NFPA 72 code sections · Troubleshooting & Repairs
Trouble isn't just a light: the supervising station has duties too
When a monitored system sends a trouble or supervisory signal, the supervising station doesn't simply log it. The operator must notify the owner or the owner's designated representative — immediately for supervisory signals and within a defined time for troubles — and for central station service the station also notifies the AHJ when a system is out of service for 8 hours or more, dispatches a runner where required, and keeps records of every signal and action. A technician who takes a panel offline for an afternoon and doesn't tell the station starts that clock without knowing it.
NFPA 72 reference
Chapter 26 — Supervising Station Alarm Systems
26.3.8 Central Station — Disposition of Signals (alarm, supervisory, trouble; owner notification; AHJ notified when a system is out of service 8 hours or more); 26.5.5 remote station disposition of signals; 26.6.1 records
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 tech places a school's panel on test for 'the day' to chase a ground fault, leaves at 5 p.m. with the fault unresolved and the system still on test. At 1 a.m. the station gets no signal from a real supervisory because the account is still on test; at 8 hours the station calls the fire marshal, who finds out the system was impaired overnight with no fire watch.
Quick check
1. A central station must notify the AHJ when a monitored system is out of service for:
2. On receipt of a supervisory signal, the supervising station must:
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