Project Highlight
Cambridge, MA
RAN Fire Protection Engineering provided fire sprinkler and standpipe design for the 35 Landsdowne Street project for Millennium Pharmaceuticals. A small clean room was constructed for use in sensitive experiments. The building also contains a 150-seat auditorium, a full-service café, and staff lounges on every floor.
Size: 217,000 sqft
Boston, MA
RAN Fire Protection Engineering provided base building fire protection system design for a 14-story high-rise renovation located on a historically significant waterfront site. The scope included development of sprinkler and standpipe system infrastructure to support future tenant fit-outs, while accommodating the constraints of the existing structure and its historic context.
RAN designed a new fire pump and established distribution for the base building sprinkler and standpipe systems to ensure adequate pressure and coverage throughout the building. The system was configured to provide flexibility for future tenant modifications while maintaining compliance with applicable fire and building code requirements.
Size: 14 Stories | Construction Cost: $1,200,000
Pittsburg, PA
The 44-story Art Deco Gulf Tower is a landmark built in 1932 as Gulf Oil’s headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh. The tower experienced a basement fire in May 2021 due to an electrical system failure, leading to a 6-month closure for repairs.
RAN played a crucial role in this repair process, providing both code consulting and engineering services to update the fire protection systems.
The engineering services included the development of drawings and technical specifications for the replacement of the original 1932 fire pump system with a new 480-volt, 3-phase electric fire pump system. RAN evaluated the fire pump system to identify the pressure needed to protect the building. We also provided design modifications to the existing fire standpipe system and comprehensive fire sprinkler master planning for future implementation.
Size: 44 stories
Boston, MA
The JFK Federal Building is a prominent federal complex consisting of twin 26-story high-rise towers and an adjoining four-story structure, originally designed by Walter Gropius. RAN Fire Protection Engineering was retained to design a comprehensive fire alarm system upgrade serving the occupied high-rise buildings.
Services included replacement of existing conventional devices with addressable smoke detectors and manual pull stations, along with installation of new notification appliances throughout. Notification appliance power booster panels were installed on each floor and integrated with the existing fire alarm riser infrastructure using addressable monitor modules. Existing fire alarm controls and system programming were modified to support the upgraded system.
Due to continuous occupancy by multiple federal agencies, the design incorporated a phased implementation strategy to maintain system functionality and minimize disruption. The upgraded system provides improved detection, notification, and system monitoring in accordance with NFPA requirements.
Size: 26 Stories | Construction Cost: $1,500,000
Ithaca, NY
The Rothchild Mixed Use Development is a 13-story building located in Ithaca, NY, featuring 10 stories of residential space above a 3-story parking garage. RAN Fire Protection Engineering was contracted to provide professional fire engineering and code consulting services to the new development, focusing on the oversight and commissioning of the smoke control systems. RAN’s involvement included assisting the design team with code issues and offering support during the acceptance testing phase.
Albany, NY
RAN Fire Protection Engineering was retained by the Office of General Services to provide comprehensive fire protection engineering services for the Corning Tower and four Agency Buildings. These services encompassed a detailed code analysis, fire pump design, standpipe system design, and a crucial system lifespan analysis, as the existing 1973 fire protection system required modernization.
Ultrasonic testing was employed to evaluate the fire sprinkler and standpipe piping systems within these structures, assessing pipe metal loss, corrosion rates, and remaining pipe life. RAN’s thorough investigation, utilizing a high number of thickness measurements, provided a reliable evaluation for each property. The final reports included pass/fail recommendations based on a 10-year remaining service life, offering the client a clear assessment of system integrity and identifying areas of concern. Ultimately, RAN lowered constructions costs because only the corroded pipes were replaced.
Furthermore, a comprehensive code analysis was performed on each building to ensure compliance with NFPA standards and the New York State Building Code. A significant upgrade involved designing automatic fire pumps and automatic transfer switches, as the previous fire pumps in the Corning Tower and Agency Buildings were manual and only supplied the standpipe systems, not the sprinkler systems.
Size: 10,000 sqft | Construction Cost: $330,000
Boston, MA
Motor Mart Garage is an 8-story high-rise parking garage constructed in 1927 as a parking storage building. It is a unique five -sided structure with 7 levels of parking and ground floor retail space.
The original building’s fire protection systems needed considerable upgrading to meet the current building code requirements. RAN’s president provided lead fire protection design services. A new diesel fire pump was installed to serve one of the largest dry pipe sprinklers systems in the city of Boston.
Size: 8 Stories | Construction Cost: $250,000