Three Common NFPA Codes Businesses Miss — or Misunderstand
There are more than 300 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes designed to prevent fire in commercial buildings and protect you, your employees, and your business. Given the sheer scope of all they cover, it’s easy to miss one or more of these standards. In this article we’ll talk about three of the most common NFPA codes that businesses often miss — or misunderstand.
NFPA 25: Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems
Water-based fire protection systems require regular inspection and routine maintenance. We rarely use these systems, but we still expect them to function properly in the event of a fire. NFPA 25 offers baseline rules for keeping water-based protection systems in tip-top shape and ready to work in an emergency.
Fire sprinkler inspections are typically tracked by local code enforcement. The inspection schedule of your equipment is determined by local code, the type of building and its occupancy, and the type of sprinkler system. A high-rise building, for instance, usually has a fire pump to increase the pressure of the sprinkler system so water can reach the top floor of the building, but smaller, one-story buildings don’t need this feature.
Sprinkler systems are mostly out of sight, so NFPA 25 tries to ensure they aren’t also out of mind. This code is in place to keep an effective safety tool active and ready if/when you need it most.
NFPA 72: Fire Alarm and Signaling
NFPA 72 covers the application, installation, location, performance, inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire alarm systems, public emergency reporting equipment, and fire warning and emergency communication systems. These systems are used in the event of a crisis or catastrophic event, such as terrorist attacks — biological, chemical, or nuclear — extreme weather, forest fires, or earthquakes.
Inspection of these systems includes examining their integration with other safety systems (e.g., access control). If your business switches phone service providers from traditional land lines to voice over internet protocols (VoIP), your entire safety system could also be affected. It’s also easy to forget to test audio and visual alarms in sleeping quarters, such as hotels or college dormitories. NFPA 72 also requires extensive documentation on building layout, minimum sound pressure to ensure coverage in large spaces, and diagrams of the integration between shared communications equipment.
NFPA 101: Life Safety Code
NFPA 101 covers the required maintenance and testing of emergency and exit lighting. Businesses are required to complete and document a visual inspection of the lighting fixtures once every 30 days, and pushing the test button on an emergency light isn’t quite enough. NFPA 101 also requires a 30-second illumination test under backup power during the same 30-day timeframe and a 90-minute illumination test under backup power at least once per year. The inspection, testing, and documentation of emergency lighting are areas of safety inspection businesses often overlook.
It’s easy to see where some NFPA system requirements could be missed or misunderstood. TRL Fire & Life Safety can help your business stay compliant with NFPA safety and inspection codes. We offer design, installation, testing, monitoring, and maintenance of fire alarms, emergency phone systems, smoke control, DAS, mass notification, and more. Our team can help ensure these critical systems function properly when you need them most — and keep your business in compliance with the NFPA. Contact us today!