Document: NRC Regulatory Guide
Document ID: 80776ca5-a83d-4667-9a94-0bffa1befa91
Document Type: regulatory_guide
Title: Fire Protection Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plants (Rev. 1)
Source: NRC Regulatory Guide Division 1
Source URL: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1221/ML12216A013.pdf
Revision Date: 2023-06
Chapter: 
Section ID: RG-1.120
CFR Part: 
CFR Title: 

Content:
......................................... 22 REFERENCES ........................................................................... 23 A. INTRODUCTION General Design Criterion 3, "Fire Protection," of Appendix A, "General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants," to 10 CFR Part 50, "Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities," requires that structures, systems, and components important to safety be designed and located to minimize, consistent with other safety requirements, the probability and effect of fires and explosions. Noncombustible and heat-resistant materials are required to be used~wherever prac- tical throughout the unit, particularly in locations such as the containment and control room. Criterion 3 also requires that fire detection and suppression systems of appropriate capacity and capability be provided and designed to minimize the adverse effect of fires on structures, sys- tems, and components important to safety and that firefighting systems be designed to ensure that their failure, rupture, or inadvertent operation does not significantly impair the safety capabil- ity of these structures, systems, and components. This guide presents guidelines acceptable to the NRC staff for implementing this criterion in the development of a fire protection program for nuclear power plants. The purpose of the fire protection program is to ensure the capability to shut down the reactor and maintain it in a safe shutdown condition and to minimize radioactive releases to the environment in the event of a fire. It implements the philosophy of defense-in-depth protection against the hazards of fire and its associated effects on safety-related equipment. If designs or methods different from the guidelines recommended herein are used, they must provide equivalent fire protection. Suitable bases and justification should be provided for alternative approaches to establish acceptable implementation of General Design Criterion 3. This guide addresses fire