Use Fire Alarm Notification for Gas Leaks?

4/18/2023

I'm currently looking at a water treatment plant.

Electrical design wanted to coordinate using the same horn/strobes to notify for a chlorine gas leak, as it would avoid being redundant and putting up their own horn/strobes to go off during a leak.

This would require hooking up a non-fire related notification appliance to the fire alarm panel.

What are thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance.

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10 Comments

Glenn Berger

4/18/2023 08:11:17 am

IMO, since you want to evacuate the building, in the case of a hazardous material release, it should be acceptable to use the fire alarm notification devices.

With that, I would want a discrete message / input to the FACP and if possible a discrete message sent to the emergency responders.

Fire Guy

4/18/2023 08:37:36 am

You can achieve different things depending on the system used. If budget is not a worry, use a voice evacuation system and program a message that it’s a chlorine gas leak. Provides urgency but also lets people know it’s not a fire. If just using an addressable panel with horns/strobes and with an AIM on the gas detector, you can program the point reporting to the fire department/central station that it’s a chlorine gas detector. That way the FD is not rolling up expecting a fire but know that it is a gas leak and will have their Hazmat plan ready to go (or at least they should if they have a plant working with chlorine gas in their jurisdiction)

Small Change

4/18/2023 08:51:28 am

It cant be a voice system, it would have be Mass Notification. Voice is only programed to say fire.

FIRE GUY

4/18/2023 09:06:17 am

@SMALL CHANGE, provided it still rings temporal 3 and doesn’t override a fire event it is still classified as voice evacuation. MNS comes into play when you prioritize non-fire alarm events over fire alarm events. See NFPA 72 24.4.1 “fire alarm or other emergency”

I.e. if it sounds temporal 3 and says there is a gas leak, it is voice evacuation, provided the voice message switches to “there is a fire” if a WF, SD, etc. activates during the evacuation.

4/18/2023 09:19:53 am

With that being said, there is a section in NFPA 72 (29.7.7.3) that says [signals shall be distinctive so that a fire signal can be distinguished from "signals that require different actions" by the occupant.]

Although I agree, in practice the signals should be distinct, for the sake of argument,

can one argue that this signal does not require a different action as it is still an evacuation by the occupants? Therefore, forgoing requirements of a distinctive signal?

Todd E Wyatt

4/18/2023 08:38:01 am

SUMMARY
Audible alarm notification for fire alarms shall “emit a DISTINCTIVE SOUND that is not to be used for any other purpose than that of a fire alarm.”
Visible alarm notification for fire alarms do not have the same “distinctive” requirements.

EXPLANATION
Fire alarms are required per the scoping Code (e.g. 2021 IBC) based on the Occupancy Classifications (OC) of the building and/or on special conditions (e.g. Special Amusement Buildings, High-Rise Buildings).

Fire alarms can include audible and visible notifications appliances. Per 907.5.2.1 Audible alarms, “Audible alarm notification appliances shall be provided and emit a DISTINCTIVE SOUND that is not to be used for any other purpose than that of a fire alarm.”

NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (2019) is the “referenced standard” per the scoping Code.

REFERENCES
2021 IFC
ALARM NOTIFICATION APPLIANCE. A fire alarm system component such as a bell, horn, speaker, light or text display that provides audible, tactile or visible outputs, or any combination thereof. See also "Audible alarm notification appliance" or "Visible alarm notification appliance."
AUDIBLE ALARM NOTIFICATION APPLIANCE. A notification appliance that alerts by the sense of hearing.

Chapter 9 Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems
907.5.2 Alarm Notification Appliances
Alarm notification appliances shall be provided and shall be listed for their purpose.
907.5.2.1 Audible Alarms
Audible alarm notification appliances shall be provided and emit a distinctive sound that is not to be used for any purpose other than that of a fire alarm.
Exceptions:
1. Audible alarm notification appliances are not required in critical care areas of Group I-2, Condition 2 occupancies that are in compliance with Section 907.2.6, Exception 2.
2. A visible alarm notification appliance installed in a nurses' control station or other continuously attended staff location in a Group I-2, Condition 2 suite shall be an acceptable alternative to the installation of audible alarm notification appliances throughout a suite or unit in Group I-2, Condition 2 occupancies that are in compliance with Section 907.2.6, Exception 2.
3. Where provided, audible notification appliances located in each enclosed occupant evacuation elevator lobby in accordance with Section 3008.9.1 of the International Building Code shall be connected to a separate notification zone for manual paging only.

Todd E Wyatt

4/18/2023 09:21:35 am

Additional Standard references requiring audible alarms are to be "distinctively and descriptively annunciated".

Additionally, there are “mass notification systems” that work in parallel with other audible alarms.

REFERENCES
2019 NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code
Chapter 10 Fundamentals
10.10 Distinctive Signals.
10.10.1
Priority alarm signals, fire alarm signals, carbon monoxide alarm signals, supervisory signals, pre-alarm signals, and trouble signals shall be distinctively and descriptively annunciated.

ENHANCED CONTENT
All alarm, pre-alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals must be distinctively annunciated. The typical means of accomplishing this is on the display at the control unit. It could also be accomplished with a separate annunciator panel. It is critical that signal descriptions are sufficiently detailed, providing a clear indication of the condition being annunciated. Where possible, abbreviations should be kept to a minimum or standardized. These features are especially important when both mass notification system signals and fire alarm system signals are included in the system design. Refer to 10.10.4 and A.10.10.4 for additional requirements for, and an explanation of, control unit signals.

10.10.2
Audible alarm notification appliances for a fire alarm system shall produce signals that are distinctive from other similar appliances used for other purposes in the same area that are not part of the fire alarm or emergency communications system.
10.10.3
Audible alarm notification appliances for a carbon monoxide alarm system shall produce signals that are distinctive from other similar appliances used for other purposes in the same area that are not part of the carbon monoxide, fire alarm, or emergency communications system.
10.10.4*
An audible notification appliance on a control unit, on multiple control units that are interconnected to form a system, or at a remote location, shall be permitted to have the same audible characteristics for all alerting functions including, but not limited to, alarm, trouble, and supervisory, provided that the distinction between signals shall be by other means.

24.5* In-Building Mass Notification Systems.
The requirements of Section 24.5 shall apply to mass notification systems installed in buildings or structures for the purpose of notifying and instructing occupants in an emergency.

A.24.5
This section covers the application, installation, location, performance, and maintenance of mass notification systems used for emergency purposes.
An in-building mass notification system is considered to be a system used to provide information and instructions to people in a building(s) or other space using intelligible voice communications and including visual signals, text, graphics, tactile, or other communication methods.
Mass notification systems can consist of fully independent systems with minimal or no interface with the building fire alarm system, systems that report trouble and supervisory signals through the fire alarm system, systems that share audible and visual notification circuits and appliances with the fire alarm system, or combination mass notification and fire alarm systems.

24.5.1* General Performance.
The performance, selection, installation, operation, and use of a mass notification system shall comply with the requirements of Section 24.5.
A.24.5.1
Although some minimum criteria are outlined for a particular feature, the feature might not be applicable for every project.

The information and instructions delivered by a mass notification system could be initiated manually by an operator or automatically by sensors or other systems and might be delivered to the target audience using prerecorded messages or live messages, or both, tailored to the situation and the audience.

Each mass notification system could be different, depending on the anticipated threat and the level of protection intended. As an example, a particular project might not require secure radio transmissions. As such, criteria for such would not apply. However, if the authority having jurisdiction or design professional has specified secure radio transmissions, the minimum applicable criteria within this document would be required. Deviation from these minimum criteria would require approval of the stakeholders.

Mass notification systems can consist of fully independent systems with minimal or no interface with the building fire alarm system, systems that report trouble and supervisory signals through the fire alarm system, systems that share audible and visual notification circuits and appliances with the fire alarm system, or combination mass notification and fire alarm systems.

Chad

4/18/2023 08:43:36 am

I’m not in front of a code book but the AHJ can allow the FA to Evac for that as long as you treat it like any other fire alarm condition in that zone/area.

If you want to connect strobes to a gas panel only or there is no FA, they cannot say fire is all. They make ones with different words and colors that are UL listed that will work with most manufacturers.

Doug link

4/18/2023 11:30:18 pm

I have programmed a fire alarm system that was specifically accepted by the local fire marshal, state fire marshal, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), and Joint Commission for a large downtown hospital that had over 200 separate discrete voice Code Red and Fire Alarm messages.

Remember, it's the various AHJs that approve fire alarm systems, not the NFPA. (Look up the definition and appendix for the word "Acceptance" in the NFPA Code.)

There are listed-for-use systems that are capable of all that.

Peter Howard

4/18/2023 08:46:51 am

I like it. I think it's a good idea to cut down on wasted material and labor (provided as Glenn states, some notification can be made on the FACP to emergency responders as to make sure they know what type of emergency they're responding to.

Use Fire Alarm Notification for Gas Leaks?

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