The Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association has resolved an internal dispute and will not require sprinklers and smoke control systems in livestock confinement operations as part of the fire code.

NFPA's 150 code calls for sprinklers in housing for Category A animals - like zoos - and earlier this year the 150 technical committee rejected a proposal to extend the requirement to all housed animals. That was appealed at NFPA' technical meeting in Las Vegas this past June. The group's membership voted to extend the requirement to livestock - but the technical committee reaffirmed its opposition and the standards council upheld them last month - keeping livestock operations exempt from sprinkler requirements. However - Standards Council Secretary Ann Cronin says the issue is not yet closed…