The NFPA 72 (''National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code'') is a standard published by the National Fire Protection Association every 3 years for installation of

fire alarm systems A fire alarm system warns people when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other fire-related or general notification emergency, emergencies are detected. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also ...

and emergency communication systems in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Purpose

The NFPA 72 "covers the application, installation, location, performance, inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire alarm systems, supervising station alarm systems, public emergency alarm reporting systems, fire warning equipment and emergency communications systems (ECS), and their components." Federal, state, and local

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

across the United States have adopted the NFPA 72 as a standard in the

enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. En ...

fire code Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

regulation. Municipalities often adopt revisions of the code after years of review and amendments, making many local fire codes specific to their governing authorities.

Structure

The NFPA 72 2019 (Current) is sectioned as follows: * Chapter 1 Administration * Chapter 2 Referenced Publications * Chapter 3 Definitions * Chapter 4 Reserved * Chapter 5 Reserved * Chapter 6 Reserved * Chapter 7 Document * Chapter 8 Reserved * Chapter 9 Reserved * Chapter 10 Fundamentals * Chapter 11 Reserved * Chapter 12 Circuits and Pathways * Chapter 13 Reserved * Chapter 14 Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance * Chapter 15 Reserved * Chapter 16 Reserved * Chapter 17 Initiating Devices * Chapter 18 Notification Appliances * Chapter 19 Reserved * Chapter 20 Reserved * Chapter 21 Emergency Control Function Interfaces * Chapter 22 Reserved * Chapter 23 Protected Premises Alarm and Signaling Systems * Chapter 24 Emergency Communications Systems (ECS) * Chapter 25 Reserved * Chapter 26 Supervising Station Alarm Systems * Chapter 27 Public Emergency Alarm Reporting Systems * Chapter 28 Reserved * Chapter 29 Single- and Multiple-Station Alarms and Household Signaling Systems * Annex A Explanatory Material * Annex B Engineering Guide for Automatic Fire Detector Spacing * Annex C System Performance and Design Guide * Annex D Speech Intelligibility * Annex E Sample Ordinance Adopting ''NFPA 72'' * Annex F Wiring Diagrams and Guide for Testing Fire Alarm Circuits * Annex G Guidelines for Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings and Campuses * Annex H Carbon Monoxide * Annex I Informational References * Index The previous version of NFPA 72 (2016) was sectioned as follows: * 1. Administration * 2. References and Publications * 3. Definitions * 4. Reserved * 5. Reserved * 6. Reserved * 7. Documentation * 8. Reserved * 9. Reserved * 10. Fundamentals * 11. Reserved * 12. Circuits and Pathways * 13. Reserved * 14. Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance * 15. Reserved * 16. Reserved * 17. Initiating Devices * 18. Notification Appliances * 19. Reserved * 20. Reserved * 21. Emergency Control Interfaces * 22. Reserved * 23. Protected Premises Fire Alarm Systems * 24. Emergency Communications Systems (ECS) * 25. Reserved * 26. Supervision Station Alarm Systems * 27. Public Emergency

Alarm An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention. Alphabetical musical instruments Etymology The word ''alarm'' comes from t ...

Reporting Systems * 28. Reserved * 29. Single and Multiple-Station Alarms and Household Fire Alarm Systems * Annex A * Annex B * Annex C * Annex D * Annex E * Annex F * Annex G Informational References * Index

References

Firefighting in the United States Safety codes Safety organizations Electrical standards NFPA Standards {{standard-stub