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Fire Alarm Testing. Fire alarm testing and inspection advice and outline procedures.
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Standards and guidelines.
Most system manufacturers recommend at least one full annual test and inspection after initial installation and acceptance.
Various agencies, organizations, and local authorities recommend (and in some cases mandate) fire alarm testing intervals.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) provides the National Fire Alarm Code, NFPA 72. This standard deals with
the application, installation, performance, and maintenance of protective signaling systems and their components. Chapter
7 is devoted to inspection, testing and maintenance. A table included in the document is several pages long and includes
generators, batteries, interface equipment, and other aspects of fire detection and alarm systems.
The local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and insurance companies also influence, recommend, or set forth standards
they deem necessary for the proper operation of life-safety systems. AHJs may establish guidelines that exceed NFPA
guidelines.
In virtually all cases, the standards outline minimum requirements. The potential problem, however, is that not all fire
alarm systems are subject to the same environmental and ambient conditions. Therefore, meeting minimum standards of all
applicable codes and standards may not provide the optimum protection for a facility. Because of this, manufacturers'
service organizations may recommend inspections, fire alarm testing and maintenance that exceed published standards and
guidelines.
Where to start.
Knowing the system's age and maintenance history helps you determine the steps you must take to maintain its operational
readiness. Systems under five years old should require little effort to maintain. In systems so young, problems are
usually due to marginal installation like improper grounding or environmental factors like voltage transients. Periodic
fire alarm testing and inspection by qualified specialists can detect many such problems.
Systems between five and ten years old may experience component breakdown caused by harsh, but normal, environmental
factors. Voltage fluctuations, temperature, and humidity may cause system failure or nuisance alarm problems.
Systems between ten and fifteen years old can still provide appropriate life-safety response. However, systems in this
category need close attention, even with proper maintenance procedures in place. If the system has had a history of poor
maintenance or none at all, it's likely that failure of components and improper monitoring of system components will
occur.
Systems approaching 20 years of age may be beyond their technological life expectancy. The system may continue to work
satisfactorily if properly maintained, but you need fire alarm testing and inspection by trained specialists to ensure
proper system response will occur in an emergency.
The steps. The maintenance activities for fire alarm systems can be summed up in five steps.
1. Test and calibrate alarm sensors, such as flame and smoke detectors, per manufacturer specifications. This requires
knowing about the different sensors and their testing requirements, failure modes, and re-installation requirements.
2. Simulate inputs and test the annunciators. This requires specific knowledge of the system under test.
3. Set sensitivity. This requires an understanding of the particular system, the specific application, and fire
detection theory.
4. Coordinate with fire department to test the input to their system.
5. Check the battery for corrosion and expiration date, then take appropriate action, if necessary.
These steps seem simple enough, provided you have the knowledge. However, that knowledge is useless if you don't pay
absolute attention to detail. Experience shows that maintenance technicians under pressure to keep production equipment
running often overlook important details because 'nothing is broken'.
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