NFPA72 FAQs

ResponsestoFAQsarepreparedbyNFPAtechnicalstafftoassistusersinreadingandunderstandingNFPAcodes andstandards.Theresponses,however,arenotFormalInterpretationsissuedpursuanttoNFPARegulations.Any opinionsexpressedarethepersonalopinionsoftheauthor(s),anddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheofficial positionoftheNFPAoritsTechnicalCommittees.Inaddition,theresponsesareneitherintended,norshouldbe reliedupon,toprovideprofessionalconsultationorservices.

1. DoesNFPA72,NationalFireAlarmandSignalingCoderequirefirealarmsystemsto beinstalled? No.NFPA72onlyprovidesrequirementsfortheinstallation,performance,testing, inspection,andmaintenanceofthefirealarmsystem.NFPA101,LifeSafetyCodeand othercodesdeterminewhetherafirealarmsystemisrequiredinagivenoccupancy. 2. Whatdocumentcoversthewiringofafirealarmsystem? NFPA70,NationalElectricalCode,NECcoverswiringofafirealarmsystem,butdoes notcoverperformanceofafirealarmsystem.NFPA72,NationalFireAlarmand SignalingCodecoverstherequirementsforinstallationperformanceoffirealarm systems. 3. DoesNFPA72requireoccupantnotificationbymeansofnotificationappliances? No.NFPA101,LifeSafetyCodeandothercodesdeterminewhetheroccupant notificationisrequiredinagivenoccupancy.However,Chapter18ofNFPA72does requirevisiblesignalingiftheambientsoundpressurelevelisabove105dBA. 4. DoesNFPA72requireautomaticfiredetectiondevices? No.NFPA101,LifeSafetyCodeandothercodesdeterminewhetherfirealarminitiating devicesarerequiredinagivenoccupancy.However,Section10.15requiresfirealarm controlunits,NACpowerextendersandsupervisingstationtransmittingequipmentnot locatedincontinuouslyoccupiedareastobeprotectedbysmokedetectionevenifno automaticdetectiondevicesareotherwiserequired. 5. Isasprinklersupervisoryfirealarmsystemconsideredtobeafirealarmsystem? Yes.Thedefinitionofafirealarmsystemin3.3.95includesthesesystems.

 6. Cannontraditionaltelephoneservicebeusedwithadigitalalarmcommunicator system? Yes,iftheserviceisprovidedthroughamanagedfacilitiesbasedvoicenetwork(MFVN). NFPA72addressesseveralmeansoftransmittingalarmandothersignalsfromafire alarmsystemataprotectedpremisetoasupervisingstation.Themostwidelyused meansisadigitalalarmcommunicatorsystem.Thesesystemsuseadigitalalarm communicatortransmitter(DACT)connectedthroughtwotransmissionchannels.The Coderequirestheprimarychanneltobeatelephoneline.Thesecondarychannelcan beasecondtelephoneline,oroneof6othertransmissionmeans. Withrespecttothetelephoneline(s),theCoderequiresin26.6.3.2.1.1thattheDACTbe connectedtothepublicswitchedtelephonenetworkupstreamofanyprivatetelephone systemattheprotectedpremise.Italsorequiresthattheconnectionbetoaloopstart telephonecircuit.Historically,thismeantconnectiontothecopperconductorsofa plainoldtelephonesystem(POTS)traditionallyprovidedbythetelephonecompany.In recentyears,providersoftelephoneserviceotherthanthetraditionalPOTSservice havebecomemorecommon.The2010editionoftheCodeincludesrevisionsto addresstheuseofthesenontraditionaltypesoftelephoneservice. The2010editionofNFPA72includesthefollowingrevisedthedefinitionofapublic switchedtelephonenetworkandanewdefinitionofmanagedfacilitiesbasedvoice networks: PublicSwitchedTelephoneNetwork(PSTN).Anassemblyofcommunications equipmentandtelephoneserviceprovidersthatutilizemanagedfacilitiesbased voicenetworks(MFVN)toprovidethegeneralpublicwiththeabilitytoestablish communicationschannelsviadiscretedialingcodes. ManagedFacilitiesBasedVoiceNetwork(MFVN).Aphysicalfacilitiesbased networkcapableoftransmittingrealtimesignalswithformatsunchangedthatis managed,operated,andmaintainedbytheserviceprovidertoensureservice qualityandreliabilityfromthesubscriberlocationtopublicswitchedtelephone network(PSTN)interconnectionpointsorotherMFVNpeernetworks. TheCodecontainsextensiveexplanatoryannexinformationrelatedtowhatisexpected ofaMFVN.Itisimportanttorecognizethattelephoneservicethatthatisnotprovided throughaphysicalfacilitiesbasednetworkwouldnotbecoveredunderthisdefinition. Itisalsoimportanttounderstandthatthetelephoneserviceproviderscommunications equipmentisexpectedtoprovide8hoursofstandbypowerforequipmentinstalledon thepremisesorlocatedinthefield.Thisisincontrasttothe24hoursofsecondary powerrequiredforthefirealarmsystemitself,includingtheDACT. ThoseusingorenforcingearliereditionsoftheCodewillfindtherevisionsinthe2010 editionofNFPA72usefulinunderstandingthecapabilitiesandperformanceexpected forthecommunicationpathwaysusedinconjunctionwithdigitalalarmcommunicator systems.