NFPA 72 code sections · Fire Alarm Control Panels
Ten seconds from device to horns
Once an initiating device activates, the fire alarm control unit has 10 seconds to activate the notification appliances, the emergency control functions and the annunciation at the protected premises. Alarm verification and positive alarm sequence are specific, permitted exceptions; sluggish networked panels, slow SLC polling or badly written cause-and-effect logic are not. The same chapter requires alarm, supervisory and trouble to be distinctly indicated and that the control unit identify which device or zone caused it.
NFPA 72 reference
Chapter 10 — Fundamentals
10.11.1 actuation of notification appliances, emergency control functions and annunciation within 10 seconds of initiating-device activation (exceptions for alarm verification 23.8.5.4 and positive alarm sequence 23.8.1.3)
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 campus of eight networked panels passes every device test, but the strobes in Building C take 14 seconds to start when a detector in Building A is tested — the network was configured to poll in sequence. The integrator switches to event-driven messaging and the delay falls to 3 seconds.
Quick check
1. After an initiating device activates, notification must begin within:
2. Which is a permitted exception to the 10-second rule?
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