NFPA Plans to Roll Back Power, Supervision Requirements in 731
QUINCY, Mass.
Security Sales & Integration has learned that the committee that has overseen the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 731 standard for security system installation has recommended the rollback of standby power requirements and removing a requirement for short-to-ground supervision in the new standard. In addition, the NFPA Committee on Premises Security plans to add representatives from the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) to the committee.
The move comes after criticism levied by the NBFAA that the new standard’s requirement on power and detection circuit supervision were not feasible with current technology, as well as objections over the lack of NBFAA representation on the board.
“We looked at it and said, ‘You know what, they’re right,'” NFPA 731 committee chairman Shane Clary told SSI. “The committee is not against making changes as long as it makes sense.”
A spokesperson for the NBFAA said the association has not received official word from the NFPA on the NFPA 731 changes and cannot comment.
The NFPA Standards Committee plans to rule within the week on whether to approve an appeal filed by the NBFAA to send the NFPA 731 draft back to committee or give final approval to the new standard, which was passed during the technical committee report sessions at the NFPA’s World Safety Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas in early June.
Clary, with Pacheco, Calif., alarm systems contractor Bay Alarm, says should the NBFAA appeal be rejected, his committee will send out two tentative interim amendments (TIAs) that would allow for immediate changes to 731 before the next revision cycle.
One of the revisions would change the number of hours of standby for systems on battery backup from 24 hours to four. Another would remove a requirement for detection circuits to have short-to-ground supervision.
For an extensive look at NFPA 731 and what it means for the industry, be sure to pick up the September issue of Security Sales & Integration.
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