Hello, Im new to fire alarm industry and I have a question that came up on one of my state exams.
How many smoke detectors ARE REQUIRED in a Commercial FAS to meet the NFSP code?
If you know please let me know as I wasnt able to find it anywhere.
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… and if you get questions let me know.
There’s no numerical minimum requirement for smoke detectors, but instead the amount of detectors depends on factors such as:
- Building size
- Occupancy type (hotel, factory, storage facility, grocery store, hospital, school etc)
- Fire load (amount of flammable materials in the building)
- Occupant types (children, old people, small groups, large groups, mass assembly)
- Local AHJ requirements for the facility (for example, Portland, ME requires all new systems be addressable)
- Specifications for the fire system released by the architects, contractor, building management, etc (they may want special system requests)
If your test asks you for a set requirement, it may be either a trick question because of the information above or your state may have some silly code that nobody has ever heard of before.
Check with your local AHJ codes and don’t forget that NFPA codes are generalized guidelines, it is up to the AHJ to either adopt them as is or modify them to fit their own requirements.