Is this legal?

I saw this Fire-Lite BG-12LX pull station and a Fire-Lite annunciator in a cookware store. Both devices have their keys inserted. Is this legal?


I doubt it’s legal, but I’ve seen quite a few buildings do this, so they probably don’t care even if it is illegal.

The equipment looks brand new, perhaps the installers left them in so you know where they belong before they go and remove them for their final resting place. I know it’s Illegal in most areas to tamper/open fire alarm devices but not so sure about leaving keys in the devices.

If anyone knows for a fact that I am incorrect in my hypothesis feel free to correct me.

The closest justification I can find in code comes from Chapter 10 of NFPA 72:
10.12.3: The fire alarm notification deactivation means shall be key-operated or located within a locked cabinet, or arranged to provide equivalent protection against unauthorized use.
You could argue that leaving the key in defeats the purpose of the lock being there in the first place.

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Some one could steal those keys and tamper with the system like: opening up the pull station and flipping the switch or Disabling the keypad on that annunciator