Apartment Building Fire Alarm

[steve66]

What is normally required for a fire alarm system in an apartment building? I have a building with apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and they have common stairwells and corridors.

Would standard residential smoke alarms in each apartment, with a separate fire alarm system for common stairs and corridors meet code?

Does the common area fire alarm system need to alarm in each apartment? Or is having horn/strobes in the corridor enough?

Along the same lines, do the smoke alarms in each apartment have to set off the common fire alarm system?

 

[mgookin]

What is normally required for a fire alarm system in an apartment building? I have a building with apartments on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and they have common stairwells and corridors.

Would standard residential smoke alarms in each apartment, with a separate fire alarm system for common stairs and corridors meet code?

Does the common area fire alarm system need to alarm in each apartment? Or is having horn/strobes in the corridor enough?

Along the same lines, do the smoke alarms in each apartment have to set off the common fire alarm system?

Yes.
Yes., No.
No.

You are going to have to address the entire bldg. What's on the first floor?

 

[Alan Vogel]

Agreed.

 

[steve66]

Yes.
Yes., No.
No.

You are going to have to address the entire bldg. What's on the first floor?

Future restaurant.

So the common fire alarm would have to have notification devices in each apartment? Does that include each bedroom?

Do you have any code references? I looked in the IBC, but wasn't sure I understood it all.

 

[mgookin]

NFPA 72

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[steve66]

NFPA 72

You can get free access if you create a free account at http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/resources/free-access

Yes, I have NFPA 72, but it doesn't normally say when a fire alarm is required, or what type of system is required. That's usually in the building code.

 

[mgookin]

Yes, I have NFPA 72, but it doesn't normally say when a fire alarm is required, or what type of system is required. That's usually in the building code.

NFPA 101
Sorry.

And as to new and existing, if it was not that occupancy before, it's new. It has nothing to do with the age of the building.