Design to the Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72-2002 - a PDH Online Audio Course for Engineers

Design to the Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72-2007

Course Outline

This course discusses the concepts, equipment selection and graphic representation of typical life-safety fire alarm systems for stores, churches, apartment houses, schools, institutions and factories, except high-hazard. The key principles are the basic guidelines of the Fire Alarm Code (NFPA 72-2007) for normal applications and some warning in cases that require special attention. This course includes commentary and Construction Specification 16720, Fire Alarm, from NYC School Construction Authority. This course does not replace a NICET certificate or a PE license. The course does not address residential fire alarms.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Understand the different responsibilities of the Architect and the fire alarm designer;
Recognize the standard abbreviations, symbols and terminology used with fire alarms;
Be familiar with plan drawing representation, graphic riser diagrams and specification of systems;
Be able to research NFPA 72 and contact proper local authorities to answer specific questions involved in fire alarm system design;
Understand the differences hard-wired and addressable systems;
Understand the importance of supervised operation of initiating devices, notification devices, annunciation devices and interface relays;
Understand the benefits and hazards of integrating a building automation system with fire alarm functions;
Understand the present and expected requirements of a smoke control system;
Understand the available features of pull stations, including single-action, double-action, alarming covers and locked units;
Understand the available features of smoke detectors, including analog, ionization, photoelectric, smoke signature, duct detectors and test/reset stations;
Understand the available features of heat detectors, including analog, fixed temperature, rate of rise and test aids;
Recognize the names and basic principles associated with specialized detectors, such as beam detectors and UV sensors;
Know the rules for locations of pull stations and detectors;
Understand the features of notification devices including voice, audible, visual;
Know the rules for locations and types of notification devices;
Know the rules for interconnection between individual room smoke alarms and general building evacuation systems;
Know the rules for combined use of voice notification and general public address;
Know the requirements for installation of the fire alarm control panel and remote annunciator(s);
Know the rules for central monitoring;
Be able to review a fire alarm design for obvious and subtle errors;
Be able to identify the key suppliers;
Be familiar with inferred policies of the New York City School Construction Authority for construction specifications; and
Be familiar with the special requirements of Specification 16720, Fire Alarm, from NYC School Construction Authority.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for professional engineers, architects and contractors. It will also be of value to persons with technical background who wish to extend their knowledge into new realms. It does not replace a NICET certificate or a PE license. Some topics are presented only in brief reference. Correct technical terms are used so that an internet search will produces many sources for further information.

Benefit to the Audience

Fire alarm systems are life-safety systems. It is of critical importance that the building owner, the lead design persons, the detailed design persons, the suppliers, the installers and maintenance persons know the right way to do the job. Everyone involved need not be an expert but everyone must know the basic rules. A person who studies this material closely will be able to competently review a proposed fire alarm design. He will be able to create a reasonable scheme to be detailed into a complete fire alarm design. Further work by the detail designer will be required to perform the required battery sizing, voltage drop calculations, circuit loadings and select particular device part numbers. These tasks are not addressed in this course.

Course Introduction

Fire alarms save people's lives. They are required by State building Codes in almost all facilities. Design of fire alarm systems is done by installing contractors, vendors, NICET technicians and Professional Engineers. This three hour online course discusses the rules for design and graphic representation of typical commercial fire alarm systems. Key principles are required devices, required locations of devices and requirements for wiring of devices. This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Fire alarm systems are intended to notify persons on-site to evacuate. Early identification of fire situations and notification aids in complete evacuation and early arrival of fire fighting equipment aids greatly in reducing property losses.

The field of study of Fire Science has advanced remarkably in the last 100 years. Today we know many different ways that fires start and spread. This course stops at this step to apply the knowledge to fire alarm sensing devices, but the field of fire science also contributes to building standards, fire suppression design and fire fighting equipment and techniques.

This course will spend considerable time discussing available smoke and heat detectors. First, however, we will look at the overall system and features of each component that are necessary to provide reliable notification after the detector does its job.

We will spend some time on stand-alone smoke detectors, small hard-wired systems, and interconnection between stand-alone residential detectors and building evacuation fire alarms.
Our main focus, however, will be large systems, with schools used in many examples. The principles directly apply to stores, factories, institutions, apartments and multi-family dwellings. Exceptions associated with different occupancies will be noted.

Of special interest are the interconnection between the fire alarm system and the sprinkler system, between the fire alarm system and the elevator and between the fire alarm system and the HVAC system. Underlying concepts and examples will be presented.

A special rule which is not well understood is that ANY fire alarm must comply with NFPA 72. You CANNOT hook up a smoke detector to a plant SCADA system. If you want fire alarm notification, you must use UL-approved devices THROUGHOUT the system. A SCADA system is NOT a UL-approved life-safety system. People keep trying to convince themselves that property protection does not require an NFPA system Wrong! The law says it does.

Course Content

The lecture notes for this course are contained in the following three documents:

Design to the Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72-2002 (PDF Format, 1.7 MB; MS Word Format, 3.6 MB)

Spec 16720: Fire Detection and Alarm System - The New York City School Construction Authority (NYCSCA) (PDF Format, 12 MB)

Commentary on New York City School Construction Administration Construction Specification 16720, Fire Alarm (PDF Format, 0.3 MB)

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the documents for your reference. Because of the large file sizes, we recommend that you first save the files to your computer by pointing the cursor to the underlined document title, right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ..."; and then open the files in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Because this course is offered as a "live" course, you are required to attend the webinar at the scheduled time and date. Please check the Webinar Schedule under course description on our website for scheduled meeting date and time. We will send you an invitation to the webinar through email approximately 24 hours before the webinar (confirmation of the receipt of the invitation is required). The certificate of completion will not be issued unless you attend the webinar and pass a quiz. Thank you for your cooperation.

Course Summary

This course is intended as a guide and aid in using the National Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72-2007. The concepts and rules-of-thumb are adequate for preliminary design and cost estimates but not adequate for construction documents without detailed study of the relevant sections of the source Code and review by and experienced fire alarm designer. Questions of interpretation should be addressed to the local Authority Having Jurisdiction. It is almost certain that a question during design will also come up during Plans Review. The right answer is the answer of the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Early consultation can save a lot of money over having the same question come up during construction. The New York City School Construction Administration Construction Specification 16720, Fire Alarm, is not a very good document. It does, however, express the special needs of the City Schools and misses a few features necessary for confidence in a successful installation.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

http://www.alarm.com/stats-consumer.html#fire
Fire and Arson Statistics

http://www.firelite.com/products.html
Fire-Lite (Honeywell) Fire Alarm Control Panels

http://www.notifier.com/products.htm
Notifier (Honeywell) Fire Alarm Products

http://www.interstatepublishing.com/
local codes

http://www.silentknight.com/htmfiles/product.htm
Silent Knight Fire Alarm Products

http://www.nicet.com/nicetmanuals/alarms.pdf
NICET (NSPE Technician Level) Certification

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a1/010319falsealarm/
Fire Alarms in Space

http://www.ul.com/alarmsystems/basics.html
Underwriters Laboratories Inc Fire Alarm Systems Training

http://www.simplexgrinnell.com/fire/
Simplex-Grinnell (Tyco International) Fire Alarm Products

http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cbd/cbd233e.html
Canadian Introduction to Fire Alarms

http://www.sfmuseum.net/conflag/falarm.html
Fire Alarms in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0827382936/102-2841288-9520135?v=glance
Amazon Books on Design of Fire Alarm Systems

http://www.ul.com/alarmsystems/fire.html
Underwriters Laboratories Inc Fire Alarm System Certification

http://facilities.princeton.edu/customer/firealarm.htm
Princeton University Procedures for Fire Alarms

http://www.circuitprotection.com/02Databook/industrial/03.E07_alarm_(161).pdf
Raychem Internals of Fire Alarms and Overvoltage Protection

http://www.safety.duke.edu/FireSafety/Docs/firealarmconcerns.pdf
Hazards associated with installing Fire Alarms

http://www.nttinc.com/PDF/TAP/FA%20Fire%20Alarm%20TAP%20flyer.pdf
Fire Alarm Code Technical Training

http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build01/PDF/b01094.pdf
National Institute of Standards and Technology - Integrating Fire Alarms with Building Automation

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/tbm_119/chap3_4_e.asp
Online Canadian Fire Alarm Code

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.