I want a simple fire alarm in my business
Often owners and contractors forget about adding a fire alarm system to a business or a home. Here are some notes that may be helpful.
Fire Marshal approval is required to add, change or delete anything on a fire alarm system for a business. Most of the time a third party review is also required.
Special wiring is needed for fire alarm so work closely with your alarm contractor to make sure the proper wire is used. Most of the time is it 18g4c FPLP non shielded red cable for SLC and 14g2c FPLP is required for NAC circuits.
If you are thinking you can add a couple of smoke detectors and have a fire alarm that is normally not allowed. When you design a fire alarm system many factors come into play. You need to check IFC IBC code and NFPA 72 and NEC to design it properly.
If your business has a fire sprinkler system the design is different than if you don’t have one.
Some smaller occupancies are not required to have a fire alarm yet when you have an ansul system or a fire sprinkler system normally it is required that you monitor that fire alarm system. There is also such a thing as an Elevator Recall system that is not considered a fire alarm system.
Putting a fire alarm in your home is much easier since the fire marshal does not need to approve that.
The difference is smoke alarms and smoke detectors is that the smoke detectors are normally monitored by a central station and smoke alarms are just local and they don’t dispatch the fire department.