Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Double Action/Triple Action
Are double action manual pull stations with stopper covers allowed?
I seem to recall at one point in time that I read somewhere that there could be no more than 2 actions to initiate a manual fire alarm. I actually had a project years ago where we were required to remove the double action and replace them with single action because the stopper cover was treated as an additional action. I have looked in ADA, NFPA, IFC, and spoken to STI and to AHJs in my area and I cannot find anything addressing this issue. Does anyone know of any code addressing this issue?
Answer:
You will no longer find a reference to Manual Station operation other than following the requirements that Covers be listed, and that Cover w/Audible be approved by the AHJ. NFPA 1, 72 & 101 have removed the "No more than 2 actions" phrase from the prescriptive requirements... most likely to allow for reducing nuisance alarms in certain situations. The AHJ is the ultimate approving authority here. Professional engineering judgement, common sense and working with the AHJ are what defines acceptability in this instance, in most jurisdictions.
I seem to recall at one point in time that I read somewhere that there could be no more than 2 actions to initiate a manual fire alarm. I actually had a project years ago where we were required to remove the double action and replace them with single action because the stopper cover was treated as an additional action. I have looked in ADA, NFPA, IFC, and spoken to STI and to AHJs in my area and I cannot find anything addressing this issue. Does anyone know of any code addressing this issue?
Answer:
You will no longer find a reference to Manual Station operation other than following the requirements that Covers be listed, and that Cover w/Audible be approved by the AHJ. NFPA 1, 72 & 101 have removed the "No more than 2 actions" phrase from the prescriptive requirements... most likely to allow for reducing nuisance alarms in certain situations. The AHJ is the ultimate approving authority here. Professional engineering judgement, common sense and working with the AHJ are what defines acceptability in this instance, in most jurisdictions.
Monday, February 27, 2012
National Fire Academy Begins Eighth Year of Coffee Break Training
The U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) recently began its eighth year of providing timely and useful instructional tips for first responders through its popular online Coffee Break Training series.
Launched on November 29, 2005, Coffee Break Training consists of one-topic weekly training vignettes
delivered to USFA website visitors and more than 43,000 email
subscribers in the U.S. and around the world. Each training item is designed to be consumed in just a few minutes over a "cup of coffee." The NFA has delivered more than 350 of these training segments since the program began.
The initial Coffee Break series focused on fire protection
topics such as automatic sprinkler systems, building and fire codes,
fire protection water supplies, and safe storage practices. From time to
time there are special lessons developed called "Hot Coffee" (significant emerging issues) and "Special Blend" (reminders of historically significant events / lessons learned). In the last few years, the Coffee Break series has expanded to include fire investigation, fire prevention management, public education, emergency medical services, and research techniques
at the NETC Learning Resource Center. Recently, other parts of the
Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management
Agency began adopting the NFA’s Coffee Break model.
U.S. Fire Administrator Ernie Mitchell said, "The Coffee Break Training series is one of our most popular media for sharing up-to-the minute training. Busy first responders can get a quick and easy-to-read training tip that they can apply the same day it appears."
Deputy Fire Administrator Glenn Gaines added, "The purpose of the Coffee Break Training program is to deliver provocative topics with measurable learning objectives.
They are modeled on Gordon Graham’s insightful ‘five minutes of short,
verifiable training’ that over time accumulates into real performance improvements."
Students who receive the Coffee Break Training series can earn free continuing education units through quarterly exams posted on NFA Online.
For more information, or to sign up for the free Coffee Break Training series, visit the USFA's website.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Dealing with Non Payers
Subscribers who pay for their alarm systems but stop paying for
telephone or other communication pathways present an issue. You
advise that you are using a Contract, presumably for monitoring. That Monitoring Contract or any Contract with the provision,
clearly requires the subscriber to provide a communication pathway so
that the
system can communicate a signal. The contract is equally clear that
your recurring charges need to be paid even if no communication is
maintained by the subscriber or if the police or fire department decide
not the respond. Your liability is another matter.
If you put the AHJ on notice that you have installed and are monitoring a fire alarm system then you should notify the AHJ that monitoring is not possible. Let your subscriber know that you are obligated, if not legally then morally, to notify the AHJ.
Although you are not contractually obligated to provide notice to the subscriber that it is in breach of the contract by not providing communication it's a good idea. A letter once in a while would be a good idea. If the subscriber stops paying you, sue.
Thanks to Ken Kirschenbaum for this valuable information.
Visit www.alarmcontracts.com for more information.
If you put the AHJ on notice that you have installed and are monitoring a fire alarm system then you should notify the AHJ that monitoring is not possible. Let your subscriber know that you are obligated, if not legally then morally, to notify the AHJ.
Although you are not contractually obligated to provide notice to the subscriber that it is in breach of the contract by not providing communication it's a good idea. A letter once in a while would be a good idea. If the subscriber stops paying you, sue.
Thanks to Ken Kirschenbaum for this valuable information.
Visit www.alarmcontracts.com for more information.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
New CO Regs
The new requirements in the 2012 edition of the International Fire Code (IFC)
and the International Building Code (IBC) are the result of the International Code
Council (ICC) membership approving a proposal during the May 2010 Final Action
Hearing to require the installation of CO detection in new and existing Group-R and
Group-I occupancies, such as hotels, dormitories, apartment buildings, hospitals and
nursing homes.
Section 908.7 of the 2012 IFC and IBC requires CO detection to be installed
in “newly” constructed Group-R and Group-I occupancies if the building contains a
fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. Also CO alarms shall be installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 720, Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and
Warning Equipment, and the manufacturer’s instructions.
Section 1103.9 of the IFC covers the requirements for existing Group-R and
Group-I occupancies, these requirements are the same as those in 908.7 for newly
constructed occupancies.
As with most codes and standards, there are exceptions to the mandatory
requirements. If sleeping units or dwelling units do not contain a fuel-burning
appliance or have an attached garage, but are located in a building with a fuel burning
appliance or an attached garage, CO detection is not required if:
• The sleeping unit or dwelling unit is located more than one story above or below any
story that contains a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage
• The sleeping unit or dwelling unit is not connected by duct work or ventilation shafts to
an attached garage or any room containing a fuel-burning appliance
• The building is provided with a common area1 CO alarm system.
Also, Section 908.7.1 of the 2012 IBC and IFC clearly permits system connected
CO detectors to be installed as a primary form of protection if they are
installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 720 and listed as complying
with ANSI/UL 2075. It’s worth mentioning that NFPA 720 permits either CO alarms
ANSI/UL 2034, Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms,
or CO detectors complying with ANSI/UL 2075, Gas and Vapor Detectors and
Sensors, to be installed.
and the International Building Code (IBC) are the result of the International Code
Council (ICC) membership approving a proposal during the May 2010 Final Action
Hearing to require the installation of CO detection in new and existing Group-R and
Group-I occupancies, such as hotels, dormitories, apartment buildings, hospitals and
nursing homes.
Section 908.7 of the 2012 IFC and IBC requires CO detection to be installed
in “newly” constructed Group-R and Group-I occupancies if the building contains a
fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. Also CO alarms shall be installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 720, Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and
Warning Equipment, and the manufacturer’s instructions.
Section 1103.9 of the IFC covers the requirements for existing Group-R and
Group-I occupancies, these requirements are the same as those in 908.7 for newly
constructed occupancies.
As with most codes and standards, there are exceptions to the mandatory
requirements. If sleeping units or dwelling units do not contain a fuel-burning
appliance or have an attached garage, but are located in a building with a fuel burning
appliance or an attached garage, CO detection is not required if:
• The sleeping unit or dwelling unit is located more than one story above or below any
story that contains a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage
• The sleeping unit or dwelling unit is not connected by duct work or ventilation shafts to
an attached garage or any room containing a fuel-burning appliance
• The building is provided with a common area1 CO alarm system.
Also, Section 908.7.1 of the 2012 IBC and IFC clearly permits system connected
CO detectors to be installed as a primary form of protection if they are
installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 720 and listed as complying
with ANSI/UL 2075. It’s worth mentioning that NFPA 720 permits either CO alarms
ANSI/UL 2034, Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms,
or CO detectors complying with ANSI/UL 2075, Gas and Vapor Detectors and
Sensors, to be installed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)