Each building or space used for sleeping in a community setting must have an approved fire alarm system to warn the occupants. The manufacturer’s installation instructions, local ordinance, state law, and this code contain requirements for fire alarm systems.
To be effective, a fire alarm system requires everyone to participate in three ways:
- Proper use of smoke detectors in their own rooms.
- Proper sounding of the alarm in the event of a fire.
- Evacuation according to established procedures that allow all people enough time to escape without injury.
In addition, there must be a way for building occupants to report an emergency from any point in the building. A Fire Alarm Station is a place from which fire alarm signals are originated.
The fire alarm system can be activated automatically from a heat-sensing device installed within the area being protected, or it can be manually activated by a person at a Fire Alarm Station. Regardless of how the system is activated, the individual initiating the alarm must inform the fire department of the location from which the alarm originates.
If a manual Fire Alarm Station is used, it must be approved and properly installed. The Fire Alarm Station must have an electrical circuit with no disconnect switch between the overcurrent device and the station terminations. Normal household fuses cannot be used as a disconnecting means.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL BUILDINGS
The fire alarm system must be designed and installed in accordance with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code. NFPA 72 requires that each building or space used for sleeping purposes have an approved central, manual fire alarm system. Manual fire alarm boxes are required in dormitories and other spaces where the occupant load is greater than 300. This code also covers single-room occupancies such as hotels, motels, and boarding houses with an occupant load of fewer than ten persons.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SLEEPING UNITS
The acceptable methods for indicating a fire alarm system include:
- sounding;
- visible signaling; and
- both.
These devices can be activated by heat detectors or smoke detectors, as well as manual means such as sprinklers or the Fire Alarm Station. The all-resistance elements of the detector circuits must be connected to an emergency power supply (battery) which is kept charged, as required by Section 901.3.
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REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL BUILDINGS [must be copied verbatim]
Smoke detectors shall emit a signal when actuated by both visible and invisible particles of combustion
Smoke detectors listed for the purpose are allowed to be used as heat detectors. When heat detectors are used, they shall be installed in accordance with their listing. Smoke detectors shall not be combined with any other alarm-initiating device such as a manual fire alarm box, water flow switch, or door-opening detector.
There are different types of fire alarm systems, which vary in complexity and the number of features they can have. A simple system may contain a set of smoke detectors wired to a control unit that sounds an audible alarm when activated by one or more smoke detectors, while a complex system may have computer-controlled digital communication to other devices such as fire department notification and supervisory monitoring, as well as automated voice evacuation messages. Most systems installed within the last 25 years consist of a singular fire alarm control unit (or control unit), which is often linked to one or more smoke detector(s) or heat detectors, and also to a building’s existing public address system. Some systems can be integrated with an existing commercial security system and/or building management system.