is complete and tested. If the GC pressures the company to proceed, the owner should explain the license-scope and permit risks rather than treating them as schedule obstacles. A short email confirming the scope split and permit status protects Ridgeline if the AHJ later finds unpermitted or out-of-scope work on site.