[Added 5-2-1983; amended 12-7-1998]
All private building fire alarm systems connected to the City fire alarm
system shall be of the type that an alarm will be sounded at the emergency
alarm dispatch center, regardless of the power conditions in the protected
building, i.e., local power failure, dead batteries, or both, in the event
that a heat detector or manual pull station is activated.
The master box shall be of the radio type being used by the City of
Middletown at the time of installation. The box shall be located next to the
fire alarm control panel. The location is to be selected by the contractor,
with the approval of the Superintendent of Alarms. The building, when required
by the Superintendent of Alarms, shall be equipped with a slave box mounted
as near the front entrance as possible. The height of both boxes shall be
60 inches to center from ground level. The slave box may be surface or flush
mounted.
A minimum two inches of galvanized electrical conduit is to be installed
from any pedestal-mounted master box. This conduit is to terminate in the
equipment room in which the master box is located. The conduit shall be installed
as straight as possible. A ten-foot ground rod is to be driven at the base
of the pedestal and a No. 10 electrical ground brought to inside of the base
of said pedestal. All inside conduits will be of a minimum of 3/4 inch. All
material required to extend aerial fire alarm wires shall be supplied by the
electrical contractor. All panels and terminal cabinets must be equipped with
a universal key used by the Fire Department.
An Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., (UL) approved DC dual alarm panel
shall be used. The location shall be selected by the contractor with the approval
of the Superintendent of Alarms. The panel shall be equipped for smoke detectors
and must be able to initiate other functions (close automatic smoke doors,
shut down fans, etc.) when the fire alarm system is activated. The dual alarm
panel shall be constructed so that an open circuit or short circuit in the
City fire alarm system will not keep the internal evacuation devices from
working. It will also sound a local alarm and trip the master box when activated
during a local power failure. This control panel shall supervise the local
alarm station circuit and sound a trouble signal and annunciate the zone if
wiring trouble exists. Only nickel cadmium batteries of 13 AH rating and higher
are to be used in the cabinet and automatic charger. The panel shall have
a horn disconnect switch and smoke detector reset switch. A trouble condition
will show on the fire alarm panel when either switch is in the off position.
The control panel shall be equipped with a universal key used by the Fire
Department.
A.Â
A building, when required by the Superintendent of Alarms
to have an annunciator, may use a remote annunciator installed in the front
entrance to the building, or other location with the approval of the Superintendent
of Alarms. An approved annunciator is one that uses a lamp behind a translucent
panel at least three inches by three inches in size and has the zones marked
on the back of the translucent panels. There shall be a switch behind the
panel to test all lamps at the same time and a key switch to reset the annunciator
when it has been activated. The annunciator lamp is to be activated by a locked-in
relay, which can only be reset by the Fire Department. The relay is to be
energized when a station, heat detector, smoke detector, sprinkler or standpipe
is used.
B.Â
The one-hundred-fifteen-volt AC supply shall come from
a separate isolated power supply. The lamp panel and relay cabinet are to
have a universal key system used by the Fire Department.
Pull stations shall be mounted 60 inches from finished floor. They shall
be of the closed-circuit-type station, with one normally closed and one normally
open circuit. The stations are to be mounted so that they are not hidden by
doors, etc. The stations are to be designed to remain in a closed position
until tripped, then reset with a universal key used by the Fire Department.
Where there are additions to existing buildings, the stations shall match
the existing stations.
A.Â
Heat detectors shall be of the fixed-temperature type.
Rate-of-rise type is not acceptable. Heat detectors shall be 160º head
in storage areas and 212º head in kitchens and boiler rooms. An amount
equal to 20% of the heat detector heads is to be supplied by the contractor
as spare heads and stored in the control panel.
B.Â
Smoke detectors of the ionization type, upon approval
of the Superintendent of Alarms, may be tied into the fire alarm system and
shall have a pilot light indicator when fired, annunciated or both. Smoke
detectors shall be located on a separate circuit.
Sprinklers tied into the City fire alarm system shall have an approved
alarm valve or dry valve and shall be equipped with an approved wet pipe sprinkler
watchman or dry pipe sprinkler watchman. There shall be an excess pressure
pump and low pressure alarm switch. All sprinkler valves shall be equipped
with a tamper switch.
Horns shall be used throughout the building unless it is in a convalescent
home or a hospital. In a convalescent home or a hospital a flashing red light
or chimes must be used in the patient-occupied areas. When horns and lights
are required, they shall be of the combination type, and the lights shall
flash during alarm condition.
Fire alarm equipment must be from approved companies. Approved companies
are only those companies that meet the specifications, have been approved
by the Superintendent of Alarms, and have a factory branch office, with factory-trained
personnel, located within a twenty-five-mile radius of Middletown.
All wire shall be TW 600 volt, 3/64 insulation, with an Underwriters'
Laboratories, Inc. (UL) label.
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Station circuits
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No. 14 - orange (2 wires)
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Horns and lights
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No. 14 - 2 circuits minimum Red on No. 1 circuit Yellow on No. 2 circuit
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115-volt supply
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No. 12 - black and white
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Annunciator
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No. 16
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Master box ground
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No. 10 - white or green (in conduit to the street side or water main
or to ground rod)
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Note 1: Conduit or EMT to be used throughout system. All junction boxes
to be accessible and the covers to be painted red.
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Note 2: Circuit breaker to control panel to be painted red, marked,
and locked in the "on" position.
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Note 3: All wires to be solid and all connections soldered.
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Note 4: Variances from the above requirements shall be permitted with
the agreement and consent of the applicable Fire Chief and Fire Marshal, the
Alarms Division of the City and the Chief Building Official.
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