L1 Fire Alarm System Requirements

[Brook Mithani]

Inthe first installment of this series, we talked about the various ways of accomplishing the initiation, occupant notification, and monitoring of a fire alarm system. In this piece, we cover how NFPA 101: Life Safety Code specifically requires the following occupancies to perform those functions:

In the meantime, this article serves as a basis for understanding pretty dense code and, as such, requires a lot of references. To get the most out of the read, we suggest cozying up with your copy of NFPA 101 to follow along!

Educational and detention and correctional occupancies have similar requirements for alarms and their monitoring. NFPA 101 states that a facility where six or more people up to grade 12 receive instruction for four or more hours a day is considered an educational occupancy (6.1.3.1). A facility housing at least one person under restraint is a detention and correctional occupancy (6.1.7.1).

15.3.4.2.1(2) In buildings where all normally occupied spaces are provided with a two-way communication system between such spaces and a constantly attended receiving station from where a general evacuation alarm can be sounded, the manual fire alarm boxes shall not be required, except in locations specifically designated by the authority having jurisdiction.

New educational facilities must always employ fire alarm monitoring in accordance with 9.6.4 (14.3.4.3.2). Existing facilities may continue to call emergency forces on their own until it comes time to replace their fire alarm system, at which point they must install a means for monitoring and automatic emergency forces notification that complies with Section 9.6.4 (15.3.4.3.2).

23.3.4.2 Initiation. Initiation of the required fire alarm system shall be by manual means in accordance with 9.6.2 and by means of any required detection devices or detection systems, unless otherwise permitted by the following:

Assembly occupancies are those where 50 or more people gather for deliberation, worship, entertainment, eating, drinking, amusement, awaiting transportation, or similar uses (6.1.2.1). Fire alarm requirements kick in when these structures exceed an occupant load of 300 people.

Clearly, these facilities can monitor their own alarms. But if an authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) deems it impractical for a new assembly occupancy to accommodate such a receiving station, the facility can employ both of the measures described below:

Buildings that store and display merchandise (mercantile occupancies) and those used for all other types of transactions (business occupancies) have very similar requirements for their fire alarm systems in NFPA 101.

3.3.88.1* Level of Exit Discharge. The story that is either (1) the lowest story from which not less than 50 percent of the required number of exits and not less than 50 percent of the required egress capacity from such a story discharge directly outside at the finished ground level; or (2) where no story meets the conditions of item (1), the story that is provided with one or more exits that discharge directly to the outside to the finished ground level via the smallest elevation change.

Whichever initiation system they use, the fire alarms in new business and mercantile occupancies must notify occupants automatically, as specified in section 9.6.3 (36.3.4.3.1 and 38.3.4.3.1). These may also use a positive alarm sequence (outlined in section 9.6.3.4), which allows for a slight delay between alarm initiation and occupant notification.

NFPA 101 places the same requirements on existing business and mercantile occupancies but also gives them the option of instead using a voice announcement to alert occupants (37.3.4.3.1 and 39.3.4.3.1). If these existing occupancies opt to perform occupant notification in accordance with 9.6.3, they may use the presignal system described below:

9.6.3.3 Where permitted by Chapters 11 through 43, a presignal system shall be permitted where the initial fire alarm signal is automatically transmitted without delay to a municipal fire department, to a fire brigade (if provided), and to an on-site staff person trained to respond to a fire emergency.

Buildings where products or material are manufactured (industrial occupancies) or where products, materials or vehicles are stored (storage occupancies) need alarm systems if they meet certain size or hazard levels (NFPA 101, 6.1.12.1 and 6.1.13.1). This part of the code actually does not distinguish between new and existing structures, so requirements here apply for both unless otherwise noted.

All industrial facilities with 100 or more total occupants and more than 25 people above or below the level of exit discharge to have a fire alarm system (40.3.4.1). According to Section 42.3.4.1, all storage facilities must have an alarm system unless they:

NFPA 101 gives two options for occupant notification: notify occupants in accordance with Section 9.6.3, or have the alarm initiate both audible and visible signals at a constantly attended location (40.3.4.3 and 42.3.4.3). If the facility contains high hazard industrial materials or storage contents, occupant notification must include an evacuation signal (40.3.4.3.4 and 42.3.4.3.4).

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A building that already has a pre existing sprinkler and alarm system. That is one story, and has seperated suites within. Can a new buisness rip out the pre existing alarm, audible and visual systems?

Does a Municipal Garage require horn strobes and visuals? We will be extending the fire alarm system out from the main building to the garage. Adding a nac panel in garage to accommodate. The owner wants to be notified in an event of a fire back from the main family panel.

Does my company need to have an fire alarm system? We manufacture liquid asphalt so we have over 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel in underground storage tanks. We have a sprinkler system, but no pull boxes or loud speaker that would reach all the different buildings on the premise. Is it a law to have a warning system of some kind to alert all employees of a potential safety hazard?

9.6.3.6 Unless otherwise provided in 9.6.3.6.1 through 9.6.3.6.8, notification signals for occupants to evacuate shall be by audible and visible signals in accordance with NFPA72 and ICC A117.1, Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, or other means of notification acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.

9.6.3.6.7* Public mode visual notification appliances in accordance with NFPA72 shall not be required in designated areas as permitted by Chapters 11 through 43, provided that they are replaced with approved alternative visible means.

A risk analysis in accordance with Section 9.14 shall be performed for business occupancies containing a classroom where the building is owned, rented, leased, or operated by a college or university to determine whether a mass notification system is required.

Do you have a place or service or somewhere I can click a link to submit my question with some information about my building and system, and have a fire protection professional provide an answer based on best practices, standards, and codes?

Hi, here is a laboratory in School and we are facing the problem of False alarm when they perform the experiment in lab, due to the fumes aften smoke detectors are activate and generate the false alarm, could we replace the smoke detector with heat detector in school laboratory.

As far as model codes that local rules are typically based on, the International Building Code, for example, references NFPA 72 for inspection requirements. The inspection, testing, and maintenance requirements are too lengthy to detail here. However, for CO detectors, for example, NFPA 72 requires at least monthly inspections and following manufacturer instructions for inspecting/testing CO alarms (the individual devices) and more testing and inspection requirements for CO detectors that are part of a full fire/life safety alarm system (You can read more about those requirements for CO detection here).

Fire Alarm Control Panels (FACPs) are the heart of your fire protection system: they're the bridge between devices that check for hazardous situations and devices that let people know there's a problem. Smoke alarms and manual pull stations send signals to your Fire Alarm Control Panel. These signals trigger a series of events that alert building occupants to possible fire. The panels then send out visual and audible alarms indicating a danger of fire; FACPs help occupants evacuate safely and allow emergency services to respond quickly to situations.

Addressable systems, however, are an intelligent alternative, and offer higher accuracy when locating fires. Unlike conventional fire control panels, each field device has an individual address. This pinpoint accuracy is safer and more cost effective, allowing firefighters to spend less time searching for fire and more time putting it out.

The Ontario Building Code determines whether or not a facility needs a fire alarm system. Buildings with a contained use area, impeded egress zones, or more than three storeys need a fire alarm system; any building with a total occupant load greater than 300 people will also need a fire alarm system. Any business, personal service, or mercantile structure with occupant loads of 150 above or below the first storey need their own system as well.

Finally, low to medium-hazard industrial facilities need a fire alarm system if the occupant load is 75 above or below the first storey. As an exception to the rule, you don't need a fire alarm system in residential buildings where an exit or public corridor serves four or fewer suites. Residential buildings where each suite has direct access to an outside exit that leads to ground level are also exempt.

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