The performance, installation, and operation of alarm systems at a continuously attended supervising station and between the protected premises and the continuously attended supervising station shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.
Where any system regulated by this Code sends signals to a supervising station, the entire system shall become a supervising station alarm system.
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to Chapter 29 unless otherwise noted.
Alarm signals initiated by manual fire alarm boxes, automatic fire detectors, waterflow from the automatic sprinkler system, or actuation of other fire suppression system(s) or equipment shall be treated as fire alarm signals.
Except as permitted by 26.2.2 and 29.7.9.2, all fire alarm signals received by a supervising station shall be immediately retransmitted to the communications center.
Fire alarm signals received at the supervising station by a zone or zones shall be retransmitted by zone to the communications center.
Fire alarm signals received at the supervising station that are identified as an individual point or points shall be retransmitted by point identifier to the communications center.
For applications other than those addressed under the scope of 29.7.9.2, supervising station personnel shall attempt to verify alarm signals prior to reporting them to the communication center where all the following conditions exist:
- *Alarm signal verification is required by the responsible fire department for a specific protected premises.
- Documentation of the requirement for alarm signal verification is provided by the responsible fire department to the supervising station and the protected premises.
- If the requirement for verification changes, the responsible fire department shall notify the supervising station and the protected premises.
- *The verification process does not take longer than 90 seconds from the time the alarm signal is received at the supervising station until the time that retransmission of the verified alarm signal is initiated.
- Verification of a true fire is received from anyone on premises or verification of an unwanted alarm signal is received only from a pre-assigned list of authorized personnel within the protected premises.
- *Verified alarm signals are immediately retransmitted to the communications center and include information that the signal was verified at the protected premises to be an emergency.
- *Alarm signals where verification is not conclusive are immediately retransmitted to the communications center.
- *Alarm signals that are verified as unwanted alarms shall be reported to the responsible fire department in a manner and at a frequency specified by the responsible fire department.
Where required by the enforcing authority, governing laws, codes, or standards, alarm signals transmitted to a supervising station shall be by addressable device or zone identification.
All supervising station fire alarm systems shall be programmed to report restoral signals to the supervising station of all alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals upon restoration of the activation.
Any signal received by the supervising station that has not restored to normal condition within 24 hours of initial receipt shall be redisplayed to an operator as a nonrestored signal and shall be reported to the subscriber.
Exception: This provision shall not apply to scheduled impairments.
For multiple building premises, the requirements of 10.17.5.3 shall apply to the alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals transmitted to the supervising station.
Supervising station customers or clients and the authority having jurisdiction shall be notified in writing by the new supervising station within 30 calendar days of any change of service provider that results in signals from the client's property being handled by a new supervising station.
Where the new provider of supervising station services covered by 26.2.6.1 also provides the required testing, the new provider shall test zones, points, and signals from each affected property in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 14 at or prior to the next scheduled periodic test.
Where the new provider of supervising station services covered by 26.2.6.1 does not provide the required testing, the new provider shall notify the alarm system owner of the need to test zones, points, and signals from each affected property in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 14 prior to or at the next scheduled periodic test.
The supervising station shall notify the authority having jurisdiction prior to terminating service.
Signal processing equipment located at the supervising station listed to ANSI/UL 60950, Information Technology Equipment — Part 1: General Requirements, and used for computer-aided alarm and supervisory signal processing shall not be required to comply with 10.3.5 provided it is installed and operated conforming to ANSI/UL 1981, Central Station Automation Systems, within an environment that is maintained at a level within the temperature, humidity, and voltage rating range of the equipment, and the equipment manufacturer's published instructions are available for examination.
Alarm systems used to provide central station service shall comply with the general requirements and the use requirements of Section 26.3.
Alarm systems for central station service shall include the central station physical plant, exterior communications channels, subsidiary stations, and alarm and signaling equipment located at the protected premises.
Section 26.3 shall apply to central station service, which consists of the following elements:
- Installation of alarm transmitters
- Alarm, guard, supervisory, and trouble signal monitoring
- Retransmission
- Associated record keeping and reporting
- Testing and maintenance
- Runner service
The central station service elements shall be provided under contract to a subscriber by a prime contractor that has a listing for central station fire alarm services.
The prime contractor shall be responsible for codecompliant service delivery, regardless of any subcontracting arrangements involved in the delivery of service.
Signal monitoring, retransmission, and associated recordkeeping and reporting shall be provided by a company that has a listing for central station alarm services covering these elements.
The prime contractor shall conspicuously indicate that the alarm system providing service at a protected premises complies with all the requirements of this Code through the use of a systematic follow-up program under the control of the organization that has listed the prime contractor.
Documentation indicating Code compliance of the alarm system shall be issued by the organization that has listed the prime contractor.
The documentation shall include, at a minimum, the following information:
- Name of the prime contractor involved with the ongoing Code compliance of the central station service
- *Full description of the alarm system as installed
- Issue and expiration dates of the documentation
- Name, address, and contact information of the organization issuing the document
- Identification of the authority(ies) having jurisdiction for the central station service installation
The documentation shall be physically posted within 3 ft (1 m) of the control unit, and copies of the documentation shall be made available to the authority(ies) having jurisdiction upon request.
A central repository of issued documentation, accessible to the authority having jurisdiction, shall be maintained by the organization that has listed the prime contractor.
Alarm system service that does not comply with all the requirements of Section 26.3 shall not be designated as central station service.
For the purpose of Section 26.3, the subscriber shall notify the prime contractor, in writing, of the identity of the authority(ies) having jurisdiction.
The authority(ies) having jurisdiction identified in 26.3.4.2(5) shall be notified within 30 calendar days of the expiration or cancellation by the organization that has listed the prime contractor.
The subscriber shall surrender expired or canceled documentation to the prime contractor within 30 days of the termination date.
The central station building or that portion of a building occupied by a central station shall conform to the construction, fire protection, restricted access, emergency lighting, and power facilities requirements of the latest edition of ANSI/UL 827, Standard for Central-Station Alarm Services.
Subsidiary station buildings or those portions of buildings occupied by subsidiary stations shall conform to the construction, fire protection, restricted access, emergency lighting, and power facilities requirements of the latest edition of ANSI/UL 827, Standard for Central-Station Alarm Services.
All intrusion, fire, power, and environmental control systems for subsidiary station buildings shall be monitored by the central station in accordance with 26.3.5.
The subsidiary facility shall be inspected at least monthly by central station personnel for the purpose of verifying the operation of all supervised equipment, all telephones, all battery conditions, and all fluid levels of batteries and generators.
In the event of the failure of equipment at the subsidiary station or the communications channel to the central station, a backup shall be operational within 90 seconds.
With respect to 26.3.5.2.3, restoration of a failed unit shall be accomplished within 5 days.
Each communications channel shall be continuously supervised between the subsidiary station and the central station.
When the communications channel between the subsidiary station and the supervising station fails, the communications shall be switched to an alternate path. Public switched telephone network facilities shall be used only as an alternate path.
In the subsidiary station, there shall be a communications path, such as a cellular telephone, that is independent of the telephone cable between the subsidiary station and the serving wire center.
A plan of action to provide for restoration of services specified by this Code shall exist for each subsidiary station.
This plan shall provide for restoration of services within 4 hours of any impairment that causes loss of signals from the subsidiary station to the central station.
An exercise to demonstrate the adequacy of the plan shall be conducted at least annually.
The central station and all subsidiary stations shall be equipped so as to receive and record all signals in accordance with 26.6.6.
Circuit-adjusting means for emergency operation shall be permitted to be automatic or to be provided through manual operation upon receipt of a trouble signal.
Power supplies shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 10.
Transmission means shall comply with the requirements of Section 26.6.
Two independent means shall be provided to retransmit an alarm signal to the designated communications center.
The use of a universal emergency number, such as the 911 public safety answering point, shall not meet the intent of this Code for the principal means of retransmission.
If the principal means of retransmission is not equipped to allow the communications center to acknowledge receipt of each alarm report, both means shall be used to retransmit.
The retransmission means shall be tested in accordance with Chapter 14.
The retransmission signal and the time and date of retransmission shall be recorded at the central station.
The central station shall have not less than two qualified operators on duty at the central station at all times to ensure disposition of signals in accordance with the requirements of 26.3.8.
Operation and supervision shall be the primary functions of the operators, and no other interest or activity shall take precedence over the protective service.
The central station shall perform the following actions:
- *Retransmit the alarm to the communications center in accordance with 26.2.1.
- Dispatch a runner or technician to the protected premises to arrive within 2 hours after receipt of a signal if equipment needs to be manually reset by the prime contractor. Except where prohibited by the authority having jurisdiction, the runner or technician shall be permitted to be recalled prior to arrival at the premises if a qualified representative of the subscriber at the premises can provide the necessary resetting of the equipment and is able to place the system back in operating condition.
- Immediately notify the subscriber.
- Provide notice to the subscriber or authority having jurisdiction, or both, if required.
Exception: If the alarm signal results from a prearranged test, the actions specified by 26.3.8.1.1(1) and (3) shall not be required.
Upon failure to receive a guard's tour supervisory signal within a 15-minute maximum grace period, the central station shall perform the following actions:
- Communicate without unreasonable delay with personnel at the protected premises
- Dispatch a runner to the protected premises to arrive within 30 minutes of the delinquency if communications cannot be established
- Report all delinquencies to the subscriber or authority having jurisdiction, or both, if required
Failure of the guard to follow a prescribed route in transmitting signals shall be handled as a delinquency.
Upon receipt of a supervisory signal that is not prearranged, the central station shall perform the following actions:
- *Communicate immediately with the persons designated by the subscriber and notify the fire department, law enforcement agency, or both when required by the authority having jurisdiction
- Dispatch a runner or maintenance person to arrive within 2 hours to investigate unless the supervisory signal is cleared in accordance with a scheduled procedure determined by 26.3.8.3(1)
- Notify the authority having jurisdiction and the subscriber when sprinkler systems or other fire suppression systems or equipment have been wholly or partially out of service for 8 hours
- When service has been restored, provide notice to the subscriber and the authority having jurisdiction of the nature of the signal, the time of occurrence, and the restoration of service when equipment has been out of service for 8 hours or more
Upon receipt of trouble signals or other signals pertaining solely to matters of equipment maintenance of the alarm systems, the central station shall perform the following actions:
- *Communicate immediately with persons designated by the subscriber
- Dispatch personnel to arrive within 4 hours to initiate maintenance, if necessary
- When the interruption is more than 8 hours, provide notice to the subscriber and the fire department if so required by the authority having jurisdiction as to the nature of the interruption, the time of occurrence, and the restoration of service
All test signals received shall be recorded to indicate date, time, and type.
Test signals initiated by the subscriber, including those for the benefit of an authority having jurisdiction, shall be acknowledged by central station personnel whenever the subscriber or authority inquires.
Any test signal not received by the central station shall be investigated immediately, and action shall be taken to reestablish system integrity.
The central station shall dispatch personnel to arrive within 2 hours if protected premises equipment needs to be manually reset after testing.
The prime contractor shall provide each of its representatives and each alarm system user with a unique personal identification code.
In order to authorize the placing of an alarm system into test status, a representative of the prime contractor or an alarm system user shall first provide the central station with his or her personal identification code.
Testing and maintenance records shall be retained as required by 14.6.3.
The central station shall make arrangements to furnish reports of signals received to the authority having jurisdiction in a manner approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Testing and maintenance for central station service shall be performed in accordance with Chapter 14.
Supervising facilities of proprietary alarm systems shall comply with the operating procedures of Section 26.4. The facilities, equipment, personnel, operation, testing, and maintenance of the proprietary supervising station shall also comply with Section 26.4.
Proprietary supervising stations shall be operated by trained, competent personnel in constant attendance who are responsible to the owner of the protected property.
The protected property shall be either a contiguous property or noncontiguous properties under one ownership.
If a protected premises control unit is integral to or colocated with the supervising station equipment, the requirements of Section 26.6 shall not apply.
The proprietary supervising station shall be located in either of the following:
- Fire-resistive, detached building
- A fire-resistive room protected from the hazardous parts of the building
Access to the proprietary supervising station shall be restricted to those persons directly concerned with the implementation and direction of emergency action and procedure.
The proprietary supervising station, as well as remotely located power rooms for batteries or engine-driven generators, shall be provided with portable fire extinguishers that comply with the requirements of NFPA 10.
The emergency lighting system shall comply with the requirements of 26.4.3.4.1 through 26.4.3.4.3.
The proprietary supervising station shall be provided with an automatic emergency lighting system.
The emergency source shall be independent of the primary lighting source.
In the event of a loss of the primary lighting for the supervising station, the emergency lighting system shall provide illumination for a period of not less than 26 hours to permit the operators to carry on operations and shall be tested in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 14.
If 25 or more protected buildings or premises are connected to a subsidiary station, both of the following shall be provided at the subsidiary station:
- Automatic means for receiving and recording signals under emergency staffing conditions
- A telephone
Provision shall be made to designate the building in which a signal originates.
The floor, section, or other subdivision of the building in which a signal originates shall be designated at the proprietary supervising station or at the building that is protected.
Exception: Where the area, height, or special conditions of occupancy make detailed designation unessential as approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Designation, as required by 26.4.4.1.2 and 26.4.4.1.3, shall use private-mode notification appliances approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
The proprietary supervising station shall have, in addition to a recording device, two different means for alerting the operator when each signal is received that indicates a change of state of any connected initiating device circuit.
One of these means shall be an audible signal, which shall persist until manually acknowledged.
Means shall include the receipt of alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals, including signals indicating restoration.
If means is provided in the proprietary supervising station to identify the type of signal received, a common audible indicating appliance shall be permitted to be used for alarm, supervisory, and trouble indication.
At a proprietary supervising station, an audible trouble signal shall be permitted to be silenced, provided that the act of silencing does not prevent the signal from operating immediately upon receipt of a subsequent trouble signal.
All signals required to be received by the proprietary supervising station that show a change in status shall be automatically and permanently recorded, including time and date of occurrence, in a form that expedites operator interpretation in accordance with any one of the means detailed in 26.4.4.2.2.1 through 26.4.4.2.2.4.
If a visual display is used that automatically provides change of status information for each required signal, including type and location of occurrence, any form of automatic permanent visual record shall be permitted.
The recorded information shall include the content described in 26.4.4.2.2.
Acknowledgment shall produce recorded information indicating the time and date of acknowledgment.
One recording instrument shall be used for recording all incoming signals, while the other shall be used for required alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals only.
The visual information component shall be retained either on the display until manually acknowledged or repeated at intervals not greater than 5 seconds, for durations of 2 seconds each, until manually acknowledged.
A means shall be provided for the operator to redisplay the status of required signal-initiating inputs that have been acknowledged but not yet restored.
If the system retains the signal on the visual display until manually acknowledged, subsequent recorded presentations shall not be inhibited upon failure to acknowledge.
Alarm signals shall be segregated on a separate visual display in this configuration.
Exception: Alarm signals shall not be required to be segregated on a separate display if given priority status on the common visual display.
To facilitate the prompt receipt of alarm signals from systems handling other types of signals that are able to produce multiple simultaneous status changes, the requirements of either of the following shall be met:
- Record simultaneous status changes at a rate not slower than either a quantity of 50 or 10 percent of the total number of initiating device circuits connected, within 90 seconds, whichever number is smaller, without loss of any signal
- Display or record alarm signals at a rate not slower than one every 10 seconds, regardless of the rate or number of status changes occurring, without loss of any signals
Trouble signals and their restoration shall be automatically indicated and recorded at the proprietary supervising station.
The recorded information for the occurrence of any trouble condition of signaling line circuit, leg facility, or trunk facility that prevents receipt of alarm signals at the proprietary supervising station shall be such that the operator is able to determine the presence of the trouble condition.
Trouble conditions in a leg facility shall not affect or delay receipt of signals at the proprietary supervising station from other leg facilities on the same trunk facility.
The proprietary supervising station shall have at least two qualified operators on duty at all times. One of the two operators shall be permitted to be a runner.
Exception: If the means for transmitting alarms to the fire department is automatic, at least one operator shall be on duty at all times.
When the runner is not in attendance at the proprietary supervising station, the runner shall establish two-way communications with the station at intervals not exceeding 15 minutes, unless otherwise permitted by 26.4.5.3.
Where two or more operators are on duty in the supervising station, a runner physically in attendance at a noncontiguous protected premises and immediately available via telephone or other approved means of communication shall not be required to maintain two-way communications at 15-minute intervals if that runner is not responsible for another protected premises.
The primary duties of the operator(s) shall be to monitor signals, operate the system, and take such action as shall be required by the authority having jurisdiction.
The operator(s) shall not be assigned any additional duties that would take precedence over the primary duties.
All communications and transmission channels between the proprietary supervising station and the protected premises control unit shall be operated manually or automatically once every 24 hours to verify operation.
If a communications or transmission channel fails to operate, the operator shall immediately notify the person(s) identified by the owner or authority having jurisdiction.
All operator controls at the proprietary supervising station(s) designated by the authority having jurisdiction shall be operated at each change of shift.
If operator controls fail, the operator shall immediately notify the person(s) identified by the owner or authority having jurisdiction.
Indication of a fire shall be promptly retransmitted to the communications center or other locations accepted by the authority having jurisdiction, indicating the building or group of buildings from which the alarm has been received.
The means of retransmission shall be accepted by the authority having jurisdiction and shall be in accordance with 26.3.6.6, 26.5.4.4, or Chapter 27.
Exception: Secondary power supply capacity shall be as required in Chapter 10.
Upon receipt of an alarm signal, the proprietary supervising station operator shall initiate action to perform the following:
- Notify the communications center, the emergency response team, and such other parties as the authority having jurisdiction requires in accordance with 26.2.1
- Dispatch a runner or technician to the alarm location to arrive within 2 hours after receipt of a signal
- Restore the system as soon as possible after disposition of the cause of the alarm signal
If a guard's tour supervisory signal is not received from a guard within a 15-minute maximum grace period, or if a guard fails to follow a prescribed route in transmitting the signals (where a prescribed route has been established), the proprietary supervising station operator shall initiate action to perform the following:
- Communicate at once with the protected areas or premises by telephone, radio, calling back over the system circuit, or other means accepted by the authority having jurisdiction
- Dispatch a runner to arrive within 30 minutes to investigate the delinquency if communications with the guard cannot be promptly established
Upon receipt of sprinkler system and other supervisory signals, the proprietary supervising station operator shall initiate action to perform the following, if required:
- Communicate immediately with the designated person(s) to ascertain the reason for the signal
- Dispatch personnel to arrive within 2 hours to investigate, unless supervisory conditions are promptly restored
- Notify the fire department if required by the authority having jurisdiction
- Notify the authority having jurisdiction when sprinkler systems are wholly or partially out of service for 8 hours or more
- *Provide written notice to the authority having jurisdiction as to the nature of the signal, time of occurrence, and restoration of service when equipment has been out of service for 8 hours or more
Upon receipt of trouble signals or other signals pertaining solely to matters of equipment maintenance of the alarm system, the proprietary supervising station operator shall initiate action to perform the following, if required:
- Communicate immediately with the designated person(s) to ascertain reason for the signal
- Dispatch personnel to arrive within 4 hours to initiate maintenance, if necessary
- Notify the fire department if required by the authority having jurisdiction
- Notify the authority having jurisdiction when interruption of service exists for 4 hours or more
- When equipment has been out of service for 8 hours or more, provide written notice to the authority having jurisdiction as to the nature of the signal, time of occurrence, and restoration of service
Testing and maintenance records shall be retained as required by 14.6.3.
The proprietary supervising station shall make arrangements to furnish reports of signals received to the authority having jurisdiction in a manner approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Testing and maintenance of proprietary alarm systems shall be performed in accordance with Chapter 14.
Section 26.5 shall apply where central station service is neither required nor elected.
The installation, maintenance, testing, and use of a remote supervising station alarm system that serves properties under various ownership from a remote supervising station shall comply with the requirements of Section 26.5.
Remote supervising station physical facilities, equipment, operating personnel, response, retransmission, signals, reports, and testing shall comply with the minimum requirements of Section 26.5.
Remote supervising station alarm systems shall provide an automatic audible and visible indication of alarm, supervisory, and trouble conditions at a location remote from the protected premises.
Section 26.5 shall not require the use of audible or visible notification appliances other than those required at the remote supervising station. If it is desired to provide alarm evacuation signals in the protected premises, the alarm signals, circuits, and controls shall comply with the provisions of Chapters 18 and 23 in addition to the provisions of Section 26.5.
The loading capacities of the remote supervising station equipment for any approved method of transmission shall be as designated in Section 26.6.
Owners utilizing remote station alarm systems shall provide annual documentation to the authority having jurisdiction identifying the party responsible for the inspection, testing, and maintenance requirements of Chapter 14. This documentation shall take one of the following forms:
- *Affidavit attesting to the responsibilities and qualifications of the parties performing the inspection, testing, and maintenance and accepting responsibility of compliance with Chapter 14 and signed by a representative of the service provider
- Documentation indicating code compliance of the remote station alarm system issued by the organization that listed the service provider
- Other documentation acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction
Alarm systems utilizing remote supervising station connections shall transmit alarm and supervisory signals to a facility meeting the requirements of 26.5.3.1.1, 26.5.3.1.2, 26.5.3.1.3, or 26.5.3.1.4.
Alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at a communications center that complies with the requirements of NFPA 1221.
Alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at the fire station or at the governmental agency that has public responsibility for taking prescribed action to ensure response upon receipt of an alarm signal.
Where permitted by the authority having jurisdiction, alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at a listed central supervising station.
Where permitted by the authority having jurisdiction, alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at an alternate location approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Trouble signals shall be permitted to be received at an approved location that has personnel on duty who are trained to recognize the type of signal received and to take prescribed action. The location shall be permitted to be other than that at which alarm and supervisory signals are received.
If locations other than the communications center are used for the receipt of signals, access to receiving equipment shall be restricted in accordance with the requirements of the authority having jurisdiction.
Means for silencing alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be provided and shall be arranged so that subsequent signals shall re-sound.
A trouble signal shall be received when the system or any portion of the system at the protected premises is placed in a bypass or test mode.
An audible and visible indication shall be provided upon restoration of the system after receipt of any signal.
If visible means are provided in the remote supervising station to identify the type of signal received, a common audible notification appliance shall be permitted to be used.
Power supplies shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 10.
Transmission means shall comply with the requirements of Section 26.6.
Retransmission of an alarm signal, if required, shall be by one of the following methods, which appear in descending order of preference as follows:
- A dedicated circuit that is independent of any switched telephone network. This circuit shall be permitted to be used for voice or data communications.
- A one-way (outgoing only) telephone at the remote supervising station that utilizes the public-switched telephone network. This telephone shall be used primarily for voice transmission of alarms to a telephone at the communications center that cannot be used for outgoing calls.
- A private radio system using the fire department frequency, where permitted by the fire department.
- Other methods accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
The remote supervising station shall have not less than two qualified operators on duty at the remote supervising station at all times to ensure disposition of signals in accordance with the requirements of 26.5.6.
Duties pertaining to other than operation of the remote supervising station receiving and transmitting equipment shall be permitted, subject to the approval of the authority having jurisdiction.
If the remote supervising station is at a location other than the communications center, alarm signals shall be retransmitted to the communications center in accordance with 26.2.1.
Upon receipt of an alarm, supervisory, or trouble signal by the remote supervising station, the operator on duty shall be responsible for immediately notifying the owner or the owner's designated representative and, where required, the authority having jurisdiction.
All operator controls at the remote supervising station shall be operated at the beginning of each shift or change in personnel, and the status of all alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be noted and recorded.
A permanent record of the time, date, and location of all signals and restorations received and the action taken shall be maintained for at least 1 year and shall be able to be provided to the authority having jurisdiction.
Testing and maintenance records shall be retained as required in 14.6.3.
Records shall be permitted to be created by manual means.
Inspection, testing, and maintenance for remote supervising stations shall be performed in accordance with Chapter 14.
Where required, inspection, testing, and maintenance reports shall be submitted to the authority having jurisdiction in a form acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.
The methods of communications between the protected premises and the supervising station shall comply with the requirements in Section 26.6. These requirements shall include the following:
- Transmitter located at the protected premises
- Transmission channel between the protected premises and the supervising station or subsidiary station
- If used, any subsidiary station and its communications channel
- Signal receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment at the supervising station
The minimum signaling requirement shall be an alarm signal, trouble signal, and supervisory signal, where used.
If the protected premises master control unit is neither integral to nor colocated with the supervising station, the communications methods of Section 26.6 shall be used to connect the protected premises to either a subsidiary station, if used, or a supervising station for central station service in accordance with Section 26.3, proprietary station in accordance with Section 26.4, or remote station in accordance with Section 26.5.
Nothing in Chapter 26 shall be interpreted as prohibiting the use of listed equipment using alternate communications methods that provide a level of reliability and supervision consistent with the requirements of Chapter 10 and the intended level of protection.
Alarm system equipment and installations shall comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations, as applicable, concerning the following:
- Electromagnetic radiation
- Use of radio frequencies
- Connection to the public switched telephone network of telephone equipment, systems, and protection apparatus
Equipment shall be installed in compliance with NFPA 70.
The external antennas of all radio transmitting and receiving equipment shall be protected in order to minimize the possibility of damage by static discharge or lightning.
The communications methods used to transmit signals to supervising stations shall meet the requirements of 26.6.3 for performance-based technologies, or 26.6.4 or 26.6.5 for prescriptive-based technologies.
Communications methods operating on principles different from specific methods covered by this chapter shall be permitted to be installed if they conform to the performance requirements of this section and to all other applicable requirements of this Code.
Provision shall be made to monitor the integrity of the transmission technology and its communications path.
Unless prohibited by the enforcing authority, governing laws, codes, or standards, a single transmission path shall be permitted, and the path shall be supervised at an interval of not more than 60 minutes. A failure of the path shall be annunciated at the supervising station within not more than 60 minutes. The failure to complete a signal transmission shall be annunciated at the protected premises in accordance with Section 10.14.
If multiple transmission paths are used, the following requirements shall be met:
- Each path shall be supervised within not more than 6 hours.
- The failure of any path of a multipath system shall be annunciated at the supervising station within not more than 6 hours.
- Multiple communications paths shall be arranged so that a single point of failure shall not cause more than a single path to fail.
- The failure to complete a signal transmission shall be annunciated at the protected premises in accordance with Section 10.14.
An inventory of spare equipment shall be maintained at the supervising station such that any failed piece of equipment can be replaced and the systems unit restored to full operation within 30 minutes of failure.
The maximum number of independent fire alarm systems connected to a single system unit shall be limited to 512.
If duplicate spare system units are maintained at the supervising station and switchover can be achieved in 30 seconds, then the system capacity shall be permitted to be unlimited.
The maximum duration between the initiation of an alarm signal at the protected premises, transmission of the signal, and subsequent display and recording of the alarm signal at the supervising station shall not exceed 90 seconds.
If a transmitter shares a transmission or communications channel with other transmitters, it shall have a unique transmitter identifier.
Recording and display of alarms at the supervising station shall be at a rate no slower than one complete signal every 10 seconds.
Communication of alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals shall be in accordance with this section to prevent degradation of the signal in transit, which in turn would result in either of the following:
- Failure of the signal to be displayed and recorded at the supervising station
- Incorrect corrupted signal displayed and recorded at the supervising station
Reliability of the signal shall be achieved by any of the following:
- Signal repetition — multiple transmissions repeating the same signal
- Parity check — a mathematically check sum algorithm of a digital message that verifies correlation between transmitted and received message
- An equivalent means to 26.6.3.11.2(1) or 26.6.3.11.2(2) that provides a certainty of 99.99 percent that the received message is identical to the transmitted message
If the fire alarm transmitter is sharing on-premises communications equipment, the shared equipment shall be listed as communications or information technology equipment.
The secondary power capacity for all transmitters and shared equipment necessary for the transmission of alarm, supervisory, trouble, and other signals located at the protected premises shall be a minimum of 24 hours or as permitted by 10.6.7.3.1(2).
Exception: Secondary power capacity for shared equipment shall be permitted to have a capacity of 8 hours where acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction and where a risk analysis is performed to ensure acceptable availability is provided.
Secondary power capacity for all equipment necessary for reception of alarm, supervisory, trouble, and other signals located at the supervising station shall comply with 10.6.7.
If a communications technology has a unique flaw that could result in the failure to communicate a signal, the implementation of that technology for alarm signaling shall compensate for that flaw so as to eliminate the risk of missing an alarm signal.
A DACT shall be connected to the public switched telephone network upstream of any private telephone system at the protected premises.
The connections to the public switched telephone network shall be under the control of the subscriber for whom service is being provided by the supervising station alarm system.
Special attention shall be required to ensure that this connection is made only to a loop start telephone circuit and not to a ground start telephone circuit.
All information exchanged between the DACT at the protected premises and the digital alarm communicator receiver (DACR) at the supervising or subsidiary station shall be by digital code or some other approved means. Signal repetition, digital parity check, or some other approved means of signal verification shall be used.
A DACT shall be configured so that, when it is required to transmit a signal to the supervising station, it shall seize the telephone line (going off-hook) at the protected premises and disconnect an outgoing or incoming telephone call and prevent use of the telephone line for outgoing telephone calls until signal transmission has been completed. A DACT shall not be connected to a party line telephone facility.
A DACT shall have the means to satisfactorily obtain a dial tone, dial the number(s) of the DACR, obtain verification that the DACR is able to receive signals, transmit the signal, and receive acknowledgment that the DACR has accepted that signal. In no event shall the time from going off-hook to on-hook exceed 90 seconds per attempt.
A DACT shall have means to reset and retry if the first attempt to complete a signal transmission sequence is unsuccessful. A failure to complete connection shall not prevent subsequent attempts to transmit an alarm where such alarm is generated from any other initiating device circuit or signaling line circuit, or both. Additional attempts shall be made until the signal transmission sequence has been completed, up to a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 attempts.
If the maximum number of attempts to complete the sequence is reached, an indication of the failure shall be made at the premises.
A system employing a DACT shall employ one telephone line (number). In addition, one of the following transmission means shall be employed:
- One-way private radio alarm system
- Two-way RF multiplex system
- Transmission means complying with 26.6.3
Exception: Where access to two technologies in the preceding list is not available at the protected premises, with the approval of the authority having jurisdiction, a telephone line (number) shall be permitted to be used as the second transmission means. Each DACT shall be programmed to call a second DACR line (number) when the signal transmission sequence to the first called line (number) is unsuccessful. The DACT shall be capable of selecting the operable means of transmission in the event of failure of the other means. Where two telephone lines (numbers) are used, it shall be permitted to test each telephone line (number) at alternating 6-hour intervals.
The following requirements shall apply to all combinations listed in 26.6.4.1.4(A):
- The means for supervising each channel shall be in a manner approved for the method of transmission employed.
- If a signal has not been processed over the subject channel in the previous 6 hours, a test signal shall be processed.
- The failure of either channel shall send a trouble signal on the other channel within 4 minutes.
- When one transmission channel has failed, all status change signals shall be sent over the other channel.
- The primary channel shall be capable of delivering an indication to the DACT that the message has been received by the supervising station.
- *The first attempt to send a status change signal shall use the primary channel.
Exception: When the primary channel is known to have failed.
- Simultaneous transmission over both channels shall be permitted.
- Failure of telephone lines (numbers) shall be annunciated locally.
The following requirements shall apply to all DACTs:
- A DACT shall be connected to two separate means of transmission at the protected premises so that a single point of failure on one means of transmission shall not affect the second means of transmission.
- The DACT shall be capable of selecting the operable means of transmission in the event of failure of the other means.
- The primary means of transmission shall be a telephone line (number) connected to the public switched network.
- *The first transmission attempt shall utilize the primary means of transmission.
- Each DACT shall be programmed to call a second receiver when the signal transmission sequence to the first called line (number) is unsuccessful.
- Each transmission means shall automatically initiate and complete a test signal transmission sequence to its associated receiver at least once every 6 hours. A successful signal transmission sequence of any other type, within the same 6-hour period, shall fulfill the requirement to verify the integrity of the reporting system, provided that signal processing is automated so that 6-hour delinquencies are individually acknowledged by supervising station personnel.
- *If a DACT is programmed to call a telephone line (number) that is call forwarded to the line (number) of the DACR, a means shall be implemented to verify the integrity of the call forwarding feature every 4 hours.
Spare DACRs shall be provided in the supervising or subsidiary station. The spare DACRs shall be on line or able to be switched into the place of a failed unit within 30 seconds after detection of failure.
The number of incoming telephone lines to a DACR shall be limited to eight lines, unless the signal-receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment at the supervising or subsidiary station is duplicated and a switchover is able to be accomplished in less than 30 seconds with no loss of signal during this period, in which case the number of incoming lines to the unit shall be permitted to be unlimited.
The DACR equipment at the supervising or subsidiary station shall be connected to a minimum of two separate incoming telephone lines (numbers). The lines (numbers) shall have the following characteristics:
- If the lines (numbers) are in a single hunt group, they shall be individually accessible; otherwise, separate hunt groups shall be required.
- The lines (numbers) shall be used for no other purpose than receiving signals from a DACT.
- The lines (numbers) shall be unlisted.
The failure of any telephone line (number) connected to a DACR due to loss of line voltage shall be annunciated visually and audibly in the supervising station.
The loading capacity for a hunt group shall be in accordance with Table 26.6.4.2.2(C) or be capable of demonstrating a 90 percent probability of immediately answering an incoming call.
- Table 26.6.4.2.2(C) shall be based on an average distribution of calls and an average connected time of 30 seconds for a message.
- The loading figures in Table 26.6.4.2.2(C) shall presume that the lines are in a hunt group (i.e., DACT is able to access any line not in use).
- A single-line DACR shall not be allowed for any of the configurations shown in Table 26.6.4.2.2(C).
Table 26.6.4.2.2(C) Loading Capacities for Hunt Groups
| System Loading at the Supervising Station | Number of Lines in Hunt Group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5—8 | |
| With DACR lines processed in parallel | |||||
| Number of initiating circuits | NA | 5,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Number of DACTs | NA | 500 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| With DACR lines processed serially (put on hold, then answered one at a time) | |||||
| Number of initiating circuits | NA | 3,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| Number of DACTs | NA | 300 | 800 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
NA: Not allowed.
Each supervised burglar alarm (open/close) or each suppressed guard's tour transmitter shall reduce the allowable DACTs as follows:
- Up to a four-line hunt group, by 10
- Up to a five-line hunt group, by 7
- Up to a six-line hunt group, by 6
- Up to a seven-line hunt group, by 5
- Up to an eight-line hunt group, by 4
Each guard's tour transmitter shall reduce the allowable DACTs as follows:
- Up to a four-line hunt group, by 30
- Up to a five-line hunt group, by 21
- Up to a six-line hunt group, by 18
- Up to a seven-line hunt group, by 15
- Up to an eight-line hunt group, by 12
The failure to receive a test signal from the protected premises shall be treated as a trouble signal.
The maximum end-to-end operating time parameters allowed for a two-way RF multiplex system shall be as follows:
- The maximum allowable time lapse from the initiation of a single alarm signal until it is recorded at the supervising station shall not exceed 90 seconds. When any number of subsequent alarm signals occur at any rate, they shall be recorded at a rate no slower than one every additional 10 seconds.
- The maximum allowable time lapse from the occurrence of an adverse condition in any transmission channel until recording of the adverse condition is started shall not exceed 200 seconds for Type 4 and Type 5 systems. The requirements of 26.6.5.1.4 shall apply.
- In addition to the maximum operating time allowed for alarm signals, the requirements of one of the following shall be met:
- A system unit that has more than 500 initiating device circuits shall be able to record not less than 50 simultaneous status changes within 90 seconds.
- A system unit that has fewer than 500 initiating device circuits shall be able to record not less than 10 percent of the total number of simultaneous status changes within 90 seconds.
Facilities shall be provided at the supervising station for the following supervisory and control functions of the supervising or subsidiary station and the repeater station radio transmitting and receiving equipment, which shall be accomplished via a supervised circuit where the radio equipment is remotely located from the system unit:
- RF transmitter in use (radiating)
- Failure of ac power supplying the radio equipment
- RF receiver malfunction
- Indication of automatic switchover
- Independent deactivation of either RF transmitter controlled from the supervising station
The RF multiplex transmission channel shall terminate in an RF transmitter/receiver at the protected premises and in a system unit at the supervising or subsidiary station.
Operation of the transmission channel shall conform to the requirements of this Code whether channels are private facilities, such as microwave, or leased facilities furnished by a communications utility company. If private signal transmission facilities are used, the equipment necessary to transmit signals shall also comply with requirements for duplicate equipment or replacement of critical components, as described in 26.6.6.2.
Two-way RF multiplex systems shall be divided into Type 4 or Type 5 classifications based on their ability to perform under adverse conditions.
A Type 4 system shall have two or more control sites configured as follows:
- Each site shall have an RF receiver interconnected to the supervising or subsidiary station by a separate channel.
- The RF transmitter/receiver located at the protected premises shall be within transmission range of at least two RF receiving sites.
- The system shall contain two RF transmitters that are one of the following:
- Located at one site with the capability of interrogating all of the RF transmitters/receivers on the premises
- Dispersed with all of the RF transmitters/receivers on the premises having the capability to be interrogated by two different RF transmitters
- Each RF transmitter shall maintain a status that allows immediate use at all times. Facilities shall be provided in the supervising or subsidiary station to operate any offline RF transmitter at least once every 8 hours.
- Any failure of one of the RF receivers shall in no way interfere with the operation of the system from the other RF receiver. Failure of any receiver shall be annunciated at the supervising station.
- A physically separate channel shall be required between each RF transmitter or RF receiver site, or both, and the system unit.
A Type 5 system shall have a single control site configured as follows:
- A minimum of one RF receiving site
- A minimum of one RF transmitting site
The loading capacities of two-way RF multiplex systems shall be based on the overall reliability of the signal receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment at the supervising or subsidiary station and the capability to transmit signals during adverse conditions of the transmission channels.
Allowable loading capacities shall comply with Table 26.6.5.1.5(B).
The capacity of a system unit shall be permitted to be unlimited if the signal-receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment are duplicated at the supervising station and a switchover is able to be accomplished in not more than 30 seconds, with no loss of signals during this period.
The occurrence of an adverse condition on the transmission channel between a protected premises and the supervising station that prevents the transmission of any status change signal shall be automatically indicated and recorded at the supervising station. This indication and record shall identify the affected portions of the system so that the supervising station operator will be able to determine the location of the adverse condition by trunk or leg facility, or both.
For two-way RF multiplex systems that are part of a central station alarm system, restoration of service to the affected portions of the system shall be automatically recorded. When service is restored, the first status change of any initiating device circuit, any initiating device directly connected to a signaling line circuit, or any combination thereof that occurred at any of the affected premises during the service interruption also shall be recorded.
The requirements of 26.6.5.2 for a radio alarm repeater station receiver (RARSR) shall be satisfied if the signals from each radio alarm transmitter (RAT) are received and supervised, in accordance with Chapter 26, by at least two independently powered, independently operating, and separately located RARSRs or radio alarm supervising station receivers (RASSRs), or by one of each.
Table 26.6.5.1.5(B) Loading Capacities for Two-Way RF Multiplex Systems
| Trunks | System Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Type 4 | Type 5 | |
| Maximum number of alarm service initiating device circuits per primary trunk facility | 5,120 | 1,280 |
| Maximum number of leg facilities for alarm service per primary trunk facility | 512 | 128 |
| Maximum number of leg facilities for all types of alarm service per secondary trunk facility* | 128 | 128 |
| Maximum number of all types of initiating device circuits per primary trunk facility in any combination | 10,240 | 2,560 |
| Maximum number of leg facilities for types of alarm service per primary trunk facility in any combination* | 1,024 | 256 |
| System Units at the Supervising Station | ||
| Maximum number of all types of initiating device circuits per system unit* | 10,240 | 10,240 |
| Maximum number of protected buildings and premises per system unit | 512 | 512 |
| Maximum number of alarm service initiating device circuits per system | 5,120 | 5,120 |
| Systems Emitting from Subsidiary Station†| — | — |
*Includes every initiating device circuit (e.g., waterflow, alarm, supervisory, guard, burglary, hold-up).
†Same as system units at the supervising station.
The end-to-end operating time parameters allowed for a one-way radio alarm system shall be as follows:
- There shall be a 90 percent probability that the time between the initiation of a single alarm signal until it is recorded at the supervising station will not exceed 90 seconds.
- There shall be a 99 percent probability that the time between the initiation of a single alarm signal until it is recorded at the supervising station will not exceed 180 seconds.
- There shall be a 99.999 percent probability that the time between the initiation of a single alarm signal until it is recorded at the supervising station will not exceed 7.5 minutes (450 seconds), at which time the RAT shall cease transmitting. When any number of subsequent alarm signals occurs at any rate, they shall be recorded at an average rate no slower than one every additional 10 seconds.
- In addition to the maximum operating time allowed for alarm signals, the system shall be able to record not less than 12 simultaneous status changes within 90 seconds at the supervising station.
- The system shall be supervised to ensure that at least two independent RARSRs or one RARSR and one independent RASSR are receiving signals for each RAT during each 24-hour period.
Equipment shall be provided at the supervising station for the supervisory and control functions of the supervising or subsidiary station and for the repeater station radio transmitting and receiving equipment. This shall be accomplished via a supervised circuit where the radio equipment is remotely located from the system unit and the conditions of 26.6.5.2.3(A) through 26.6.5.2.3(D) are met.
The following conditions shall be supervised at the supervising station:
- Failure of ac power supplying the radio equipment
- Malfunction of RF receiver
- Indication of automatic switchover, if applicable
Interconnections between elements of transmitting equipment, including any antennas, shall be supervised either to cause an indication of failure at the protected premises or to transmit a trouble signal to the supervising station.
If elements of transmitting equipment are physically separated, the wiring or cabling between them shall be protected by conduit.
Personnel shall be dispatched to arrive within 12 hours to initiate maintenance after detection of primary power failure.
The one-way RF transmission channel shall originate with a RAT at the protected premises and shall terminate at the RF receiving system of an RARSR or RASSR capable of receiving transmissions from such transmitting devices.
A receiving network transmission channel shall terminate at an RARSR at one end and with either another RARSR or an RASSR at the other end.
Operation of receiving network transmission channels shall conform to the requirements of this Code whether channels are private facilities, such as microwave, or leased facilities furnished by a communications utility company.
The system shall provide information that indicates the quality of the received signal for each RARSR supervising each RAT in accordance with 26.6.5.2 and shall provide information at the supervising station when such signal quality falls below the minimum signal quality levels set forth in 26.6.5.2.
One-way radio alarm systems shall be divided into two categories on the basis of the following number of RASSRs present in the system:
- A Type 6 system shall have one RASSR and at least two RARSRs.
- A Type 7 system shall have more than one RASSR and at least two RARSRs.
- In a Type 7 system, when more than one RARSR is out of service and, as a result, any RATs are no longer being supervised, the affected supervising station shall be notified.
- In a Type 6 system, when any RARSR is out of service, a trouble signal shall be annunciated at the supervising station.
The loading capacities of one-way radio alarm systems shall be based on the overall reliability of the signal-receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment at the supervising or subsidiary station and the capability to transmit signals during adverse conditions of the transmission channels. Loading capacities shall comply with 26.6.5.2.6(A) and 26.6.5.2.6(B).
Allowable loading capacities shall be in accordance with Table 26.6.5.2.6(A), except as modified by the following:
- Each guard's tour transmitter shall reduce the allowable RATs by 15.
- Each two-way protected premises radio transmitter shall reduce the allowable RATs by two.
- Each supervised burglar alarm (open/close) or each suppressed guard's tour transmitter shall reduce the allowable RATs by five.
If the signal-receiving, processing, display, and recording equipment is duplicated at the supervising station and a switchover is able to be accomplished in not more than 30 seconds, with no loss of signals during this period, the capacity of a system unit shall be permitted to be unlimited.
The system shall be supervised to ensure that at least two independent radio alarm repeater station receivers (RARSRs) are receiving signals for each radio alarm transmitter (RAT) during each 24-hour period.
The occurrence of a failure to receive a signal by either RARSR shall be automatically indicated and recorded at the supervising station.
The indication shall identify which RARSR failed to receive such supervisory signals.
Received test signals shall not be required to be indicated at the supervising station.
Any status changes, including the initiation or restoration to normal of a trouble condition, that occur in an initiating device or in any interconnecting circuits or equipment, including the local protected premises controls from the location of the initiating device(s) to the supervising station, shall be presented in a form to expedite prompt operator interpretation. Status change signals shall provide the following information:
Table 26.6.5.2.6(A) Loading Capacities of One-Way Radio Alarm Systems
| Radio Alarm Repeater Station Receiver (RARSR) | System Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Type 6 | Type 7 | |
| Maximum number of fire alarm service initiating device circuits per RARSR | 5,120 | 5,120 |
| Maximum number of RATs for fire | 512 | 512 |
| Maximum number of all types of initiating device circuits per RARSR in any combination* | 10,240 | 10,240 |
| Maximum number of RATs for all types of fire alarm service per RARSR in any combination* | 1,024 | 1,024 |
| System Units at the Supervising Station | ||
| Maximum number of all types of initiating device circuits per system unit* | 10,240 | 10,240 |
| Maximum number of fire-protected buildings and premises per system unit | 512 | 512 |
| Maximum number of fire alarm service initiating device circuits per system unit | 5,120 | 5,120 |
*Includes every initiating device circuit (e.g., waterflow, fire alarm, supervisory, guard, burglary, hold-up).
- Identification of the type of signal to show whether it is an alarm, supervisory, delinquency, or trouble signal
- Identification of the signal to differentiate between an initiation of an alarm, a supervisory, a delinquency, or a trouble signal and a clearing from one or more of these conditions
- Identification of the site of origin of each status change signal
- *Identification of specific types of signals that dictate a different response
If duplicate equipment for signal receiving, processing, display, and recording is not provided, the installed equipment shall be designed so that any critical assembly is able to be replaced from on-premises spares and the system is able to be restored to service within 30 minutes. A critical assembly shall be an assembly in which a malfunction prevents the receipt and interpretation of signals by the supervising station operator.
Exception: Proprietary station systems.
Any method of recording and display or indication of change of status signals shall be permitted, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
- Each change of status signal requiring action to be taken by the operator shall result in an audible signal and not less than two independent methods of identifying the type, condition, and location of the status change.
- Each change of status signal shall be automatically recorded. The record shall provide the type of signal, condition, and location, as required by 26.6.6.1, in addition to the time and date the signal was received.
- Failure of an operator to acknowledge or act upon a change of status signal shall not prevent subsequent alarm signals from being received, indicated or displayed, and recorded.
- Change of status signals requiring action to be taken by the operator shall be displayed or indicated in a manner that clearly differentiates them from those that have been acted upon and acknowledged.
- Each incoming signal to a DACR shall cause an audible signal that persists until manually acknowledged.
Testing and maintenance of communications methods shall be in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 14.