Meaning of "shall be of" in regulation language

Asked Oct 22 '22 at 17:33

Active Oct 23 '22 at 09:51

Viewed 120 times

There is an interesting style in some regulations e.g, in NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) I often see "shall be of".

For instance; Sprinklers shall be of the open or automatic type, or the water supply shall be of a quantity to supply all the discharge devices.

This "shall be of", especially "of", always confuses me. Could you please help me understand it?

edited Oct 23 '22 at 09:51

ermanen

asked Oct 22 '22 at 17:33

Erhan Ertaş

1

Related: When should I use "shall" versus "will"? Sprinklers don't have any motivations, so 'will' isn't appropriate. The clauses are stipulations about what the appliances are, not what they will do in the future. – Weather Vane Oct 22 '22 at 18:05
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'Sprinklers shall be of the open or automatic type' = 'Only 'open' or 'automatic' types of sprinklers are allowed'. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 22 '22 at 18:37
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Within a requirement, shall be = must be. Of here shows belonging to that sort (of sort X), or a category or value: of top quality, of pure copper, of questionable morals. – Yosef Baskin Oct 23 '22 at 01:16

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