In 1896, the global non-profit organization, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), was established to eliminate “death, injury, and property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards.” It is commonly known as a codes and standards organization because it establishes the criteria for building, design, and installation that many structures worldwide follow.

The NFPA currently has 200+ codes and standards, and all of them were developed openly and based on consensus. These are often periodically reviewed by over 9000 of the NFPA’s members who have a wide range of professional expertise.

NFPA72

One of the codes developed by the NFPA is the NFPA72, which is also called the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. Its core focus is fire alarm systems, and it has provisions established regarding fire detection, signaling, and emergency communications. The NFPA72 code, like all of the NFPA’s other regulations, is continually changing to adapt to the times, and this code’s latest edition was updated just two years ago (2019).

The NFPA72 is particularly important because it maintains a standard for the proper installation, performance, inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire alarm systems. It also addresses different ways of transmitting alarms and signals from those systems to a supervising station.

A fire alarm system that conforms to NFPA72 standards is highly effective and proven to save lives.

NFPA72 Code Requirements

The commercial fire alarm code requirements for visual inspections cover the following:

  • Control unit trouble signals
  • Emergency voice alarm communications equipment
  • Remote annunciators
  • Batteries
  • Initiating devices (smoke and heat detectors, fire alarm boxes, etc.)
  • Supervising station fire alarms
  • Transmitters DACT
  • Control equipment (lamps and LED, main power supply, water flow devices, etc.)

Under the code, all fire alarm systems are to be inspected and serviced annually, or your business risks getting penalized for fire code violations.

RAEL Fire Protection

While the NFPA Codes are the standard on which most other fire-prevention codes and laws are based, each local, state, and federal authority has its own version of it. And it’s crucial that your building adheres strictly to these to avoid committing code violations. 

A full-service fire protection company like RAEL will make sure that all your bases are covered. With 80 years of inspection, testing, maintenance, and repair experience, RAEL provides a trusted and comprehensive fire protection program across all US locations. 

The NFPA now requires facilities managers to deliver a higher compliance reporting level, which our REDi solution was built for. REDi is a proprietary technology platform that combines Near Field Communication (NFC) tag technology with a mobile app and cloud-based database to provide our team and our customers with unsurpassed visibility into every piece of equipment we service. Through our REDi program, we provide a digital equipment inventory, real-time service validation, compliance tracking, and reporting. 

Get Code-Compliant Now. 

We’ll not only ensure that you’re NFPA72 compliant, but we’ll also make sure you’re fully protected because building and tenant safety is what matters. Contact us today at 855-723-5911 for the NY Metro Area or 844-438-7235 for National Service.