Thirty years ago, fire alarm equipment contained relays only in the fire alarm control units. The most information you could obtain from a fire alarm system was the device actuation zone. That zone might represent a whole floor of the building, which created an issue when trying to find the device in alarm or the fire.


The knowledge base and expertise necessary to properly install a fire alarm system did not include the building codes and Life Safety Code because they contained few requirements for fire alarm systems. These documents typically only had fire alarm requirements for large residential or commercial buildings, such as high-rise office buildings and hospitals.


The principal source of fire alarm information came from little booklets of standards published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Nicknamed the “alphabet series,” these standards included NFPA 71, 72A, 72B, 72C, 72D, 72E, 72F—which covered the various types of fire alarm systems and detection applications—and two guides (NFPA 72G and 72H) that outlined recommended practices for notification appliances and testing of systems and devices.


By choosing the standards that applied to your project, you could determine the applicable requirements. You could probably read all of these documents in less than an hour to understand the minimum requirements affecting your installation. Also, because the systems were not complex, a technician with only a few years of electrical experience could easily install the fire alarm system portion of the contracted work.


Thirty years ago, the only tools you needed to install a fire alarm system were those you normally carried in your tool pouch. These systems required no programming. You could learn all you needed to know by asking the owner how he or she planned to label the floors. 


Typically for a large commercial building, the standards may have required you to install manual fire alarm boxes with a bell or horn mounted above each station; a heat detector in the boiler room; a smoke detector or two in the stairways and hallways; a duct smoke detector in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) supply; and a return arranged to shut down that system. To accommodate these simple requirements, you would follow NFPA 72A, 72E and—depending how you were transmitting signals off-premises—NFPA 71, NFPA 72B, NFPA 72C or NFPA 72D. You would only use fire emergency voice/alarm communications systems (EVACS), governed by NFPA 72F, in high-rise buildings. Measuring and testing intelligibility did not even come into consideration.


Fast forward 


Today, the building codes and Life Safety Code require automatic sprinkler systems in almost every new building. At a minimum, these fire protection systems require monitoring by a fire alarm system connected off-premises to some kind of supervising station. In addition, the codes have significantly strengthened the fire alarm system requirements to include, for example, EVACS in all K–12 educational facilities. NFPA combined the “alphabet series” of fire alarm standards into one National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, which has changed continually since its publication in 1993. These changes recently culminated with the adoption of the 2016 edition by the NFPA membership in June of this year.


To digest the most recent edition of the code, you would need at least four to six hours of focused study to begin to understand all of the requirements that now apply to fire alarm system design and installation. Not only does the current code contain fire alarm system requirements, but it also devotes a whole chapter to communications.


The code now permits the use of EVACS for any communication, such as a public address system or a mass notification system. So, the knowledge base and expertise has significantly expanded to include sound and communications principles and a knowledge of risk analysis and emergency-response planning.


Increased knowledge comes into play when a conflict exists between the code requirement for the fire-alarm-specific listing by a nationally recognized testing laboratory of speakers versus the intelligibility requirement for an EVACS or mass notification systems (MNS). In certain acoustically challenging areas, listed fire alarm speakers might not be capable of producing an intelligible message. In such a case, NFPA 72 2016 permits the installation of non-fire-alarm-listed speakers.


When two requirements conflict, the system’s ability to provide intelligible life safety messaging should take precedence. The NFPA Technical Committee used this logic in their deliberations and they ultimately decided what issue had the greater importance. At the same time, the requirements do not anticipate that an installer would use non-fire-alarm-listed speakers throughout the building. Rather, the installer would use non-fire-alarm-listed speakers only in such acoustically challenging spaces as atriums and very hard-surfaced areas. Furthermore, the system designer would have to demonstrate the need to use such speakers. So, a contractor must understand these principles to make the appropriate decisions when planning the installation of emergency communications systems.


Of course, today’s fire alarm equipment has greater sophistication than a simple relay-based system. Not only do the fire alarm control units contain computers, but the detection devices have programmable chips in each of them, as well.


The operational matrix of the fire alarm system now includes myriad integrated system emergency control functions and, in some cases, very sophisticated programming to ensure a system (such as occupant evacuation elevators) will operate correctly. Most contractors do not have the training or expertise to program these complicated systems. The required programming must take place earlier in the process to ensure the contractor can pretest all of the system’s functions.


In contrast to the earlier relay-based systems, the testing required for these systems has also become more complicated. The contractor must develop a carefully crafted testing plan to make certain that each aspect of the system and its devices and appliances receives a thorough operational test.


We have previously discussed the tools required, but, given the audibility, intelligibility and cabling requirements in today’s code, you require more sophisticated test equipment as well. Even though you need only what is in your tool pouch to install a fire alarm system, the balance of the “finishing” work requires a laptop computer, sound level meter and possibly an oscilloscope after you have completed the electrical portion of the work (cable, raceway, boxes, etc.).


After reading this, do you believe it is harder to install fire alarm systems today than 30 years ago? I think it still depends. If you have grown in your profession to embrace the fire alarm and EVACS changes, you will still feel comfortable installing the new systems. Because, after all, you already know that, to be successful, you will need to acquire new skills directly or develop a collaborative effort with a trusted partner so that you can continue to install reliable fire alarm and emergency communications systems.


However, if you have not grown in the profession, you will likely need to stop installing fire alarm systems sometime soon because they will become too complicated. It remains your choice. Only you can decide where you will go from here.