In my everyday work with contractors installing fire alarm systems, I do not find many people who can honestly say they have read NFPA 72 2013, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, at least once. I understand that the code may not be as entertaining as a Robert Ludlum or David Baldacci novel, but we read those for enjoyment. The code is a key component of our livelihood.


It amazes me when a professional contractor waits to get caught on a code-noncompliance issue on an installation that will inevitably cost him or her profits and reputation. It also astonishes me that professional contractors do not require their technicians to read and understand the code. And, while I’m suggesting a critical reading list, let me add NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC). In fact, why not include a copy of the NEC and NFPA 72 2013 in every service truck?


My point is you shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking it is too much work to read and understand the code requirements prior to an installation. It should become a part of your preplan for an installation.


Professionals like yourself often plan the raceway layout and a color code for the wiring installation. You often plan the notification-appliance layout to minimize voltage drops, and you will use the right gauge of wire to do the job to prevent overspending on cable. You figure out the allocation of labor resources and choose the best technician to efficiently complete the installation in a timely manner. In fact, the care with which you plan helps determine your profit on every installation.


You can actually enhance profits by carefully reading and understanding the code requirements. Once you achieve this, you will find ways to save money on every installation and discover many opportunities where your code knowledge gives you a competitive edge.


For example, knowing that the code allows for a modification of smoke-detector spacing under certain conditions, or knowing what the code requires when installing smoke detectors on a waffle ceiling, could actually win you the project because you can reduce costs and, thereby, outsmart your competition.


When I consult on installations, I find contractors make some of the most common mistakes in the realm of notification appliances. For new system installations, the designer has usually specified the candela ratings for visible appliances and the correct location of horns and speakers, including the required tap setting for the speakers.


Hopefully, you and your supplier have determined the right quantity of notification appliances based on the design drawings, but if your technicians fail to follow the design drawings that clearly indicate specific candela ratings for visible notification appliances or the required power tap settings for speakers, your installation may have a problem passing an acceptance test.


Noncompliance with the design drawing can cost a great deal of time and money. You will have to remove every speaker and strobe to correct the settings and then reinstall them. You cannot blame the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) for finding your mistakes. Remember, when it comes to notification appliances, the code has some specific requirements.


The code bases the visible appliance candela ratings on the geometry of each space. Stay out of trouble by following the tables provided in Chapter 18. In addition, both the horn and loudspeaker notification appliances must meet performance requirements. The code requires a minimum audibility level and a minimum level of intelligibility. Obviously, the fire alarm system designer must ensure the design meets those requirements. But, if you fail to follow the design layout, the system will likely fail the AHJ inspection, and you will lose valuable profits.


Another issue involves you and your supplier. Some knowledgeable person must program all new systems to operate as specified—in accordance with the operational matrix or design narrative—and to have the correct device labels for the project. If you fail to get this information to your supplier in a timely fashion, you will delay the building occupancy. Programming takes longer than a few minutes, and many contractors do not understand that they must completely install the system before programming can begin.


If you don’t inform your supplier, you will experience the fun that begins during the acceptance test, which consists of all of the necessary programming changes. It is one more reason for project delays and the loss of money and reputation.


In addition to the programming assistance you need from your supplier, another concern arises from the age-old issue of technical assistance. You often assume that you and your technicians know everything necessary about installing a fire alarm system. Because you don’t want to pay for technical assistance, you tell the supplier you can get along without it. Then, when the system is nearly complete and not working, you call the supplier to troubleshoot the equipment; after all, the problem can’t be your installation, right? When the supplier wants to get paid for his time, you do not want to pay it. This will create friction. By the time I arrive on the scene to witness the system testing, I find that the work on the system has not made it ready for acceptance testing.


Speaking of the acceptance tests, you would not believe how many times I am asked when I arrive for a 100 percent pre-acceptance, “How much do you want me to test?” I can’t help but think, “What part of ‘100 percent’ don’t you understand?”


The code requires the complete testing of the fire alarm system after its initial installation. There are a number of reasons for this, but, if nothing else, remember that you may find yourself in court where you will have to raise your right hand and tell a jury what type of testing and how much of it you conducted on the fire alarm system once you completed it. For every installation you do, think carefully about how you would answer that question. You may want to argue that, if the fire alarm system control unit indicates “normal” by the illumination of the proper indicator, your installation will work properly when called on to do so.


Making certain that you have wired all fire alarm system devices and appliances provides another reason you should conduct a complete fire alarm system acceptance test. I assume you understand the concept of monitoring for integrity, what the fire alarm system control unit actually monitors, and how an improper connection can defeat that monitoring.


First, you should know that the control unit does not monitor the individual devices and appliances for proper operation. So, to ensure they work, you have to test them! In fact, the monitoring of the circuit integrity just ensures that no opens, shorts or grounds have occurred on the circuit wiring. Monitoring for integrity really only ensures that the devices and appliances remain connected. It does not assure that they will work. That assurance will only come from complete operational testing of every device and appliance.


I also find many instances where contractors will T-Tap devices on Class A circuits in such a way that the control unit simply cannot monitor the integrity of every branch connection, hence the reason for testing circuits, devices and appliances for proper operation and supervision.


Just as you know that the installation of a fire alarm system can become very hard work, so you will find that having to carefully read, understand and follow the requirements of the code is also difficult. But, this preperation ensures you have done your job properly.


Maybe reading and understanding the code is too much like work. Maybe that is why so many contractors constantly miss opportunities to profitably install code-compliant fire alarm systems. It’s a shame to see all that profit go unclaimed.