Why do I have to follow the code for a nonrequired fire alarm system? I often receive this question or a similar one from installation contractors. Specifically, the question centers around the installation of smoke detectors...
We all know the importance of testing fire alarm systems, so this is a good time to review some recent changes in the NFPA 72 testing requirements and discuss some best practices. While teaching seminars, I always used to say...
The Great Chicago Fire started on Oct. 8, 1871. One of the most significant fires of its time, it left around 300 dead and 100,000 people homeless. The fire occurred in a mostly residential area, destroying over 17,000...
In my July column, I reviewed the reason and importance for performing battery calculations. In this article, I will continue the conversation and review voltage-drop calculations. There has been some confusion about what...
When are duct smoke detectors required and by which codes? Who must supply and install them, and how they should be connected into the fire alarm system? The ICC Mechanical Code, Section 606, states, “Air distribution systems...
Knowing how to perform battery and voltage drop calculations is essential to ensuring an installed system will operate properly, and especially important in the plan review process. Battery and voltage drop calculations are...
Upgrading aging infrastructure seems to be on everyone’s minds in the post-COVID world we are moving toward. Many contractors will be called on for their recommendations for upgrading building fire alarm systems in their...
In the 2018 edition of the International Building Code, the documentation information in paragraph 907.1.2 on fire alarm shop drawings was deleted. A statement was added telling users to prepare the shop drawings per NFPA 72...
When I hear “NFPA 72 requires smoke or heat detectors to be installed throughout a space,” I immediately know the fire alarm system installer has not read the entirety of the code, nor do they understand the code process...
Because March is still winter, the weather can be very cold and stormy or it can be nice and warm. Since a lot of people will be staying inside with the heat on, this seems to be a good time to review the carbon monoxide...
Designers and installers tend to fall into the same four traps when working on new fire alarm system installations. The first is not understanding NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, and the code process. The...
How well do you understand the NFPA 72 requirements for pathway survivability? Like many other fire alarm applications, the code is not always clear, and there are quite a few different interpretations on this subject. Having...
Your life could depend on being able to hear and understand emergency messages broadcast from an emergency voice alarm system. Originally, NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, only stated that the message had to...
The question of whether fire alarm systems will work when needed focuses on operational reliability. Ultimately, the goal for any system is that it will detect the fire early enough and sound the alarm loud enough to ensure...
Too many people look at NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, as a design manual and feel using the book is all that is necessary when designing a fire alarm system. Others assume that if they know how to put...
As a member of the NFPA 72 Protected Premises Technical Committee during the past few code cycles, I have found it very interesting to discuss proposed changes to fire alarms of the future. Technology is improving the...
When I discuss a fire alarm system with a contractor in the field, they always state their system installation complies with NFPA 72 2019, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. So, when I ask which chapter in the code they...
Some of the greatest changes in NFPA 72 over the last couple of code cycles have been the changes in ways to transmit signals from the fire alarm control unit to the monitoring facility. I’d like to take this opportunity to...
It's common in our business that almost every new fire alarm system we install is the final system to come online. However, a building does not get an occupancy permit unless its fire alarm system passes the acceptance test...
One of my passions, other than the National Electrical Code (NEC), has been fire alarm systems, as covered by NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. When I was a licensed electrical contractor in the Phoenix area in...
