September 30, 2011

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A central station monitoring in the Tualatin Valley fire department jurisdiction questions if the AHJ can overrule NFPA 72. NFPA may set the industry standard, and while most jurisdictions look to and adopt industry standards set by NFPA and other private industry regulators, such as UL or ETL, state or local government is free to adopt whatever standards it deems appropriate. In this jurisdiction verification of commercial fire alarms is required and the procedure is spelled out. 90 seconds for signal transmission and 90 seconds to verify. Note that the verification process requires confirmation of no fire, so failure to confirm means dispatch. I don't believe this ordinance is that unique; there are plenty of local jurisdictions adopting verification requirements. This one may be noteworthy because it's for commercial fire, except for water flow and manual pull stations.

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Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Tualatin, Oregon now requires monitoring companies to attempt verification of all fire alarm signals

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TVF&R recently adopted Fire Code Ordinance 10-02, which requires that supervising stations attempt to verify fire alarm signals at the protected premises prior to retransmitting to the 9-1-1 center. While this is commonly done for residential (household) alarm systems, this ordinance now requires verification of all alarms, including commercial fire alarm signals.

TVF&R will be contacting business or building owners within our jurisdiction to notify them of the requirement and request that they contact their alarm monitoring provider to initiate verification for their property. We also want those in the Fire Alarm industry to be aware of this issue.

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TVF&R Fire Code Ordinance 10-02 states:

907.7.6 Alarm Verification. No later than December 1, 2010, or as soon thereafter as approved by a city or county, Supervising Stations shall not retransmit alarm signals to Public Fire Service Dispatch and Communications Centers until an attempt is made to verify the accuracy of the alarm signal at the Protected Premises. Verification attempt shall be made within 90 seconds of receipt of alarm signal. If the Protected Premises is contacted and can confirm that no fire or emergency condition exists, then the alarm signal shall not be retransmitted. In all other situations, the alarm signal shall be immediately retransmitted. This section modifies the retransmission requirements of NFPA 72. Nothing in this section is intended to permit delay of notification devices and evacuation at the Protected Premises.

Exception: Waterflow alarms and Manual Pull Station alarms shall be immediately retransmitted without verification where they can be distinguished by the Supervising Station from other alarm initiating devices at the Protected Premises.

 

Due to the challenges associated with implementation we are extending the deadline for compliance until March 1, 2011.

 

Supervising Stations are encouraged to use ANSI/CSA CS-V-01-2004, Alarm Verification and Notification Procedures for guidance in implementing Verification, which is defined as The attempt by monitoring facility personnel to verify that an emergency does not appear to exist at the monitored premises, by means of a telephone call, voice contact, or other electronic means. Monitoring companies may choose either Standard or Enhanced Verification.

 

The Ordinance also allows 90 seconds to initiate contact, which is in addition to the 90 seconds allowed for signal retransmission per NFPA 72 (2007) 26.3.7.1.2. This gives a total of 180 seconds to attempt to verify the validity of a fire alarm signal.

 

We want to thank the business community and the fire alarm industry for their strong support in helping reduce the large number of false fire alarm dispatches. If you have any questions about alarm verification at TVF&R, please contact Fire Marshal Steve Forster at (503) 705-7565.

 

TVF&R Fire Alarm Verification General FAQ

 

Q: Why is TVF&R requiring verification on all automatic fire alarms?

A: Because Alarm Verification has been proven to drastically reduce false alarms, which are a significant problem at TVF&R. From 2003 to 2007, we responded to more than 10,000 automatic commercial fire alarms – yet only two of those responses were to an actual working fire. Currently, nearly 1 in 10 emergency calls is a false alarm, resulting in substantial unnecessary costs and risk. Fire crews on a false alarm call are not available for true emergencies, and false alarms put fire apparatus on the road unnecessarily adding risk to our community.

Q: Why not just charge Repeat Offender Alarm Fees?

A: Fees or other disincentives for multiple alarms are an important tool for dealing with false alarms. However, less than 15% of alarms are repeated at a single location within a calendar year. To significantly impact false alarms, single alarm locations must be addressed.

Q: Why not require more maintenance of alarm systems?

A: Maintenance and inspection of alarm systems is critical. However, unintentional human-caused false alarms (from burnt toast, welding, etc) is a much larger problem than alarms due to a lack of maintenance (system malfunction). Based on the NFPA report, False Alarm Activity in the U.S., 2008, out of the 2.2 million alarms in 2008, 34% were attributed to System Malfunction, while nearly 44% were classified as Unintentional alarms. Further, the number of human caused alarms has been rapidly increasing over the past decade (by more than 150%) while system malfunction alarms have actually been decreasing (by more than 15%).

Q: Does this mean that buildings will be less safe?

A: No. Verification simply means that an emergency response could potentially be delayed up to 90 seconds. However, in the case of an unverified auto alarms, our response is a single unit driving Code 1 (no lights or sirens, traveling with regular traffic). In contrast, if the signal is verified  then it would receive a 6-8 apparatus driving Code 3 (lights, sirens, etc.). So, in most cases Verification will dramatically increase both the speed and size of an automatic alarm response.

Q: Does this mean that occupants won't evacuate a building during an alarm?

A: No. The requirement only applies to the silent alarm signal going to a Supervising Station. Onsite alarms, horns, strobes, etc. will activate and evacuation will occur per site protocols.

Q: Does Verification need to occur at all hours of the day or if there is not an on-site contact person?

A: Yes. Although some businesses may not be occupied 24 hours/day, Verification is still required. This is because it would be very difficult to track business hours and responsible party availability for every alarmed site. Additionally, a Responsible Party (RP) will need to be contacted for every alarm any way; this simply changes the order in which it occurs. Furthermore, the RP may be able to inform the monitoring company of important information related to the alarm, whether or not they are on site, which can then be conveyed to the 9-1-1 center.

TVF&R Monitoring Company FAQ

Q: What Cities and Counties are within TVF&R Jurisdiction?

A: The following cities are entirely within TVFR's service area: Beaverton, Tigard, Durham, King City, Rivergrove, Tualatin, Wilsonville, West Linn and Sherwood. Any alarm installed within one of these cities will be covered under this Ordinance. TVF&R also serves unincorporated portions of Multnomah, Clackamas County, and Washington County. However, TVF&R does not serve the entire unincorporated area of these 3 counties, so it is more difficult to determine affected addresses in the unincorporated areas.

Q: What if a City or County has not approved the Ordinance yet?

A: All Cities and Counties are expected to approve the Ordinance by March 1, 2011 (as of Feb 1 ten of the twelve jurisdictions had approved). We are encouraging monitoring companies to switch all accounts over if that is easier than sorting through them. As the AHJ, we have ability to waive the existing requirement prior to formal Ordinance implementation, however we simply would not mandate it until the particular city or county has formally approved. If it is simpler to wait and switch them all at once, that is an option as we have extended the compliance date to March 1, 2011 to accommodate that approach.

Q: Can we search for TVF&R served properties by zip code?

A: Yes, but only partially. The following seven zip codes are entirely within TVFR area: 97281, 97224, 97298, 97075, 97005, 97008, 97068. However, there are 24 more zip codes that are only partially within TVFR area: 97002, 97006, 97007, 97013, 97027, 97034, 97035, 97045, 97056, 97062, 97070, 97123, 97124, 97132, 97133, 97210, 97219, 97221, 97223, 97225, 97229, 97231, 97267, 97140.

Q: Is there any simple way of identifying properties covered by TVF&R?

A: No. Unfortunately, the boundaries of TVF&R do not line up with commonly searchable boundaries such as zip codes or county boundaries. Additionally, our primary dispatch center, Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA), serves multiple agencies, so monitoring companies can not simply add verification to accounts based solely on dispatch center. However, there are numerous GIS websites through Clackamas, Washington, Multnomah Counties where fire provider can be identified on a per parcel basis. Additionally, websites such as Portlandmaps.com can be used (look under Assessor tab.

Q: What if we didn't meet the December 1st deadline?

A: No enforcement action will be taken until at least March 1, 2011. We understand that implementation is difficult due to the unique boundaries of TVF&R a well as delays in adoption at city and county level. We want to ensure that monitoring companies have adequate time to learn of, and implement, the Ordinance.

Q: Will monitoring companies be fined or cited if a business is missed?

A: No, compliance will be handled at the alarmed location, not with monitoring companies providing the service. If a facility does not have Verification in place on their account, then we will request that they have the monitoring provider add it to their account. Any enforcement action will occur with the alarmed facility.