NFPA 72 code sections · Installation Guidelines
Appliances hang from the box, not the wires — and guards must be listed
Notification appliances must be securely supported independent of their conductors; the wires are not the mounting. Where appliances are subject to damage — gymnasiums, loading docks, detention areas — any protective guard must be listed for use with that specific appliance, because a cage changes the light output and the sound pattern. Appliance nameplates stay visible, the candela setting is readable after installation, and outdoor appliances are listed for the environment and mounted in weatherproof back boxes.
NFPA 72 reference
Chapter 18 — Notification Appliances
18.3 General (18.3.1 listing; 18.3.3 physical construction and protection from damage — guards listed for the appliance; 18.3.4 mounting independent of attached conductors; 18.3.2 nameplate/markings visible)
References use NFPA 72 2019/2022 numbering — section numbers can shift between editions, so confirm in the edition your AHJ has adopted.
On the job
A school gym's horn/strobes get hit by basketballs, so the maintenance staff build steel mesh cages around them. The inspector asks for the guard listing — there isn't one, and the cages block part of the strobe lens. They are replaced with the manufacturer's listed wire guards that keep the full light pattern.
Quick check
1. A strobe guard in a gym must be:
2. A notification appliance may be supported by:
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