Interior Fire Alarm and Signal System

NYC Admin. Code tit. 27, ch. 1, subch. 17, art. 5

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 27-968 Where required.

§ 27-968 Where required. (a) A closed circuit electrically supervised fire alarm signal system shall be installed in the following types of buildings: (1) Hotels, motels, lodging houses, dormitories, and single room occupancies having more than fifteen sleeping rooms or accommodating more than fifteen lodgers above the first or ground story. (2) Buildings classified in occupancy group H-1 or H-2. Systems installed in buildings where persons are restrained under the jurisdiction of an agency of the city or the state of New York may be modified to comply with the regulations of such agency, when such modification is approved by the commissioner. (3) Day care agencies having a board of health permit for the accommodation of more than thirty children. If such day care agency is located at the grade level of the building, the fire alarm system is required only in the premises of the day care agency. If the day care agency is located at other than grade level of the building, an approved fire alarm system shall be provided throughout the building. (4) Health clubs and turkish or other special treatment bath houses where there are sleeping accommodations for more than fifteen persons on the premises. (5) Department stores or retail sales establishments having one or more floors above the street floor to which the public is admitted or with a total floor area of twenty thousand or more gross square feet. (6) All public schools; also all private schools and university teaching buildings more than one story in height. If a school premise is located at other than a grade level of a building, an approved fire alarm system shall be provided throughout the building. (7) Single and multi-tenant factory buildings more than two stories in height in which more than twenty-five persons are employed above the ground floor, as provided by section two hundred seventy-nine of the labor law. In buildings where more than ten per cent of the building occupancy is engaged in manufacturing, the building shall have an approved fire alarm system throughout. (8) Buildings housing a motion picture studio. (9) Buildings classified in occupancy group E, seventy-five feet or more in height and buildings classified in such occupancy group occupied or arranged to be occupied by an occupant load of more than one hundred persons above or below the street level or more than a total of five hundred persons in the entire building. (10) a. Stages, dressing rooms and property rooms used in conjunction with all places of assembly used as cabarets. b. Places of assembly used as a cabaret. (b) Areas containing gas distribution piping operating at levels above fifteen psig shall have a combustible gas detection-alarm system, and a suitable fire protection system as approved by the commissioner with the concurrence of the fire commissioner.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-969 Approvals.

§ 27-969 Approvals. (a) Equipment and systems shall be made of approved materials, and shall be free from defective workmanship. The requirements of reference standard RS17-5 shall apply except as specifically qualified herein. (b) Before any fire alarm system is installed or extended, approval shall be obtained from the commissioner. (c) All devices and equipment that have been approved shall have securely fastened thereon a manufacturer's label indicating compliance with the requirements of section 27-135 of article eight of subchapter one of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-970 Existing installations.

§ 27-970 Existing installations. Except as provided in subdivisions (g) and (j) of section 27-972 of this article, fire alarm systems heretofore installed in buildings in accordance with rules then in force shall be accepted for use as long as they are maintained in good working order.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-971 Classification and general requirements of fire alarm systems.

§ 27-971 Classification and general requirements of fire alarm systems. Fire alarms shall be classified as follows and shall meet the following general requirements: (a) Uncoded closed circuit fire alarm system. Consisting of manually operated sending stations and audible signaling devices, so arranged that the operation of any station will automatically sound continuously the signaling devices throughout all portions of the building. (b) Master coded closed circuit fire alarm systems. Consisting of manually operated pull-lever type sending stations and audible signaling devices, so arranged that the operation of any station will automatically sound the signaling devices giving a common code of signals throughout all portions of the building. The code shall consist of four rounds of a series of single strokes of the signaling devices, each round consisting of "3-3-3-3". (c) Individually coded closed circuit general fire alarm systems. Consisting of manually operated pull-lever type sending stations and audible signaling devices, so arranged that the operation of any station will automatically sound the signaling devices, throughout all portions of the building, for a minimum of four rounds of a distinctive code of signals particular to the station at which the signal has been initiated. The code numbers that are used shall be subject to the approval of the fire commissioner. (d) Individually coded closed circuit presignal fire alarm systems. Consisting of manually operated pull-lever type sending stations and signal devices so arranged that the operation of any station will cause the sound of only the signal devices located in the engine room and basement and other places in the building where the members of a fire brigade work or assemble. The signaling device shall give four rounds of the particular code signal of the station at which the signal has been initiated. Approved equipment shall be provided at each station so that the operation of any station performed with the aid of a key or plug will sound all of the signal devices located in the building with four rounds of the particular coded signal of the station initiated. The code numbers used shall be subject to the approval of the fire commissioner. The presignal key or plug shall be so designed that it can be readily identified. Presignal type systems will not generally be approved; however, approval may be obtained from the fire commissioner where special type occupancies may warrant such a system. (e) Combination unit or zone, and general alarm coded closed circuit fire alarm systems. Consisting of manually operated pull-lever type sending stations and signal devices so arranged that the operation of any station will cause all of the signaling devices in that unit or zone to sound four rounds of the particular coded signal of the station initiated, and simultaneously will cause all of the signaling devices on the general alarm circuit to sound four rounds of the coded signal designating the unit or zone in which the station is located. An approved register and time stamp may be used in connection with this system when approved by the fire commissioner. The register, if of the closed circuit type, shall be operated from a separate closed circuit control board or panel isolated by a barrier from the main control panel in the main fire alarm control cabinet. An approved closed circuit unit annunciator with trouble alarm circuit shall be installed as part of this system when required by the fire commissioner. (f) Special systems. Consisting of the above systems as required, supplemented by special circuits for the operation of other fire alarm or detection devices in the systems, or electric control systems for stopping machinery, closing doors or ventilators, or shutting down fans as may be required by the commissioner or the code, or to call the central station of a private operating company of the fire department. Automatic fire detecting systems may be connected to operate an interior fire alarm system when connected thereto by an approved coded transmitter. In no case shall the transmitter be considered to replace the standard approved interior fire alarm station, except where a transmitter has been approved for both purposes. The special control circuits and devices shall be separate and distinct from the fire alarm system but shall be brought into action whenever the fire alarm system is set in operation. (g) Class E system. Consisting of a class E fire alarm signal system as described in subdivision (f) of section 27-972 of article five of this subchapter and reference standard RS 17-3A. Such systems shall be exempt from the provisions of section 27-973 of article five of this subchapter, except that compliance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of such section shall be required. (h) Modified class E system. Consisting of a modified class E fire alarm signal system as described in subdivision (g) of section 27-972 of article five of this subchapter and reference standard RS17-3B. Such systems shall be exempt from the provisions of section 27-973 of article five of this subchapter, except that compliance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of such section shall be required. (i) Class C system. Consisting of a class C fire alarm signal system as described in subdivision (k) of section 27-972 and reference standard RS 17-3A. Such systems shall be exempt from the provisions of section 27-973 of article five of this subchapter, except that compliance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of such section shall be required. (j) Class J system. Consisting of a class J fire alarm signal system as described in subdivision (l) of section 27-972 of article five of this subchapter and reference standard RS 17-3A. Such systems shall be exempt from the provisions of section 27-973 of article five of this subchapter, except that compliance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of such section shall be required. (k) Modified class J system. Consisting of a modified class J fire alarm signal system as described in subdivision (m) of section 27-972 of article five of this subchapter and reference standard RS 17-3B. Such systems shall be exempt from the provisions of section 27-973 of article five of this subchapter, except that compliance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) and subdivision (e) of such section shall be required. (l) Modified class J-1 system. Consisting of a modified class J-1 fire alarm signal system as described in paragraph two of subdivision (j) of section 27-972 of article five of this subchapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-972 Systems required for specific occupancies.

§ 27-972 Systems required for specific occupancies. (a) In any type of one-story building where a fire alarm system is required and where the floor area is not more than twenty-five hundred square feet, an uncoded closed circuit fire alarm system may be used. (b) Private and public schools. Master coded systems shall be used in all schools, except that schools having more than fifteen hundred students shall have an individually coded system. (c) Single and multi-tenant factory buildings. (1) In factory buildings, an individually coded closed circuit fire alarm system shall be installed except as hereinafter provided. An uncoded circuit fire alarm system may be used in buildings not exceeding two stories in height, having not more than twenty-five hundred square feet in area in any one story, and having not more than one hundred persons in a single factory nor more than fifty persons in a multiple tenant factory above the first or ground floor. (2) Special fire alarm signal systems may be designed for use in buildings subject to the approval of the commissioner. (d) A common coded closed circuit system may be used in a motion picture studio, and in addition, an approved rate-of-rise or other approved thermostatic fire alarm system, with direct connections to a central office of an approved operating fire alarm company or the fire alarm telegraph central station, shall be provided for protecting the open studio door. Also there shall be one or more manual fire alarm boxes, which shall be located so as to be readily accessible from the open studio door. (e) Hospitals, asylums, and nursing homes. Buildings classified in occupancy group H-2 shall meet the following requirements: (1) An individually coded closed circuit fire alarm system shall be provided in accordance with subdivision (c) of section 27-971 except where the fire commissioner shall have approved an individually coded closed circuit presignal fire alarm system as described in subdivision (d) of section 27-971. All fire alarm systems shall be activated by sprinkler waterflow and by all other fire detection devices installed in the building. (2) Alarm systems shall be installed in zones of a maximum size of twenty thousand square feet. (3) Manual fire alarm sending stations shall be at staff locations only. (4) Where two or more buildings are served by one fire brigade, a combination unit or zone and a general alarm coded closed circuit fire alarm system shall be provided and an approved indicating annunciator installed in each building. Upon initiation of a station signal, general alarm signaling devices shall sound in engine rooms and subgrade areas of each building, and unit or zoned alarm signaling devices shall sound throughout all areas in only the building wherein the station signal was initiated. In the building where the station signal has been initiated, an approved annunciator shall indicate the station at which the signal is initiated. (f) Buildings classified in occupancy group E, one hundred feet or more in height, and existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height except as provided in subdivision (g) of this section shall be provided with a class E fire alarm signal system as follows: (1) It shall be a special electrically supervised approved direct wire, radio or combination thereof fire alarm signal system consisting of an interior fire alarm and voice communicating system so arranged that the operation of any station will identify its location at the fire command station as required by section 27-975 of this article, at the mechanical control center and at the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director. This identification signal shall be accomplished by means of an information display system which shall be manually resettable from the fire command station only. (2) The nomenclature used for the location identification system shall be subject to the approval of the fire commissioner. (3) In addition to the visual devices required above, audible signal devices indicating operation of the fire alarm signal system shall be provided at the fire command station, mechanical control center and the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director. Provisions shall be made for silencing the audible signal and transferring this signal to lamp indication. (4) Operation of a manual station shall automatically transmit a fire alarm signal to the fire department via a central office of an operating company franchised by the board of estimate, and cause the fire alarm signal system to sound continuously throughout the floor where activated and the floor above. (5) The fire alarm signal may be sounded over loud speakers as provided in reference standard RS 17-3A so located that their operation will be heard clearly above any ambient noise, and shall be controlled from the fire command station in such a manner that the fire alarm signal can be sounded on the individual floors or throughout the building. (6) Provision shall be made whereby the fire command station may permit the floor station to make announcements over the loud speaker system. (7) The loud speaker amplifier system shall be so designed and installed that approximately fifty (50) percent of the system shall remain operable for the transmission and audibility of signals and intelligibility of voice communication over the loud speaker system throughout the building, in the event the other fifty (50) percent become inoperable. The electrical supply for this fire alarm system, including the amplifiers, shall be in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. (8) An approved product of combustion ionization detecting device or a combination of an approved smoke detecting device and an approved fixed temperature thermostatic device shall be installed at each elevator landing. The device shall be located in the ceiling immediately above a call button. The activation of this device shall have the same effect as specified in subparagraphs a through e of paragraph nine of this subdivision and in addition cause the overriding of the programming for car stops of all automatic elevators serving the floor where activated and bring them non-stop to the floor levels designated by section 210.13C of reference standard RS 18-1. (9) In buildings which are provided with air-conditioning and/or mechanical ventilation systems that serve more than the floor on which the equipment is located, the activation of any of the detectors installed in such air-conditioning and/or mechanical ventilation systems in accordance with the provisions of RS 13-1 of the reference standards shall: a. cause the fire alarm signal system to sound continuously throughout the floor where activated and the floor above. b. cause a fire alarm signal to be transmitted to the fire department via a central station of a franchised operating company. c. cause the fire alarm signal system to sound at the fire command station required by section 27-975 of this article and to sound an alarm in the mechanical control center and at the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director, and to operate an information display system as provided in paragraph one of this subdivision. d. stop the air supply into and the air return from the floor where activated by actuation of approved remote control reversible fire shutters or by automatically shutting down the air supply fans and the air return fans of the floor where activated, notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1001 through 1005 of RS 13-1 of the reference standards relating to air supply and air return controls in case of fire. e. cause the activation of the air exhaust fans and dampers in smoke shafts and/or the pressurizing fans in stair enclosures. (10) A building equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system including a water flow alarm shall be exempt from the installation of any detectors pursuant to paragraph eight of this subdivision and section 1006 of reference standard RS 13-1 provided the activation of the sprinkler water flow alarm shall have the same effect as specified in subparagraphs a through e of paragraph nine of this subdivision and in addition cause the overriding of the programming for car stops of all automatic elevators serving the floor where activated and bring them non-stop to the floor levels designated by section 210.13C of reference standard RS 18-1. (11) In existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height where compliance would cause practical difficulty or undue hardship, the commissioner may waive or modify the requirements of paragraphs one through nine of this subdivision (f) and accept alternatives fulfilling the intent of these requirements. (12) Existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height shall comply with the requirements of this subdivision on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty-one. Complete plans of the installation shall be filed with the commissioner on or before June thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. A permit shall be secured from the commissioner on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. Where compliance with the time requirements of this paragraph would cause undue hardship, the commissioner, with the approval of the fire commissioner, may extend the time for compliance, in accordance with rules and regulations to be promulgated. Before such application for a time extension shall be considered all required applications and plans must be filed and approved permits obtained and a good faith effort towards completion of the work shall have been made. (g) Fire alarm or communication systems installed prior to December thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty in existing office buildings, one hundred feet or more in height, may be incorporated or installed in a modified class E fire alarm signal system provided they comply with the following: (1) It shall be a special electrically supervised approved direct wire, radio or combination thereof fire alarm signal system consisting of an interior fire alarm and voice communicating system so arranged that the operation of any station will identify its location at the fire command station as required by section 27-975 of this article, at the mechanical control center and at the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director. This identification signal shall be accomplished by means of an information display system which shall be manually resettable from the fire command station only. (2) The nomenclature used for the location identification system shall be subject to the approval of the fire commissioner. (3) In addition to the visual devices required above, audible signal devices indicating operation of the fire alarm signal system shall be provided in the fire command station, mechanical control center and the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director. Provisions shall be made for silencing the audible signal and transferring this signal to lamp indication. (4) Operation of a manual station shall automatically transmit a fire alarm signal to the fire department via a central office of an operating company franchised by the board of estimate, and cause the fire alarm signal system to sound continuously throughout the floor where activated and the floor above. (5) The fire alarm signal may be sounded over loud speakers as provided in reference standard RS 17-3B so located that their operation will be heard clearly above any ambient noise, and shall be controlled from the fire command station in such a manner that the fire alarm signal can be sounded on the individual floors or throughout the building. (6) The electrical supply for this modified fire alarm system, including the amplifiers, shall be in accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. (7) An approved product of combustion ionization detecting device or a combination of an approved smoke detecting device and an approved fixed temperature thermostatic device shall be installed at each elevator landing. The device shall be located in the ceiling immediately above a call button. The activation of this device shall have the same effect as specified in subparagraphs a through e of paragraph eight of this subdivision and in addition cause the overriding of the programming for car stops of all automatic elevators serving the floor where activated and bring them non-stop to the floor levels designated by section 210.13C of reference standard RS 18-1. (8) In buildings which are provided with air-conditioning and/or mechanical ventilation systems that serve more than the floor on which the equipment is located, the activation of any of the detectors installed in such air-conditioning and/or mechanical ventilation systems in accordance with the provisions of RS 13-1 of the reference standards shall: a. cause the fire alarm signal system to sound continuously throughout the floor where activated and the floor above. b. cause a fire alarm signal to be transmitted to the fire department via a central station of a franchised operating company. c. cause the fire alarm signal system to sound at the fire command station required by section 27-975 of this article and to sound an alarm in the mechanical control center and at the regularly assigned location of the fire safety director, and to operate an information display system as provided in paragraph one of this subdivision. d. stop the air supply into and the air return from the floor where activated by actuation of approved remote control reversible fire shutters or by automatically shutting down the air supply fans and the air return fans of the floor where activated, notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1001 through 1005 of RS 13-1 of the reference standards relating to air supply and air return controls in case of fire. e. cause the activation of the air exhaust fans and dampers in smoke shafts and/or the pressurizing fans in stair enclosures. (9) A building equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system including a water flow alarm shall be exempt from the installation of any detectors pursuant to paragraph seven of this subdivision and section 1006 of reference standard RS 13-1 provided the activation of the sprinkler water flow alarm shall have the same effect as specified in subparagraphs a through e of paragraph eight of this subdivision and in addition cause the overriding of the programming for car stops of all automatic elevators serving the floor where activated and bring them non-stop to the floor levels designated by section 210.13C of reference standard RS 18-1. (10) Existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height shall comply with the requirements of this subdivision on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty-one. Complete plans of the installation shall be filed with the commissioner on or before June thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. A permit shall be secured from the commissioner on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. Where compliance with the time requirements of this paragraph would cause undue hardship, the commissioner, with the approval of the fire commissioner, may extend the time for compliance, in accordance with rules and regulations to be promulgated. Before such application for a time extension shall be considered all required applications and plans must be filed and approved, permits obtained and a good faith effort towards completion of the work shall have been made. (11) In existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height where compliance would cause practical difficulty or undue hardship, the commissioner may waive or modify the requirements of paragraphs one through nine of this subdivision (g) and accept alternatives fulfilling the intent of these requirements. (h) Buildings classified in occupancy group E, less than one hundred feet in height occupied or arranged to be occupied for an occupant load of more than one hundred persons above or below the street level or more than a total of five hundred persons in the entire building, and on or before January eighteenth, nineteen hundred seventy-five, existing office buildings less than one hundred feet in height, occupied or arranged to be occupied, as hereinabove specified, shall be provided with a system acceptable to the commissioner, which shall: (1) consist of equipment which shall have the capability of two-way voice communication from a fire command station to the warden on each floor of the building and the mechanical control center, to be used for fire emergencies and fire drills. (2) have the capability of transmitting a fire alarm signal from the fire command station to the fire department via a central station of a franchised operating company. (i) (1) High-rise buildings classified in occupancy group C shall be provided with a fire alarm and communication system meeting the requirements of subdivision (k) of this section and reference standard RS 17-3A. (2) Buildings classified in occupancy group J-1, either seventy-five feet or more in height or containing thirty or more sleeping rooms (except "residential hotels" as such term is defined by the commissioner pursuant to rules and regulations) shall be provided with a fire alarm and communication system meeting the requirements of subdivision (l) of this section and reference standard RS 17-3A. In lieu of fire warden stations, either of the following are acceptable as a two-way voice communications system: 1. A closed circuit supervised fire department telephone system meeting the following conditions in complying with requirements of RS 17-3 as applicable to standpipe fireline telephone and signaling system: a. Means on every floor to communicate by telephone with the fire command station. A permanent telephone shall be located at the fire command station. All other floors near the main riser shall be provided with telephones or telephone jacks. Telephones or jacks shall be installed in locked cabinets capable of being opened with a fire department standard key. b. At least six portable telephones with jack connections shall be provided unless permanent telephones are installed at every required location. The portable telephones shall be kept in a cabinet located near the fire command station and shall be provided with a lock capable of being opened with a fire department standard key. Such cabinet shall be locked at all times and marked portable telephones for fire department use. c. A pilot light shall be provided at the fire command station to indicate that the telephone is in use or that its receiver is off the hook; or 2. A fire communication slotted coaxial cable radio system installed to provide adequate communication capability throughout the building. Adequate communication is defined as the capability for clear two-way communication between a fire department portable radio at the lobby command post and another fire department portable radio at any other point in the building. Such system shall be acceptable to the fire department. (j) (1) Existing buildings seventy-five feet or more in height, classified in occupancy group J-1 (except "residential hotels" as such term is defined by the commissioner pursuant to rules and regulations) shall be provided with a fire alarm and communication system meeting all the applicable requirements of subdivision (m) of this section and reference standard RS 17-3B. In lieu of fire warden stations, either of the following is acceptable as a two-way voice communication system: 1. A closed circuit supervised fire department telephone system meeting the following conditions in complying with requirements of RS 17-3 as applicable to standpipe fireline telephone and signaling system: a. Means on every floor to communicate by telephone with the fire command station. A permanent telephone shall be located at the fire command station. All other floors near the main riser shall be provided with telephones or telephone jacks. Telephones or jacks shall be installed in locked cabinets capable of being opened with a fire department standard key. b. At least six portable telephones with jack connections shall be provided unless permanent telephones are installed at every required location. The portable telephones shall be kept in a cabinet located near the fire command station and shall be provided with a lock capable of being opened with a fire department standard key. Such cabinet shall be locked at all times and marked portable telephones for fire department use. c. A pilot light shall be provided at the fire command station to indicate that the telephone is in use or that its receiver is off the hook; or 2. A fire communication slotted coaxial cable radio system installed to provide adequate communication capability throughout the building. Adequate communication is defined as the capability for clear two-way communication between a fire department portable radio at the lobby command post and another fire department portable radio at any other point in the building. Such system shall be acceptable to the fire department. (2) Existing buildings less than seventy-five feet in height and containing thirty or more sleeping rooms, classified in occupancy group J-1, shall be provided with a modified Class J-1 fire alarm and communications system as follows: (a) A fire command station shall be provided at the entry floor level in accordance with the requirements of the fire commissioner. (b) A public address system shall be provided acceptable to the fire commissioner capable of being easily heard (80 dbs at sixty feet) in all existing corridors, hallways, passageways and stairs. (c) The approved existing interior fire alarm system shall be acceptable provided that it shall automatically transmit a fire alarm signal (when activated) to the fire department via a central station connection of an operating company which is franchised where applicable and which is acceptable to the fire department. (k) Buildings classified in occupancy group C, seventy-five feet or more in height, shall be provided with a class C fire alarm and communications system which shall meet the criteria contained in paragraphs one through ten of subdivision (f) of this section and the criteria contained in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 27-975 of this article. (l) Buildings classified in occupancy group J-1, seventy-five feet or more in height or containing thirty or more sleeping rooms, shall be provided with a class J fire alarm and communication system which shall meet the criteria contained in paragraphs one through ten of subdivision (f) of this section and the criteria contained in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 27-975 of this article. (m) Existing buildings classified in occupancy group J-1, seventy-five feet or more in height, shall be provided with a modified class J fire alarm and communication system which shall meet the criteria contained in paragraphs one through nine of subdivision (g) of this section and the criteria contained in subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 27-975 of this article. (n) All other occupancies shall be provided with an individually coded closed circuit general fire alarm system when a fire alarm system is required.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-973 Location and identification of sending stations and sounding devices.

§ 27-973 Location and identification of sending stations and sounding devices. (a) Location of sending stations. (1) There shall be at least one fire alarm sending station in each story of any building at all natural paths of egress to the street. The station shall be installed at a readily accessible location meeting the approval of the fire commissioner. The sending station shall be kept unobstructed at all times. Additional sending stations shall be installed so that no point on any floor is more than one hundred fifty feet from the nearest sending station in buildings of Group I construction and one hundred feet in buildings of Group II construction. (2) All fire alarm stations installed or relocated after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-four shall be installed so that the handle is approximately four feet from the floor. (b) Location of sounding devices. (1) Sounding devices shall be of sufficient number so that the alarm shall be clearly audible to all the occupants of the building. (2) The centerline of all gongs and signaling devices shall be located at least eight feet above the floor except that in locations where ceilings prevent the installation at this height, the centerline of the device shall be located six inches below the ceiling. (3) Approved gongs shall be provided as the sounding devices. Where gongs are not audible, approved horns, chimes, or whistles may be installed subject to the approval of the fire commissioner. (c) Location of instructions. An approved instruction card, properly marked and framed under glass, shall be installed at each fire alarm station. Instruction cards for individually coded systems shall indicate the code designation and location of each sending station in the building. (d) Fastening for devices. All materials and devices used in fire alarm signal systems shall be securely fastened in position. The locations shall be selected by an architect or engineer, subject to the approval of the commissioner. (e) Identification of equipment. Fire alarm sending stations for all systems shall be painted red. A diagonal white stripe one inch wide from upper left hand corner to lower right hand corner shall be painted or applied to sending stations which transmit a fire alarm signal to the fire department via a central station of a franchised operating company. The stripe shall not render any lettering illegible or obliterate the station number. (f) Mixed occupancy buildings. Where a building is subdivided by fire divisions, each building section may be treated as a separate building for the purpose of fire alarm signal system installations. One control board may be used, if so arranged as to operate the signaling devices in each building section independently. (g) Subdivided occupancy. In buildings requiring fire alarm signal systems, and in which parts are occupied by other than factory tenants and in which the fire department has approved the use of a local fire brigade, the commissioner may accept dual operation systems.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-974 Standpipe fireline telephone and signaling systems.

§ 27-974 Standpipe fireline telephone and signaling systems. (a) In every building more than three hundred feet high, a telephone and signaling system shall be provided for fire department use in operating the standpipe system. (b) Such system shall permit communication by permanent telephones in the pump rooms, on the entrance floor, and in gravity tank rooms communicating with floors, and by means of permanent or portable telephones on each floor near the main standpipe riser. The system shall be a selective ringing, common talking system supplied by a twenty-four volt direct current power source. (c) Permanent wall telephones shall be provided with six inch gongs at each instrument. The telephones in the pump room shall be equipped with a loudspeaking receiver so that a voice can be distinctly heard at a distance of at least fifteen feet from the receiver. All other floors shall be provided with jacks, protected by break-glass boxes, or with permanent telephones. (d) At least three portable telephones with jack connections shall be provided for each standpipe installation, unless permanent telephones are installed at every required location. The portable telephones shall be kept in a cabinet located in the main hall of the entrance floor and shall be provided with a lock capable of being opened with a fire department standard key. Such cabinet shall be locked at all times. The panel of the cabinet door shall be conspicuously marked "portable telephone for fire department use". (e) A pilot light shall be provided over the standpipe telephone cabinet in the entrance floor to indicate if the telephone is in use or a receiver is off the hook. (f) Standpipe signaling devices. (1) Manual type individually coded sending stations shall be located in the main corridor of the building or other location meeting the approval of the commissioner. This system shall be so arranged that a coded signal will be transmitted to the alarm sounding devices. An eight inch gong shall be provided in the pump rooms, in elevator shafts at intervals not exceeding ten floors, and at such other locations selected by the architect or engineer, subject to the approval of the commissioner. All apparatus used in connection with the signaling system shall be of an approved type and installed as required by the provisions of reference standard RS 17-3 governing the installation of interior fire alarm systems. (2) Adjacent to each telephone station and near the main standpipe riser, there shall be provided an approved closed circuit strap key enclosed in a sheet metal box equipped with a paracentric fire department lock and approved hinges. The strap key shall be connected in series with the box circuit of the signal sending station. (3) A card of instructions shall be placed in the pump room giving code numbers of signaling stations, the pressure obtainable at various speeds of the fire pump motor, and such other information as the commissioner may direct. (g) Where the building is subject to the provisions of subdivision (f) or (g) of section 27-972 of this article with respect to the requirement for a modified class E fire alarm signal system, the standpipe fireline telephone and signaling system may be combined with such fire alarm system provided: (1) the alarms and two-way voice communication with the fire command station include the pump room and gravity tank or pressure tank room, and (2) a designated floor station of the modified class E fire alarm signal system is located at or near the main standpipe riser on every floor.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-975 Communication system and fire command station.

§ 27-975 Communication system and fire command station. Buildings classified in occupancy group E seventy-five feet or more in height, or, if less than seventy-five feet in height, with a total gross area of two hundred thousand square feet or more and existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height, shall be provided with the following: (a) a communication system acceptable to the commissioner consisting of: (1) loud speakers on each floor of the building, in each elevator and each stair enclosure, which shall be capable of being operated from the fire command station. (2) a two-way voice communication capability between the fire command station and the following locations: a. a designated floor warden station on each floor b. mechanical control center c. elevators d. air-handling control rooms e. elevator machine rooms (b) The fire command station shall be located in the lobby of the building on the entrance floor as part of the elevator control panel or immediately adjacent thereto. Such command station shall be adequately illuminated and shall contain the following: (1) the loud speaker and communication capability described in subdivision (a) of this section. (2) the audible alarm signal required in subdivision (f) and (g) of section 27-972 of this article. (3) manually reset information display system to indicate the floor where the alarm was activated. (4) means to control the sounding devices on any floor or throughout the building. (5) means to manually transmit a fire alarm signal to the fire department via a central station of a franchised operating company. (6) means for silencing the audible alarm signals when the loud speakers are in use and for activating the audible alarm systems automatically when use of the loud speakers is terminated. Switches used for this purpose shall be of the self-restoring type. (7) display lamps to include on/off condition of air-handling systems unless such lamps are provided in the mechanical control center. (8) means for testing the display lamps, local alarms and the connection to the central station of a franchised operating company. (c) Existing office buildings one hundred feet or more in height shall comply with the requirements of this section on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty-one. Complete plans of the installation shall be filed with the commissioner on or before June thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. A permit shall be secured from the commissioner on or before September thirteenth, nineteen hundred eighty. Where compliance with the time requirements of this subdivision would cause undue hardship, the commissioner, with the approval of the fire commissioner, may extend the time for compliance, in accordance with rules and regulations to be promulgated. Before such application for a time extension shall be considered all required applications and plans must be filed and approved, permits obtained and a good faith effort towards completion of the work shall have been made.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-976 Installation.

§ 27-976 Installation. Installation, source of energy, wiring, and other requirements shall comply with reference standard RS17-3, RS17-3A or RS17-3B as applicable.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-977 Fire systems electrical tests.

§ 27-977 Fire systems electrical tests. Upon completion of a fire alarm system, and other electrical systems, the installation shall be subjected to a test to demonstrate the efficiency of operation of all the components in the system and to an acceptance test by the fire department.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-53396Fetched: 10/24/2026