Security Sales & Integration July 2023 - 11

SMARTS & PARTS
Fire Side Chat by Shane Clary
Know How NFPA
715 Diff ers From 72
Some
variances
between
the location
of smoke
detectors and
alarms and fuel
gas detectors
and alarms
are that [the
latter] must
be installed
per the
manufacturer's
published
instructions.
▶ IN THE JUNE 2021 Fire Side Chat, I discussed
a new standard that the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) was in development
of, NFPA 715, Standard for the Installation of
Fuel Gases Detection and Warning Equipment.
Th e standard has been completed as released with
a 2023 edition date.
While the standard is now published, it has
not yet been adopted by the model codes as
promulgated by the NFPA or the International
Code Council (ICC). I do expect this to occur
during the next cycle of the model codes. Th e
standard has nine chapters and four annexes:
▶ Chapter 1, Administration
▶ Chapter 2, Referenced Publications
▶ Chapter 3, Defi nitions
▶ Chapter 4, Fundamentals of Fuel Gas
Detection Systems
▶ Chapter 5, Protected Premises Fuel Gas
Detection Systems
▶ Chapter 6, Notifi cation Appliances for Fuel
Gas Detection Systems
▶ Chapter 7, Off -Premises Signal Transmission
▶ Chapter 8, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance
▶
Chapter 9, Single- and Multiple-Station
Alarms and Household Fuel Gas Detection
▶ Annex A, Explanatory Material
▶ Annex B, Dangers and Properties of Fuel
Gases
▶ Annex C, Guidelines for Emergency
Responders
Shane Clary, Ph.D., is an
SSI Industry Hall of Famer
and has more than 45
years of security and fi re
alarm industry experience.
He serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.
securitysales.com
▶ Annex D, Informational References
Th e layout of the standard should look familiar
to anyone who uses NFPA 72, Th e National
Code for Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems. A
large portion of the requirements that are within
NFPA 715 are extracted from NFPA 72. Th is
is not NFPA 72, so an individual who may be
designing, installing or testing a system in accordance
with FPA 715 does need to know the differences
between the two standards.
Chapter 4 covers in part the power requirements
for a fuel gas detection system. Th ere is a diff erent
one for standby power. While within NFPA 72
smclary@bayalarm.com
states there is to be capacity for 24 hours of standby
and then either fi ve or 15 minutes in alarm
with all notifi cation appliances active, NFPA
715 requires that at the end of the 24 hours of
standby, the system can still provide power to the
notifi cation appliances for 12 hours. If, however,
the system is supervised by a monitoring station,
the 12 hours may be reduced to fi ve minutes. Th e
reason is if the building is not occupied at the time
that alarm is activated, the notifi cation appliances
would still be sounding when occupants may
return during a workweek. If the system is being
supervised by an off site monitoring center, the assumption
is a responsible party will be notifi ed.
Th ere is no chapter within 715 dedicated to the
siting of fuel gas detectors. Within Chapter 5, Section
5.8.5.3.1 off ers the prescriptive requirements
for where fuel gas detectors are to be installed. Some
variances between the location of smoke detectors
and alarms and fuel gas detectors and alarms are
that they must be installed per the manufacturer's
published instructions. For natural gas, they are to
be installed within 12 inches of the ceiling, while
for liquefi ed petroleum gas (LP0Gas) they are to
be sited within 18 inches of the fl oor. Additional
requirements are within 5.8.5.3.1.
Fuel gas detectors should activate when the concentration
threshold is at or below 25% of the Lower
Explosive Limit (LEL). Notifi cation of an alarm
should be through the protected premises unless
the system is being supervised by a monitoring station
or a constantly attended on site location. In
this case, the notifi cation may be limited to the area
in which the fuel gas alarm signal was initiated.
Th e audible signal is to be diff erent from any
other signal within the protected premises. It
may be either a continuous or temporal signal.
Th e temporal signal is not to be a temporal three
(fi re alarm) or temporal four (carbon monoxide)
but should sound for a minimum of three minutes
unless the system is reset of silenced. If the
notifi cation appliance is within a sleeping area,
it is to produce a 520Hz low frequency sound.
Th e color of a strobe for these systems is white
or clear. Th e notifi cation appliance may be labeled
as FUEL GAS as long as the appliance is
not being used in combination with other systems
in the protected premises.
As 715 becomes adopted within the model
codes, system installers should become familiar
with it as the requirement for these detectors will
increase.
JULY 2023 Security Sales & Integration
11
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Security Sales & Integration July 2023

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