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 and emergency communication systems in the United States.
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 across the United States have adopted the NFPA 72 as a standard in the enforcement of fire code 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 2022 (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 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