1511.08 FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS.
   (a)   General Requirements for All Occupancies.
      (1)   The following requirements apply in addition to NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, Chapter 9, and Section 9.6 as adopted by this article.
         A.   All fire alarm systems, including all components, shall be electrically supervised. Components include pull stations, automatic detection, audio visual devices, flow switches, tamper switches and the main panel.
         B.   All fire alarm systems shall be tied in ahead of the main power disconnect, unless a secondary power source is provided.
         C.   All sprinkler systems OS & Y, P.I.V. and other Control Valves shall be electrically supervised and tied into the trouble/supervisory side of the fire alarm control panel.
         D.   All sprinkler systems shall be tied in so water flow will activate the general fire alarm audio visual device.
         E.   Flow and/or pressure switches shall be annunciated separately on the main fire alarm control panel.
         F.   All Health Care, and Detention and Correctional Occupancies shall be tied into a fire department or a communication center with 24-hour supervision which is responsible for receiving emergency calls.
         G.   Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC).
            1.   All heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems greater than 2000 CFM and less than 15,000 CFM shall have a duct type smoke detector in the return air duct or plenum for automatic shut down, to close main fan dampers and to sound a general fire alarm when activated.
            2.   All heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems greater than 15,000 CFM shall have duct type smoke detectors installed in both supply and return air ducts to automatically shut down, close main fan dampers and to sound a general fire alarm when activated.
            3.   Health Care, Detention and Correctional occupancies and high rise buildings duct detectors shall be zoned to indicate the specific air handling unit at the main fire alarm panel.
            4.   An HVAC unit which uses 100% of outside air does not require duct detectors, and shall shut down upon fire alarm activation.
            5.   HVAC Systems used as part of the smoke management systems are exempt from the requirements of this subsection.
         H.   Audible alarm indicating devices shall be of such character and distributed so as to be effectively heard above the ambient noise level obtained under normal conditions of occupancy. Audible alarm indicating devices shall produce signals that are distinctive from audible signals used for other purposes in the same building.
         I.   Visual signal devices shall be provided in all new fire alarm systems.
         J.   Pre-recorded or live voice evacuation instructions to occupants are permitted. Pre-recorded instructions shall be preceded by not less than 5 seconds or more than 10 seconds of a continuous alerting signal. Upon completion or failure of pre-recorded instructions, the fire alarm evacuation signal shall sound. Pre-recorded instructions shall be repeated two or more times. Live voice instructions shall be permitted to interrupt the pre-recorded message or the fire alarm evacuation signal. Audible and visual fire alarm devices shall be used only for fire alarm system.
         K.   Manual pull stations shall be located no greater than two hundred (200) feet from each other and at all exits. Manual pull stations shall be of the same general operational type.
         L.   Thermal detectors are required in the following areas in all occupancies requiring a fire alarm system and as listed or identified in NFPA 101, The Life Safety Code. Thermal detectors are not required in areas provided with sprinkler protection or dwelling units of apartments.
 
AREAS
TYPE OF DETECTORS
1. Attic & Cockloft Spaces
Fixed Temperature
2. Storage Rooms
Rate of Rise
3. Furnace or boiler rooms
Fixed Temperature
4. Janitor Closets
Rate of Rise
5. Kitchens
Fixed Temperature
6. Laboratories, Home Economics, Woodworking Shops, Auto Shops, Utility Rooms and Locker Rooms
Rate of Rise
         M.   Smoke detectors are required in the following areas in all occupancies requiring fire alarm systems:
            1.   Rooms and/or areas dedicated for the location of electrical distribution panels or transformers;
            2.   Stages or Platforms; and
            3.   On each side of required smoke partition doors.
         N.   Smoke detectors shall be placed a maximum of fifteen (15) feet from ends of corridors or walls and thirty (30) feet on center and in rooms open to the corridors, where required by the occupancy. Exceeding the spacing requirements will require submission of technical data approved by the State Fire Marshal. Exception: Smoke beam detectors shall be permitted in accordance with manufacturers specifications.
         O.   A building or structure being used for more than one (1) occupancy shall comply with the fire alarm system requirements of the most stringent occupancy for that building or structure.
         P.   Hood suppression systems shall be connected to the Fire Alarm System and separately zoned.
         Q.   A pre-signal fire alarm system is not permitted.
         R.   Elevators shall comply with NFPA 72.
   (b)   Requirements for Educational and Day Care Occupancies.
      (1)    A fire alarm system is required in every educational and day care occupancy, and shall meet the requirements and standards of this rule. However, classroom buildings of less than 2,500 sq. ft. gross floor area with direct exiting to the outside from each classroom are not required to have a fire alarm system.
      (2)    Open Plan Classroom Concepts require a complete smoke detection system throughout the facility.
      (3)    Day Care Centers located in buildings other than educational facilities shall have smoke detectors installed on the ceilings of each story in front of the doors to the stairways and at no greater than thirty (30) feet spacing in the corridors of all floors occupied by the center. Detectors shall also be installed in lounges and sleeping rooms in the center.
      (4)    Group Day Care Centers require hardwired smoke detectors in sleeping rooms and corridors. Audio visual warning devices are required if hearing impaired individuals are in the facility. In mixed occupancies when exiting requires the use of a common corridor, an electrically supervised fire alarm system shall be installed.
      (5)    An annunciator panel or fire alarm control panel shall be readily accessible to local fire department personnel.
      (6)    Rate of rise thermal detectors are required in all Rest Rooms in new buildings except in fully sprinklered buildings.
      (7)   Smoke detectors shall be installed in all corridors, except in a single story building with direct exiting to the exterior by the means of a door from every normally student occupied room.
      (8)   An inspection tag shall be attached to each fire protection system near the main control valve, main panel, or other such appropriate and visible location as determined by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). The inspection tag shall contain the following information:
         A.   The individual performing the work;
         B.   Date of the test;
         C.   Results of the inspection and test.
   (c)   Requirements for Assembly Occupancy.
      (1)   A fire alarm system is required in every place of assembly where:
         A.   Occupancy is subject to three hundred (300) or more occupants;
         B.   Occupancy is subject to one hundred (100) or more occupants above or below the level of exit discharge;
         C.   The building is two (2) or more stories in height above the level of exit discharge, or two (2) or more stories below the level of exit discharge; or
         D.   Theaters with more than one (1) audience-viewing room.
      (2)   Annunciator panels and/or fire alarm control panels shall be readily accessible to fire department personnel.
      (3)   Theaters and auditoriums shall provide audio visual devices. House lights in auditoriums and theaters shall be activated by the fire alarm system.
   (d)   Requirements for Health Care and Ambulatory Care Occupancies.
      (1)    A fire alarm system is required in every Health Care and Ambulatory Care occupancy, and the system shall meet the requirements and standards of this ordinance.
      (2)    An approved automatic smoke detection system shall be installed in all corridors.
      (3)    Manual pull stations shall be installed every fifty (50) feet throughout the facility in patient sleeping room areas starting at the end of all corridors. All other manual pull stations shall be placed in accordance with the general requirements of this occupancy.
      (4)    Fire alarm systems shall have annunciators located at all twenty-four (24) hour nurse's stations, the telephone switchboard, and at the main location of the fire department's entry.
   (e)   Requirements for Detention and Correctional Occupancies.
      (1)    A fire alarm system is required in every Detention and Correctional occupancy and the system shall meet the requirements and standards as provided in this subsection.
      (2)    The annunciator panel or fire alarm control panel shall be readily accessible to fire department personnel and shall also be provided in the Detention or Correctional facility control center.
      (3)    Manual pull stations shall be provided as set forth in general requirements of this rule. Manual pull stations may be of the security type in detention or correctional occupancies.
      (4)    Smoke detectors shall be installed in all corridors. If no corridor exists, they shall be installed at the highest point of the cell areas.
      (5)    Dormitory style correctional facilities shall comply with the Residential requirements of subsection (f) hereof.
   (f)   Requirements for Residential Occupancies.
      (1)    A fire alarm system is required for each of the groups of residential buildings, and the system shall meet the requirements and standards of this ordinance.
      (2)    Lodging and Rooming Houses protected throughout with a sprinkler system shall be provided with interconnected hardwired smoke detectors as required by NFPA 72.
      (3)    Residential occupancies are designated in two groups. These designated groups shall comply with the requirements of this ordinance. One group of occupancies includes hotels, motels, dormitories, lodging and rooming houses. The other group includes apartments only.
      (4)    The following requirements apply to the occupancies of hotels, motels, dormitories, lodging and rooming houses.
         A.   Smoke detectors shall be placed a maximum of fifteen (15) feet from ends of corridors or walls and located thirty (30) feet on center throughout all inside corridors. Smoke detectors shall be placed a maximum of fifteen (15) feet from ends of walls and thirty (30) feet on center in open bay sleeping areas.
         B.   The annunciator panel or fire alarm control panel shall be readily accessible to fire department personnel and also shall be located at the registration desk.
         C.   All sleeping rooms and living areas in suites shall have an approved self-contained smoke alarm hard wired in accordance with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code.
         D.   Motels and hotels having direct exterior exiting shall have a manual pull station every seventy-five (75) feet located on exterior walls with the minimum requirement of one (1) manual pull station. However, a one (1) story motel with sixteen (16) or less sleeping rooms having direct exiting to the exterior is not required to be provided with a fire alarm system.
      (5)    The following requirements apply to apartments.
         A.   Apartment buildings having twelve (12) or more units or four (4) or more stories in height shall have a fire alarm system. Smoke detectors shall be placed a maximum of fifteen (15) feet from the ends of corridors and walls and thirty (30) feet on centers.
         B.   All existing apartments shall have approved self-contained smoke alarm located at the entrances to bedrooms.
         C.   All new apartments shall have an approved self-contained smoke alarm hard wired in accordance with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code.
         D.   All new apartment buildings having twelve (12) or more units or four (4) or more stories in height with direct exiting to the exterior shall have manual pull stations every seventy-five (75) feet on the exterior wall with a minimum requirement of one (1) pull station per building.
   (g)   Requirements for Mercantile Occupancies.
      (1)    A fire alarm system is required in every mercantile occupancy over three thousand (3,000) square feet, and the system shall meet the requirements and standards as provided in this subsection.
      (2)    If an existing Class B mercantile occupancy has a complete and approved sprinkler protection system, a fire alarm system is not required.
   (h)   Requirements for Business Occupancies.
      (1)   A fire alarm system is required in every business occupancy where:
         A.   The occupancy is subject to three hundred (300) or more total occupants;
         B.   The occupancy is subject to one hundred (100) or more occupants above or below the level of exit discharge;
          C.   The building is two (2) or more stories in height above the level of exit discharge or two (2) or more stories below the level of exit discharge.
   (i)   Requirements for Industrial Occupancies.
      (1)   A fire alarm system is required in all Industrial Occupancies as required in The National Fire Codes NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, referred to in Section 8-25 of this ordinance.
   (j)   Requirements for Storage Occupancies.
      (1)   A fire alarm system is required in all Storage Occupancies as required in The National Fire Codes NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, referred to in Section 1511.03 .
         (Ord. 215. Passed 10-19-10.)