Excerpts from 2000 INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE®

903.3.1.1 NFPA 13 sprinkler systems.

Where the provisions of this code require that a building or portion thereof be equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system, sprinklers shall be installed throughout in accordance with NFPA 13 except as provided in Sections 903.3.1.1.1, 903.3.1.2 and 903.3.1.3.

903.3.1.1.1 Exempt locations.

Automatic sprinklers shall not be required in the following rooms or areas where such rooms or areas are protected with an approved automatic fire detection system in accordance with Section 907.2 that will respond to visible or invisible particles of combustion. Sprinklers shall not be omitted from any room merely because it is damp, of fire-resistance-rated construction or contains electrical equipment.

1. Any room where the application of water, or flame and water, constitutes a serious life or fire hazard.

2. Any room or space where sprinklers are considered undesirable because of the nature of the contents, when approved by the building official.

3. Generator and transformer rooms separated from the remainder of the building by walls and floor/ceiling or roof/ceiling assemblies having a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours.

4. Spaces or areas in telecommunications buildings used exclusively for telecommunications equipment, associated electrical power distribution equipment, batteries and standby engines, provided  those  spaces  or  areas are equipped throughout with an automatic fire alarm system and are separated from the remainder of the building by a wall with a fire-resistance rating of not less than 1 hour and a floor/ceiling assembly with a fire-resistance rating of not less than 2 hours.

5. In rooms or areas that are of noncombustible construction with wholly noncombustible contents.