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Where in NFPA-72 OR 13 does it discuss the location of control panels for pre-action systems?
Is there any guidance? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe
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How do people do elevator recall during dust-producing construction/tenant fit-outs?
I have heard smoke detectors being replaced with temporary heat detectors. I have heard bag the smoke detectors (but keep it live) and install an adjacent heat detector so that flames could melt the plastic bag. How have people done this? Before people say ask the AHJ, I am an AHJ, and I am trying to keep my constituents safe and am waffling back and forth. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe With the lithium ion battery problem, why not develop or use detection which sounds alarm if a hazard is developing?
Is that already a path people are recommending? Are there methods that already pick up on this? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Is there a code or standard that requires inspection or testing, or preventative annual, quarterly or monthly maintenance of smoke management systems?
Is this spelled out somewhere and I'm just missing it? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe What are the applicable requirements for speaker placement in high-rise Group R-2 buildings equipped with fire alarm or emergency voice/alarm communication systems, specifically regarding speakers inside dwelling or sleeping units?
What practices have you been applying or enforcing in these areas? Industry feedback suggests inconsistent approaches: some designs include speakers within bedrooms and living rooms, while others install speakers only in the corridors and rely on in-unit smoke-detector sounder bases for occupant notification, expecting residents to move into the corridor to hear prerecorded or live voice messages. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe From a designer's perspective, if a building is small and simple enough, and the owner doesn't care all too much about finishes, then locating a main fire alarm control panel and auxiliary equipment (like a transceiver) can often go near the front entry of a building.
In almost all other cases, I would prefer a back of house space. From an AHJ's perspective - what do you prefer to see for the main fire alarm control panel location? If the panel is anywhere but the front main entry, do you always mandate a fire alarm annunciator panel? NFPA 72 (2025 Edition) states that "All required annunciation means shall be located as required by the authority having jurisdiction to facilitate an efficient response to the situation." Is that your go-to reference to make sure that either the main panel or an annunciator is at the front entry? I understand the design side, but I'm interested in your thought process in terms of plan review and operationally what you would expect to see across a variety of projects. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We are completing a buildout for a spec suite; the shell warehouse building was just constructed and has a fire sprinkler supervising panel.
The fire department is saying we have to tie the duct detector into the fire alarm panel. This building does not have fire alarm, only sprinkler monitoring. Are they correct in saying we have to tie in the duct detector? Thank you! Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe How do you coordinate what dialing out method with the client/telecom group, etc.?
A new fire alarm system, let's say a college building, for example, what do you typically see? Does the college have its own monitoring station? Do you dial out signals via cellular or internet, or both? Do dial-out signals go to both the college monitoring station (say, a life safety office) and a central monitoring station? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Good morning, I am in Florida and use the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition, which references NFPA 1 and 101 (2021), NFPA 72 (2019), NFPA 96 (2021), and NFPA 17A (2021).
I have a mixed occupancy strip mall that is fully sprinklered and has a fire alarm that was initially installed to monitor the sprinklers only. One tenant upgraded the panel to accommodate a full fire alarm for their unit. A different tenant, mercantile class C, in the strip mall has installed a hood and hood suppression system along with duct detectors for their upgraded AC system. The ducts serve only their unit and do not cross demising walls or serve other units. My interpretation is that the duct detectors and hood suppression systems must be tied into the building's fire alarm. Is this correct? Another question, would this tenant then need to upgrade their unit to include pulls and notification appliances? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Can an outside horn and strobe be used for a general alarm, or just for water flow only?
I can't find anything specific in NFPA 72, 2016 edition. Is it more of an AHJ call? I can understand where it could be a nuisance if used for general alarm notification. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe For an apartment building (highrise), we have a situation here where a child with autism is has intense panic whenever there’s a fire alarm, including false alarms and testing.
We are planning to disconnect the smoke detector sounders from their flat and let the sounders from the common area notify them in case of a fire scenario. Is this allowed by code? Would it be allowed if permitted by AHJ? Would NFPA 72 or 101 address this specifically, or are there means of alternative approaches for a situation like this? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I have an IT room with FM-200 under the raised floor and a pre-action sprinkler system at the ceiling. Contractors are replacing CRAC units.
Should the CRAC units be connected to the suppression system to shutdown upon activation of the FM200 system? I have done 2 days of research with no answer. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe How do you place fire alarm bells?
Do you just place them normally as you would place wall-mounted horns? Dealing with an old building, an existing system, but not that old fire alarm system that uses alarm bells instead of horns or speakers. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Do dual electrical feeds from two separate sources (same service provider, two different substations) with a UPS storage battery system that will support full load for 4+ hours meet the requirements for fire alarm secondary power?
Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe In reference to the 2025 edition of NFPA 72, Table 14.4.3.2, Item 17(7)(a), it is stated that "manufacturer’s published instructions that ensure smoke entry from the protected area, through the vents, or into the sensing chamber" may be used, which appears to include self-testing smoke detectors such as the Honeywell self-test series.
These detectors introduce a small quantity of smoke or aerosol into the sensing chamber as part of a built-in functional test sequence. It is my understanding that this self-testing technology may fulfill the requirement for a functional test that traditionally uses an aerosol can to verify smoke entry and detector response during both initial acceptance and annual testing. Further, Section 14.4.4.2 states that “If automatic testing is performed at least weekly by a remotely monitored fire alarm control unit specifically listed for the application, the manual testing frequency shall be permitted to be extended to annually in accordance with Table 14.4.3.2.” However, this section does not explicitly clarify whether this weekly automatic testing relates to the smoke detector’s functional test, sensitivity test, or both. With that context, I would like to get clarification on the following points: Does NFPA 72 (2025) permit the use of self-test smoke detectors that introduce a small amount of test smoke into the sensing chamber to fully satisfy the functional testing requirements (including smoke entry testing) for both initial acceptance and annual testing per Table 14.4.3.2? If an approved self-test detector performs an automatic internal functional test that verifies smoke entry into the sensing chamber and provides results to a remotely monitored fire alarm control unit, does NFPA 72 still require a manual smoke entry test (e.g., aerosol can) for annual testing purposes? Does the reference in Section 14.4.4.2 to “automatic testing performed at least weekly” apply to functional testing, sensitivity testing, or both? And is there any mandate elsewhere in NFPA 72 requiring weekly testing of smoke detectors? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Does a Sauna room require fire alarm notification?
Is there any code requirement on this one way or another? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Before people say, "Ask the AHJ," I am him; he is me.
I have an applicant who has combined plots of land with a mid-rise and some detached townhouses. A shared fire line supplies the two structures, but only the mid-rise FACP monitors the supply tamper. The townhouse FACP will not know if the water is off (except for the tampers at the risers within the townhouse). The buildings are owned by the same ownership. They are arguing they are technically meeting IBC 2015 903.4 "Valves controlling the water supply for automatic sprinkler systems, pumps, tanks, water levels, and temperatures, critical air pressures, and waterflow switches on all sprinkler systems shall be electrically supervised by a listed fire alarm control unit." It is being monitored, but the fire marshal and I are of the opinion this doesn't provide monitoring for the townhouse and does not meet the intent of the code. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether a shared line can be monitored by only one building that it serves? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe My company is hiring a contractor to install our central station headend equipment (servers and software).
I would like to include the testing requirements in the statement of work. I looked through NFPA 72-19 Chapters 14 and 26, as well as other chapters and codes. I do not see the requirements for central station headend testing. I think the subscribers will need to ping the central station with the date, emergency code, building, etc. Does code require a minimum amount of information the subscribers must send to the Central Station? If so, could you tell me the required subscriber information that needs to be sent to the central station or provide the location in code for the information to be sent to the central station from the subscribers? I don't see any requirements or criteria for testing, and I want to be sure we're conducting this appropriately. Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe If a duct detector is installed, and the mechanical unit has a capacity of less than 2,000 CFM, it is required by code for the duct detector to be connected to the fire alarm panel?
Alternatively, removing the detectors can be considered in this situation. Looking for relevant code and standard basis. We're under the 2021 IFC, 2021 IBC, and 2019 NFPA 72. Thank you! Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe We have an exterior elevator on a two-story building, required by ADA.
The required smoke detector outside the elevator door, installed under the soffit overhang, will quickly fill with dust/dirt. Any thoughts about using a heat detector at this spot that ties into the elevator recall requirement? I am the AHJ. Thank you. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I hear so many times that if the fire alarm panel dies, the entire building's fire alarm system must be brought up to current code.
Can anyone educate the world on when building fire alarm systems must be completely upgraded to the current code? The International Existing Building Code (IEBC) Section 6 lists all possible combinations. Level 1, level 2, and Level 3. None of them require a full upgrade to the current code when the main panel hits its end of life. If a system was to need to replace all items in its location with a different system, reusing locations and wire, it would not meet a Level 3 requirement alone and would simply be using new equipment or fixtures that serve the same purpose. Can someone give me an actual code path that requires a full upgrade in this scenario? Thanks in advance. Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe I have an R-2 convent with existing 120v smokes in the sleeping areas and they are installing a new FACP including low frequency notification in the sleeping areas.
I’ve read the commentary for IBC 907.5.2.3.3. Would you say based on this section that they would need to either replace the existing 120’s and install system smoke detectors, or change the existing 120’s to a combo audio/visual model? I'm trying to determine if the intent behind this is that the existing 120v smoke alarms now would also be required to activate visible signaling as well. Appreciate your input! Moderator: Link Directly to IBC 2021 907.5.2.3.3 Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe NFPA 72 (2016) Section 17.7.5.3 says a duct smoke detector is required in the supply air duct; on the other hand, the IMC (2020) Section 606.2.1 says a duct smoke detector is required in the return air duct.
Which should I follow? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe For a deluge system with pilot sprinkler detectors in a column (5 levels), where is the pilot line required?
At what levels do we need detection? Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe Does NFPA 72 (or other standards) have any limit for the environment in which the beam detector is allowed to be installed?
Sent in anonymously for discussion. Click Title to View | Submit Your Question | Subscribe |
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