KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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comments on are you licensed to install fire alarm systems
November 28, 2018
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comments on are you licensed to install fire alarm systems from November 20, 2018 article
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Ken
The course that the writer probably took was fire alarm installation methods. In this course the student is taught that when you install one fire device on a burglar alarm system it becomes a fire alarm whether or not the total system is code compliant. By calling it a fire alarm system it is now mandated that the smoke detectors be wired using the proper fire wire FPL and that the battery and standby requirements for this system have not escalated to NFPA 72 required 24 hours standby with a 4 minute alarm ring off for residential application without loss of the sound pressure. The student is taught that when you install one fire device on a burglar alarm system it becomes a fire alarm whether or not the total system is code compliant. By calling it a fire alarm system it is now mandated that the smoke detectors be wired using the proper fire wire FPL and that the battery and standby requirements for this system have now escalated to NFTA 72 required 24-hour standby with a 4 minute alarm ring off for residential application without loss of the sound pressure war volume.
I hope this clarifies the issue for your writer .
From out in the cold
Joel Kent FBN SECURITY
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Ken
Your response is spot on. .
The NY State Alarm license does not allow you to install interconnected fire alarm systems or fire alarm devices/alarms connected to security systems for residential or commercial applications in NYC unless you are a licensed electrical contractor who has filed the necessary paperwork with NYC.
Any system whether voluntary or required code needs to be handled as listed above.
You can however repair and inspect approved systems as long as your company and its technicians have been approved by the FDNY to do so.
e. g. S 97/97 FDNY Certification
More importantly you would need to know what you are doing and review your insurance limits with your broker.
While l agree with Ken that the FDNY requirements, which are actually NYC Building Department requirements, where generated for other reasons and are not in conformance with the other jurisdictions in the state nobody has chosen to fight this rule and if anyone did they would have to have pretty "deep pockets" because of the serious objections they would get from the electrical industry.
So "your friend" who is retiring is not giving you anything for "free" but a liability for you and your company.
So l guess you got what you paid for.
PS You can't monitor those systems either unless they are filed and approved and are connected to an approved central station.
Regards,
Bob Williams
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Response
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You have to be very careful to understand Joel's comment. NFPA 72 may very well provide that once you install any fire detection device the system is a fire alarm system, and you now have to comply with NFPA 72 standards, but that may not be the deal you have with your subscriber.
Let's deal with residential subscribers. There are accepted standards for how a residence is to be equipped with fire detection devices; the residence would have a fire alarm system. But not all residential subscribers want to pay for a fire alarm system. Some may want only what they want, maybe a single smoke detector in one bedroom, a single heat detector in the boiler room; whatever they want and are willing to pay for definitely does not comply with NFPA 72 standards. Well, that's not a fire alarm system. That's some other kind of system with fire detection devices attached.
The Residential All in One makes this clear. If a fire alarm system to code, which usually means to NFPA 72 standards, is called for in the contract, then that is noted on the contract. However, when a fire alarm system is not intended, that too is noted on the contract.
As a licensed alarm installer you are not prohibited from selling or installing an alarm system that isn't up to code, you just better make that clear when you contract for something less than code. The Disclaimer Notice is helpful here, as a supplement to the Residential All in One.
Commercial subscribers are another matter. In most, not all, jurisdictions, fire alarms are highly regulated by the fire department. NYC for example has strict compliance for commercial fire alarm installations. As a fire alarm installer in NYC you should know about compulsory fire alarm systems, terminal numbers and other fire alarm procedures and regulations. Residential systems sometimes cause confusion because these systems are not required by the fire department. However, once you install a fire alarm system, even in a residence in NYC, you are expected to comply with the same rules applicable to a required commercial fire alarm system. Most alarm companies will install fire alarm components in residences in NYC and they need to be careful to explain that the system is not a fire alarm system to code, unless it is.
You should be using the Fire All in One for commercial fire. For residential systems, the Residential All in One. Be sure to use the Disclaimer Notice as well.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com