Designing and installing commercial fire alarm systems represents one of the most important tasks in our industry. Obviously, the importance of this work speaks for itself. A well-designed fire alarm can create a fire department response to an emergency that can save your business. More importantly, these systems also saves lives. However, very few people outside of the industry have any clue as to how this process happens. This can cause frustration on a couple different fronts.
For starters, many business owners want a fire alarm installed quickly when opening a business. Unfortunately, this process generally proves anything but quick. Additionally, alarm requirements can make even small fire alarm systems grow in cost very quickly. The amount of equipment dictated by fire codes ensures that we cannot install these systems on a small budget. In this post, we explain how we complete the commercial fire alarm installation process, from initial design, to installation, to job completion and final inspections! Let’s get started with a look at where we go to find the requirements for any fire alarm we install.
Where do Fire Alarm Regulations Originate?
Both regional and national codes and regulations help shape the fire alarm requirements we must follow. The International Business Code (or “IBC”) sorts businesses into classification “groups.” Certain groups of businesses always require monitored fire detection. In other instances, factors such as a building’s size and capacity come into play as well.
From there, the National Fire Alarm and Signal Code and National Electric Code created by the National Fire Protection Association (or “NFPA 72” and “NFPA 70”, respectively) creates guidelines as to how security companies must install and monitor these systems. Furthermore, each state often creates their own legal requirements for fire alarm installation and monitoring. In cases where state and national codes differ, state codes take precedence. You can find Massachusetts’ own state fires laws here.
The National Fire Protection Association creates the codes that govern fire system installation and monitoring.
Once we determine that we must install a fire alarm, we have to follow all relevant regulations to a “T.” These include details on the type of wiring and equipment we must install. They also determine how many devices you must have installed based on the dimensions of the rooms in your building and what you use the rooms for. Now that you know what resources we use to design fire alarms, let’s look at a basic overview of some of the most important general regulations contained within these sets of codes.
General Alarm Requirements
When we design an alarm, following a few basic guidelines can go a long way towards determining what equipment we’ll need to install at your property. For starters, every exterior exit should have a manual pull station installed nearby. This allows anyone fleeing a potential fire threat to manually activate the alarm and call for help. Additionally, we must install these devices within 200 feet of each other if exit locations do not make this happen on their own. We must also install strobes and horn strobes to provide blinking light and blaring horn responses to any alarm. We must install strobes in every restroom, and horn strobes in common areas at locations sufficient to properly notify occupants to a fire.
Finally, we must space smoke and heat detectors at intervals that will catch a fire quickly. Normally, we must install detectors within 30 feet of each other, including one in each room, hallway, or other area of a building, as well as one at the top and bottom of every staircase. However, buildings with higher ceilings require even closer spacing than this. We use the NFPA 72 code book to determine precisely how to space detectors based on a building’s exact ceiling height. At this point, you should have a basic idea of how we begin designing a commercial fire alarm. Now, let’s see what we must do to get under way on an installation after completing this initial design process.
Requirements for Alarm Companies Designing Fire Alarms
In addition to installing an alarm properly, we must complete a good amount of work before getting started. First, we perform a security audit of your property to design the alarm. We do so using a map of your building, while also taking measurements to ensure proper device placement. Of course, some of the devices we mentioned earlier, such as pull stations, require simple observation to map out. However, smoke and heat detectors require careful planning to meet codes. For this reason, we strongly urge customers to provide a true-to-scale floor plan for our walkthrough, rather than trying to map out the building as we go.
From there, we must create a full alarm design and submittal package for the local building department. This includes the completed map, with all device locations indicated using a key to allow an easy interpretation to any shorthand used in the mapping of equipment. Additionally, we must provide a brief narrative indicating the type of business we are securing, and how. Finally, we provide spec sheets for each type of device we plan on installing. As you can probably guess, the submittal process can get tedious!
Once submitted, the packet must get reviewed by the local authorities. The building department often works with the local fire department to approve these plans. Upon approval, we receive the proper licenses to complete our installation, which lets us start the work. Upon completion of the alarm, our work undergoes additional inspections. This process generally includes an electrical inspection as well as a test by the local fire department. Because of all of the work involved and the liability that the installing companies must take on, many alarm companies do not install fire alarms. However, we’ve long offered this important service to our customers.
Non-Required Fire Alarms
We recommend installing monitored fire equipment even in properties where fire codes do not require you to do so.
As you see, a lot can go into making sure businesses have the legally-required detection that they need. Moreover, many business owners also ask for additional equipment above and beyond the bare minimum required by law. In fact, installing equipment above and beyond the bare minimum requirements represents one of our top commercial fire alarm design recommendations! For example, many customers look to add smoke detection in closets that house electronics or network devices. Additionally, basements and areas with water heaters or other major devices that can create carbon monoxide make great places to add monitored CO detection.
More often than not, we can install this non-required fire security wherever customers ask for it. However, we still must follow the proper guidelines regarding the installation of these devices. For example, we must install different devices at different heights to meet legal requirements. We must also use fire-rated wire, as well as proper wiring procedures, for installation of all fire alarm devices. This goes for both required and non-required detection. Therefore, we treat installing requested devices with the same care and attention to detail as we take when installing devices required by law.
Experiencing Commercial Fire Alarm Security at Your Property
We hope that this post gives you a glimpse at what it takes to design and install a commercial fire alarm system. As always, we encourage you to contact us with any questions this post may raise for you. We will happily answer any and all of your security-related inquiries. If you’d like assistance designing a fire alarm for your own business, feel free to take advantage of our free security audit process. We will walk through your property and help you design a fire alarm system that meets all national and local requirements. While it often proves hard to find a company to complete this work, we can help you out! Together, we can create a complete plan to keep your property — and everyone in it — as safe and secure as possible!