Shane Clary, Ph.D., is Security Sales & Integration’s “Fire Side Chat” columnist. He has more than 37 years of security and fire alarm industry experience. He serves on a number of NFPA technical committees, and is vice president of Codes and Standards Compliance for Pancheco, Calif.-based Bay Alarm Co.
There are several additions to Chapter 18 of NFPA 72 related to the use of notification appliances within a protected premises, and a change to Chapter 17 regarding CO detectors.
Not only should those who work on fire alarm systems be factory certified on the systems and equipment they are working on, but they also need to be competent on resolving issues not associated with the equipment.
Calibrated test method, a manufacturer’s calibrated sensitivity test instrument and listed control equipment arranged for the purpose are a few methods laid out in NFPA 72.
Risk identification should be done at the beginning of a project, but also throughout a project and in the case of an MNS, for the duration of the system.