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Not sure if this is the right forum or not but hoping someone can give me some direction. I need to have a manual pull down fire alarm (think red box you see in schools) installed in my home. It needs to be "connected" to the fire department so it is monitored and recognized as a daycare/preschool if it ever is pulled. Anyone have any idea where to start? I have the actual fire alarm but I can't find anyone - including the fire marshall - to tell me who I contact to have it wired correctly. My dh can wire it into the electrical system but that won't connect it to the fire department. So how does that happen? Anyone who can direct me in the right direction?
I can only speak as to what we do here in our city.
I am a professional firefighter. We did away with alarm boxes a few years ago, and now everyone in the type of business you have contracts out to a company like ADT. ADT calls dispatch, who in turn, tones us out to the call.
It may be different where you are. If you are trying to be compliant to a local code, they must be able to inform you as to how to be compliant. Talk to your local fire dept codes officer, or your building dept. Talk to other daycare centers who you know have had to have this.
Other then the state sponsored daycare centers, we do not require this of home based daycare centers here.
I know that in our area there is a company called Johnson Controls or something like that. They do that kind of work. Keep in mind I have limited knowledge on this topic but our kids' old school installed new fire alarms and they were some how connected to the phone line which then 'called' the fire department when an alarm was pulled. I KNOW you can get fire monitoring through companies like ADT, just like they monitor for burglar alarms. They might be able to connect the pull down alarm to their system--or have something comparable that would meet code.
Just a FYI-if you do have a fire system installed that reports to a fire station you will probably be eligible for a discount on your homeowner's insurance too.
I can only speak as to what we do here in our city.
I am a professional firefighter. We did away with alarm boxes a few years ago, and now everyone in the type of business you have contracts out to a company like ADT. ADT calls dispatch, who in turn, tones us out to the call.
It may be different where you are. If you are trying to be compliant to a local code, they must be able to inform you as to how to be compliant. Talk to your local fire dept codes officer, or your building dept. Talk to other daycare centers who you know have had to have this.
Other then the state sponsored daycare centers, we do not require this of home based daycare centers here.
Frank D.
Thanks for the info. Here if we want to be licensed out of our home for more than 5 kids we have to follow all the same rules as a daycare center. The requirement reads "There must be at least a manually operated fire alarm system installed in the child care center. This system must consist of an alarm bell, sending station and flashling light signal." I have been told by the state that some counties will allow a home security system to meet this requirement and some won't. I called the local fire marshal and he told me that I didn't have to have anything other than a smoke alarm which if you read the regulation, obviously isn't true. And due to the number of hoops we have to jump through there is only one other person in my county who has this type of license but she has been doing it for a really long time and is apparently grandfathered under some older laws that doesn't require her to have one at all.
So, not knowing enough about home security systems, obviously they have an alarm and some type of sending station to contact emergency personell but do they typically have a flashing light signal?
I guess I will try and call the building inspector tomorrow and see if he can answer my specific questions. It's frustrating when the person who is responsible for the inspection doesn't seem to know the rules.
I know that in our area there is a company called Johnson Controls or something like that. They do that kind of work. Keep in mind I have limited knowledge on this topic but our kids' old school installed new fire alarms and they were some how connected to the phone line which then 'called' the fire department when an alarm was pulled. I KNOW you can get fire monitoring through companies like ADT, just like they monitor for burglar alarms. They might be able to connect the pull down alarm to their system--or have something comparable that would meet code.
Just a FYI-if you do have a fire system installed that reports to a fire station you will probably be eligible for a discount on your homeowner's insurance too.
Thanks. Maybe I will try and contact ADT or CPI and see what they say.
You may also contact whatever agency insures you keep your acccreditation....they are the ones who have the rule, and will allow you to stay in business....perhaps they can help.
We have no direct line from anyplace here in the city. We are all gone out of the station many times during a shift. Everything goes through county dispatch.
You may also contact whatever agency insures you keep your acccreditation....they are the ones who have the rule, and will allow you to stay in business....perhaps they can help.
We have no direct line from anyplace here in the city. We are all gone out of the station many times during a shift. Everything goes through county dispatch.
Frank D.
I should say that the system our old school put in went to the 911 dispatch office, not the 'fire department' too.
Put simply, the fire marshall is the one doing the enforcing. If he says a smoke alarm is fine, then a smoke alarm is fine. He has to sign off on the C.O. Fire codes in some areas are way stricter than others, and some fire marshalls are nit-pickers.
A proper fire alarm system has a dedicated phone line and is hot-wired BEFORE the power gets to the main breaker box. That's right, in the case of a fire, the alarm system has to be left energized even if the breakers are thrown. (Something that scares the cr*p out of me, because without a breaker, any short in the system can't be safely handled.) That alone takes it out of the scope of something a home handyman can do. You can't get into the power company side of a meter box without a power company rep and a license.
If the sending unit dials the fire station, you WILL get billed for false alarms. Companies I've worked for have been on the receiving end of those bills, and they add up fast. You would absolutely want to go with a monitoring company that gets the alarm, tries to contact you, and only will call the fire department if you don't respond or tell them to.
FWIW, fire alarms in theatres typically have smoke sensors in every HVAC unit (often more than a dozen units), pull stations, annunciators ("Please walk to the nearest exit and leave the building, a fire has been detected"), emergency lights, flashing lights, siren, call station, and interlocks to the projection equipment that shuts off every projector and HVAC unit in the building when smoke is detected or someone pulls a pull station. These systems cost thousands of dollars, are a royal PITA, get taken out by any passing lightning bolt, and require regular visits by alarm repair companies. If you can get by with a smoke detector that calls ADT, count your lucky stars.
I found there best way to check out info on a fire alarm was at fireandsmokealarms.net . They have all the info you would need to make your fire alarm purchase a good one!
those pull stations have to be connected to a fire alarm control panel, which would be connected to a phone line. you won't be able to connect your household fire alarms to the FACP. you need a certain low voltage type.
depending on your code requirements, you may need some indicators too (strobe and horn).
contact an electrical contractor in your area to begin.
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