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50 Security Dealer & Integrator / www.SecurityInfoWatch.com February 2018 Fire & Life Safety BY GREG KESSINGER, SET, CFPS, IMSA, CDT, ICC Y ou may be sur- prised how much NFPA 72's chapter on "Single- and Multiple- Station Alarms and Household Fire Alarm Systems" has changed the landscape of the code throughout the years. Years ago, NFPA 72 was a short standard on the specific subject of fire alarm systems. Before 1993, several standards and two guides were all published separately, including NFPA 74, the "Standard for Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Household Fire Warning Equipment." In 1993, these separate codes and guides were compiled and published as the new, improved and larger NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm Code. e old NFPA 74 became the "Household Chapter" of NFPA 72, Chapter 2. From the start, Chapter 2 seemed out of place – both figuratively and lit- erally. With each edition of NFPA 72, the Household Chapter added more requirements for commercial resi- dential occupancies, and continued to mandate minimum protection levels. e rest of the chapters in NFPA 72 state installation and equipment rules for notification and initiating devices, etc., without regard to specific rooms or spaces of particular occupancy types. Although small "levels of pro- tection" have creeped into some chap- ters – such as the requirement for a smoke detector over control panels in rooms not continuously occupied, and the inclusion of at least one manual pull box for buildings with a sprinkler system but no fire alarm system, etc. – no other chapters have been so blatant and bold as the Household Chapter when it comes to stepping on the role of the Building Codes for a particular occupancy type. e Household Chapter of NFPA 72 did not remain as Chapter 2; in fact, with each revision of the code, it was decided to move – and keep – the chapter as the final one. at leads to our reader question: When do I follow Chapter 29 of NFPA 72, and when do I follow the Building Code? Are there times when I should follow both? Protection Dictated by Occupancy Type NFPA 72 rules regarding fire alarm equipment, services, and/or features, was only applicable when these items were required by the adopted Building Code, which sets minimum safety pro- visions for new buildings. Specific occupancy types – as defined by the adopted Building Codes – are given a level of protection con- sidering the number of occupants, their activities, their risk factors and other concerns. In other words, the level of protection should be set by the adopted Building Code – based on the occupancy type – for a jurisdiction. In the case of "one- and two-family" occupancies, for example, a Building Code separate from commercial con- struction requirements was created and has since been adopted by every state. Known as the International Residential Code (IRC), it includes the minimum requirements for smoke alarms, as well as a section for the alternative use of a fire alarm system. Section 314 of the IRC states what type of detectors can be used and what areas in the home are to be protected. It also specifies that the equipment meet the listing, function and installa- tion requirements of NFPA 72 Chapter 29 – which has been the Household Chapter for many years. When a requirement is stated in an adopted Building Code, it supersedes the rules of any standard that may cover the same subject; therefore, you follow the IRC as to where and when to install detectors, and you follow NFPA 72 regarding the equipment itself. us, while it is always desirable to install additional protection, the rules of Chapter 29 are not required to be followed in order to meet the provi- sions of the Residential Building Code. Code Confusion: Occupancy Types NFPA 72 Chapter 29 creates conundrums for fire alarm technicians When a requirement is stated in an adopted Building Code, it supersedes the rules of any standard that may cover the same subject; therefore, you follow the IRC as to where and when to install detectors, and you follow NFPA 72 regarding the equipment itself."