Fire Alarm Inspections

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Fire Alarm Inspections

The Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical Department has provide this information in regards to the review, inspection, and acceptance testing requirements of fire alarms installed in new and existing buildings within the City of Lawrence, KS. It is our goal to facilitate this process from application of permit to completion of final approval for all fire protection inspections.

Submittal Requirements

Once the permit process has identified the requirement by code to install a fire alarm in a building, the following sections of the 2018 International Fire Code apply to the submittal process.

907.1 General

This section covers the application, installation, performance and maintenance of fire alarm systems and their components in new and existing buildings and structures. The requirements of Section 907.2 are applicable to new buildings and structures. The requirements of Section 907.9 are applicable to existing buildings and structures.

907.1.1 Construction Documents

Construction documents for fire alarm systems shall be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of this code, the International Building Code 2018, and relevant laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, as determined by the fire code official.

Local Requirements:

  • Fire Alarm: Shop drawings to be prepared by NICET Level III or Fire Protection Engineer in accordance with the 2018 International Fire Code with local amendments NFPA 72. Deferred submittals of shop drawings to be submitted for review within 30-60 days of permit issued. Initial review for code compliance should be complete within 15 business days. Fire Protection System reviews and consults will be performed on Thursdays of every week. Scheduling of any pre-submittal meetings shall be arranged with the Fire Prevention Offices to facilitate the process.
  • Two hard copies and one electronic copy required.

907.1.2 Fire Alarm

Shop drawings for fire alarm systems shall be submitted for review and approval prior to system installation, and shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

  1. A floor plan that indicates the use of all rooms.
  2. Locations of alarm-initiating devices.
  3. Locations of alarm notification appliances, including candela ratings for visible alarm notification appliances.
  4. Location of fire alarm control unit, transponders and notification power supplies.
  6. Power connection.
  7. Battery calculations.
  8. Conductor type and sizes.
  9. Voltage drop calculations.
  10. Manufacturers’ data sheets indicating model numbers and listing information for equipment, devices and materials.
  11. Details of ceiling height and construction.
  12. The interface of fire safety control functions.
  13. Classification of the supervising station.

907.1.3 Equipment

Systems and components shall be listed and approved for the purpose for which they are installed.

Fire Alarm Inspections

On the permit issued to the applicant and contractor there may be several fire protection system inspections. The Fire Alarm Final Inspection listed as # 606 is to be called in by the contractor to the Development Services IVR inspection hotline at 785-832-7710. Follow the automated hotline to completion. The contractor should leave contact information to schedule all personnel needed to complete this inspection. The Fire Prevention Division will contact the contractor the morning of inspection to coordinate acceptance testing. If the contractor wishes to perform testing in the morning it is recommended to contact Fire Prevention Division at least 24-48 hours prior to inspection date. Fire Prevention 785-832-7003, 832-3174 or 832-3175.

The acceptance testing will be conducted in accordance with the 2018 International Fire Code and 2016 edition of NFPA 72. A Record of Completion shall be provided to the inspector at start of the acceptance testing and final fire alarm inspection. Examples of a Record of Completion can be found in section 7.8 of the 2016 edition of NFPA 72 document.

907.7 Acceptance test and completion.

Upon completion of the installation, the fire alarm system and all fire alarm components shall be tested in accordance with the 2016 edition of NFPA 72.

907.7.1 Single- and multiple-station alarm devices.

When the installation of the alarm devices is complete, each device and interconnecting wiring for multiple-station alarm devices shall be tested in accordance with the smoke alarm provisions of NFPA 72.

907.7.2 Record of completion.

A record of completion in accordance with NFPA 72 verifying that the system has been installed and tested in accordance with the approved plans and specifications shall be provided.

907.7.3 Instructions.

Operating, testing and maintenance instructions and record drawings (“as builts”) and equipment specifications shall be provided at an approved location.

If the fire alarm is initiated by another fire protection system it shall be tested in conjunction with that system as well. For example the fire alarm system shall be tested with all automatic sprinkler systems, type I hoods with automatic fire-extinguishing systems required by the International Fire Code.

Approval

All Fire Protection systems shall be approved on the permit prior to any approval for Temporary Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Occupancy recommendation to the Development Services Building Official.