We all know fire protection is a lot more than a fire alarm or a sprinkler system. In many buildings, the fire alarm is integrated with other systems for the purpose of making the building safer. Who ensures all of the systems perform together properly?


NFPA 4, Standard for Integrated Fire Protection and Life Safety System Testing, went into effect in 2015. It is the result of splitting NFPA 3 into two documents. NFPA 3 remains a Recommended Practice (Commissioning of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems). NFPA 4 is important because it contains requirements for the end-to-end testing of integrated fire protection and life safety systems. The challenge now is to get integrated testing requirements into the codes with a reference to NFPA 4. Until that happens, few, if any, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) will use NFPA 4.


Proposals to add requirements for integrated testing have been accepted for NFPA 101, Life Safety Code; NFPA 1, Uniform Fire Code; and NFPA 909, Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties. Proposals have been submitted to the International Code Council’s (ICC) International Fire Code, but they will not be voted on until the end of April 2016. If these proposals are accepted, our building and fire codes will reference NFPH4s.


Correct end-to-end operation of all integrated fire protection and life safety systems needs to be verified prior to occupancy and periodically over the life of the systems. Since some systems are simple integrations, such as a fire sprinkler system connected to a fire alarm system, all of NFPA 4’s requirements may not be necessary. However, for large, complex system integrations, it is imperative. For example, one NFPA 4 requirement is to have an integrated testing agent. This individual would be responsible for coordinating testing between multiple contractors to ensure the systems work together as they are supposed to. There will also be a requirement for retesting the interconnections in the future.


No time frame has been set at this point, but NFPA 4 states that, if the retesting is not going to be done within five years, the test plan must provide a risk analysis to determine the appropriate testing interval. Again, the more systems that are integrated, the more important it becomes to verify their interoperation.


In the past, people assumed the fire alarm contractor would perform the bulk of integrated system testing, even though NFPA 72 never explicitly required it. The problem is liability. When I was a contractor, I would not touch equipment that I did not install. You break it; you bought it. Now, NFPA 72 has made it clear that the responsibility of the fire alarm contractor ends at the interconnection to the other systems. 


Another problem is the periodic testing frequency of the other equipment does not always coincide with the fire-alarm-initiating device. For example, smoke dampers installed in hospitals are required to be tested only once every six years, while the smoke detectors that operate the dampers must be tested annually.


So, why the big fuss about this? As we all know, today’s installations are always fast-tracked, the bid goes to the lowest bidder and you can’t get change orders. Right?


As I recall, the most common comment on a construction site is, “That’s not my job.” So, unless someone is diligent enough to ensure everything works as intended, integrated testing may be sporadic at best. It depends on the contractors involved, the level of involvement by the designer and the AHJ, and the time allowed to finish the job. I believe NFPA 4, if properly enforced, will be a great improvement for life safety. If there is a fire and something doesn’t work right, all of the parties will hear from victims’ attorneys. NFPA 4 provides a means to ensure compliance and should reduce contractor liability.


This is also a good opportunity for fire alarm contractors to increase revenue by being named as the integrated testing agent by the owner. Since the fire alarm system is the one that all the others connect to, and since the fire alarm system initiates the operation of most of the other systems, it makes perfect sense.


This is a hot topic for 2016. Since both the International Fire Code and NFPA 101 are in their proposal stage and I am involved with both groups to move this forward, I would be interested in feedback. With your help, I believe we can improve the reliability of fire protection and life safety systems.