NFPA 72 code sections · Fire Alarm Control Panels
Keep the program: site-specific software records at the panel
A modern panel is only as good as its configuration. The code requires a record of the site-specific software — the revision date, who changed it and what — be kept at the control unit or an approved location, along with a copy of the software itself so the system can be restored after a board failure. Software changes trigger reacceptance testing, and the technician must be qualified and authorized by the manufacturer for that panel. A panel nobody has the program for is a panel nobody can repair.
NFPA 72 reference
Chapter 23 — Protected Premises Fire Alarm Systems
23.2.2 Site-Specific Software (23.2.2.1 copy of the site-specific software provided to the owner; 23.2.2.2 record of software revision maintained at the control unit); 14.4.2.3 reacceptance after software changes
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
Lightning takes out a 12-year-old panel's main board. The replacement board needs the site program; the original installer is out of business and the owner has no copy. Three weeks of surveying 400 devices and rebuilding the cause-and-effect follows — a week of fire watch that a USB stick in the documentation cabinet would have prevented.
Quick check
1. A copy of the panel's site-specific software must be:
2. Changing the site-specific program requires:
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