as determined by Underwriters Laboratories testing and listing guidelines for
use as a fire alarm notifier.
Fire alarm notification devices include, but are not limited to, the following:
n Bells
n Chimes
n Horns
n Speakers
n Strobes, including strobe lights combined with other devices
Monitoring
There are two fire alarm system classes:
- A protected premise system, which is a single building or campus of
buildings under control of one owner and protected by a single system
where the system is monitored locally or remotely by the owner - A supervised station system, which is much like a protected premise sys-
tem except that the system is continuously monitored by a third-party
security or central monitoring company; monitoring is addressed in
the following ways:
Local monitoring—When activated, a local alarm announces an
alarm in the area that it covers
Remote monitoring—When activated, a local alarm will be monitored
remotely by building or campus personnel through a communica-
tions network
Supervised station—When activated, a local alarm will be monitored
by an offsite company that provides recording, supervision and man-
agement of the fire alarm system
Communications and IP
The fire alarm system must call out in case of alarm. The NFPA code requires
that a fire alarm’s digital alarm communicator/transmitters (DACTs) be
connected to two independent means of communication to a supervising sta-
tion. Traditional fire alarm communications have used two dedicated phone
lines to call out to a supervising station or a primary telephone line with the
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