fire alarm devices

Status
Not open for further replies.

ryan_618

Senior Member
Re: fire alarm devices

Probably. It is more of an accessibility issue than anything. Could a visually impaired individual see a strobe if thee were not one in this room? Could a hearing impaired individual hear a strobe if there were not one in the breakroom?
 

gregoryelectricinc

Senior Member
Re: fire alarm devices

Ulimately, This call must be made the AHJ (local fire marshall/plan reviewer) but generally speaaking, I would have to go with Ryan's answer...."Probably".
 

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Re: fire alarm devices

Unfortunately, doing fire alarm work is not always as clear cut as we'd like it to be. You're usually at the mercy of the AHJ (as others have pointed out)and if he/she wants one in the break room........you'll put one in "just because" they want one there.

But, if you want some really good opinions on this I suggest you log onto the AFAA website and join in their fire alarm discussion group. There are many really sharp individuals that are extremely knowledgeable on NFPA 72 and will set you in the right direction.
 

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Re: fire alarm devices

I believe my response was justified, was it not?
Ryan,

I'm not sure where you're going with this. My response was based purely on my experience with fire alarm AHJ's. Many of them have been volunteer firemen who were plumbers by trade and appointed to the position. In some cases their knowledge of fire alarm systems, detection and notification devices have been marginal. More often than not their justification for insisting on the installation of a device in a particular area was based purely on their own intuition and not by code. Unless the installation of that one device creates a severe hardship to the installing contractor, asking him/her to justify (as per code) the installation of one additional strobe on a sizable project creates more of a confrontational issue than anything else. Thus the reason for my response.
Could a hearing impaired individual hear a strobe if there were not one in the break room?
Just for the record and so that we're all on the same page with this, only Superman might have the ability to hear a strobe. The rest of us who are not visually impaired can only see them. The original question was whether the installation of a strobe was a requirement.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top