CENTRAL STATION SERVICE

By Richard J. Roux and the NFPA Engineering Team

The responses to these questions are prepared by NFPA technical staff to help users understand NFPA codes and standards. However, the responses aren’t formal interpretations issued pursuant to NFPA regulations. Any opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the NFPA or its Technical Committees. The responses are neither intended, nor should be relied upon, to provide professional consultation services.

Q. The Code refers to 3 types of Supervising Stations.  Why does it refer to Central Station as a “service” rather than a “system”?  Can you explain the difference between certificated and placarded?

A. NFPA 72®-2002, National Fire Alarm Code®, Chapter 8, covers the requirements for the performance, installation, and operation of fire alarm systems at a continuously attended supervising station and between the protected premises and the continuously attended supervising station and the various transmission technologies available.

In many cases, the Life Safety Code®, NFPA 101, requires emergency forces notification to be provided to alert the municipal fire department and fire brigade (if provided), of fire or other emergency per Section 9.6.4.  This requires automatically conveying the protected premises building alarm condition to a continuously attended remote location.  (Note that NFPA 72, Chapter 8 also provides requirements for guard’s tour, supervisory, trouble and test signals).  In Chapter 8, NFPA 72 provides for three types of Supervising Stations:

1. Fire Alarm Systems for Central Station Service, Section 8.2
2. Proprietary Supervising Station Systems, Section 8.3
3. Remote Supervising Station Fire Alarm Systems, Section 8.4

Although the central station is considered by many to be a physical location occupying a building or a portion of a building, it provides actions and functions not required of proprietary or remote station systems.  Although the proprietary or remote station systems could provide these same actions and functions, they are not required by the Code.  The central station is required by the Code to provide six (6) specific services; these services are referred to as elements.  The six elements that are required to be provided by the central station are listed in Section 8.2.2.  These are as follows:

1)  Installation of fire alarm transmitters

2)  Alarm, guard, supervisory, and trouble signal monitoring

3)  Retransmission

4)  Associated record keeping and reporting

5)  Testing and maintenance

6)  Runner service

As the Code requires all six elements to be provided, if any one of the elements is lacking, the protected premises does not have central station monitoring.  The monitoring is effectively reduced to remote station monitoring.

In addition to the six elements, the Code requires the central station service elements to be provided under contract to a subscriber by one of the following:

1)    A listed central station that provides all of the elements of central station service with its own facilities and personnel.

1. A listed central station that provides, as a minimum, the signal monitoring (element 2), retransmission (element 3), and associated record keeping and reporting (element 4) with its own facilities and personnel and is permitted to subcontract all or any part of the installation (element 1), testing and maintenance (element 5) and runner service (element 6).
2. A listed fire alarm service – local company that provides the installation (element 1), testing and maintenance (element 5) with its own facilities and personnel and subcontracts the monitoring (element 2), retransmission (element 3), and associated record keeping and reporting (element 4) to a listed central station.  The required runner service (element 6) is to be provided by the listed fire alarm service–local company with its own personnel or the listed central station with its own personnel.
3. A listed central station that provides the installation (element 1), testing and maintenance (element 5) with its own facilities and personnel and subcontracts the monitoring (element 2), retransmission (element 3), and associated record keeping and reporting (element 4) to another listed central station.  The required runner service (element 6) can be provided by either central station.

It becomes obvious how the Code specifically ensures that in every case, all 6 elements are required to be provided by a listed central station or listed fire alarm service – local company and under written contract.  There are related types of contract service that often are provided from, or controlled by, a central station but that are neither anticipated by, nor consistent with, the provisions of Section 8.2.2.  Although Section 8.2.2 does not preclude such arrangements, a central station company is expected to recognize, provide for, and preserve the reliability, adequacy, and integrity of those supervisory and alarm services intended to be in accordance with the provisions of Section 8.2.2.

Typically, the listed central station provides the three elements at the supervising station and subcontracts one or more of the elements at the protected premises.  Most commonly, the central station subcontracts part of the installation.  A typical situation where this might occur includes those facilities where a sprinkler system installer, acting as a subcontractor of the listed central station operating company, installs the fire alarm and supervisory initiating devices on the sprinkler system at a protected premises.

Many fire alarm system installers connect protected premises fire alarm systems to a location remote from the protected premises, which monitors signals.  Relatively few such arrangements meet the requirements of Section 8.2.3 and should not be called a ‘‘central station service.’’  Only service that incorporates all six elements of central station service provided by listed alarm service providers who design, specify, install, test, maintain, and use the system in accordance with the requirements of Section 8.2.3 should be called ‘‘central station service.’’

To assure the baseline level of quality for a central station fire alarm system, the Code requires a testing laboratory, acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction, to list both the equipment and the operating company providing the service.

The Code requires that fire alarm system service providers only use listed equipment.  The listing process involves not only testing the equipment to make certain it performs properly, but also inspecting the production of listed equipment to make certain the manufacturer has not changed the product after the laboratory has tested it.

Most authorities having jurisdiction accept the services of one or both of these testing laboratories: Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and FM Approvals (FM).  Both laboratories rely on the requirements of the Code to guide their testing requirements.

Representatives of the laboratory visit each central station operating company to review records of signals and to audit the personnel performing operations and service.  The representatives verify the construction of the physical central station and check the equipment and the power supplies.

Both Underwriters Laboratories Inc. and FM Approvals also provide for the listing of fire alarm service – local companies.

The Code requires that the protected premises be certificated or placarded, thus attesting that the protected premises fire alarm system is, in fact, provided with all 6 elements required by Section 8.2.2 and meets the contractual requirements of Section 8.2.3.  For this reason, Section 8.2.4 requires the prime contractor to conspicuously indicate that the fire alarm system providing service at a protected premises complies with all the requirements of this Code by providing a means of third-party verification, as specified in Section 8.2.4.1 or Section 8.2.4.2.  The Code requires the protected premises fire alarm system to be certificated or placarded, but not both.

To help ensure the inherent higher level of protection that a central station fire alarm system provides, Section 8.2.4 requires the prime contractor to conspicuously indicate that the entire fire alarm system meets the requirements of the Code by providing a means of third-party verification.

This requirement does not intend that the organization providing third-party verification will actually inspect every central station fire alarm system.  Nor does it mean that when the organization providing third-party verification does inspect a central station fire alarm system that such an organization will inspect every aspect of that system.  However, by providing a means of third-party verification, a prime contractor makes provision for a potential additional level of oversight.

The requirement in Section 8.2.4 tends to promote and encourage installation, testing, and maintenance procedures that will help ensure the overall quality of the central station fire alarm system.  Further, the conspicuous indication that the installation complies with all the requirements of the Code helps promote a much more determined effort to implement the requirements of the Code than might otherwise occur.

The prime contractor may conspicuously post a certificate issued by the organization that has listed the central station.  Or, the prime contractor may post a placard that indicates compliance.  By intent, the Code does not provide details of the process by which the listing organization issues the required certificate to the listed prime contractor.  Rather, the Code leaves these details up to the procedures and practices of the listing organization.

Unless an authority having jurisdiction specifies one of these two methods, the prime contractor—either the central station or the listed fire alarm service (local company)—may choose the method of conspicuous indication.

Section 8.2.4.1 requires fire alarm systems providing service that complies with all the requirements of this Code to be certificated by the organization that has listed the central station.  A document (a certificate) attesting to certification is to be located on or within 36 in. of the fire alarm system control unit or, if no control unit exists, on or within 36 in. of a fire alarm system component.

The organization that has listed the central station determines the detailed procedures that result in the issuing of a certificate.  This organization produces a document, or certificate, for a specific protected premises.  The prime contractor then conspicuously posts this certificate to indicate that the supervising station fire alarm system complies with all the requirements of the Code, and that the prime contractor has provided a means of third-party verification.

In UL’s program, a UL-listed prime contractor submits an application form to UL asking UL to issue a certificate for the specific installation.  UL reviews the details supplied on the application form, and if it judges that the installation described on the application form meets the requirements of the Code, and UL’s own requirements, it issues the certificate.  To help maintain the integrity of the certification process, UL annually inspects a statistically significant sampling of certified installations for each listed prime contractor.

Section 8.2.4.2 offers an alternative method to certificating; this is referred to as placarding.  This particular method is the one chosen for use by FM Approvals.  As with the certificate, the organization that has listed the central station determines the detailed procedures that result in the posting of a placard.  The prime contractor then conspicuously posts a placard to indicate that the supervising station fire alarm system complies with all the requirements of the Code, and that the prime contractor has provided a means of third-party verification.

To help maintain the integrity of the placarding process, FM inspects a sampling of placarded installations.  It should be noted that this process of inspecting a statistical sampling of the placarded installations bears close resemblance to listing procedures for fire alarm system components.  The listing organization does not inspect every smoke detector for compliance, but rather conducts field inspections and randomly audits the production of listed equipment and components to verify compliance.

The marking is required to be by one or more placards that meet the requirements of the organization that listed the central station and requires the placard.  The placard(s) is to be 20 in. sq. or larger, be located on or within 36 in. of the fire alarm system control unit or, if no control unit exists, on or within 36 in. of a fire alarm system component, and identify the central station by name and telephone number.

For central station service, all three criteria must be in place; these are: the 6 service elements, written contract per Section 8.2.3 and the required posting for certificating or placarding.

It is the prime contractor’s responsibility to remove all compliance markings (certification markings or placards) when a service contract goes into effect that conflicts in any way with the requirements of Section 8.2.4.  If someone makes a change that invalidates the designation, central station service, the prime contractor must remove the certificate, or placard, as well as any other means that designates the installation ‘‘central station service.’’  This enforcement will ensure that only those systems meeting all six elements of central station service and the requirements of Section 8.2.3 and Section 8.2.4 will have this designation.

Fire alarm system service that does not comply with all the requirements of Section 8.2 cannot be designated as central station service.