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...
The 2019 edition of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, was voted on during the technical session at the NFPA Conference in Las Vegas in June. Only a few Certified Amending Motions were filed, none of which would...
In April, I discussed why we typically install a fire alarm system (life safety—early warning) and began a discussion on some of the issues to be aware of when designing and installing spot type smoke detectors. I promised I...
There have been a few changes to the requirements for fire alarm system power supplies, and more are coming. This is a good time to review the ones we have so far. Obviously, since a fire alarm system is a life safety system...
I know from experience with contractors in the field that, when it comes to mass notification systems (MNS), being required to perform a risk analysis for the MNS ranks just above getting a root canal at the dentist’s office...
Beginning with the 2010 edition of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, all of the “styles” of circuits were deleted, and four “classes” were added. A new chapter, Circuits and Pathways, was added during the...
It seems like we just finished working on the 2016 NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, but the deadline to submit public inputs for the 2019 edition was June 29. I am on the protected premises and correlating...
