mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
Does any one do testing and inspection to fire system? Do you have to have a contract with your customers? Please any input it is really appreciated.
Fire panel inspection
- Thread starter mtnelectrical
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mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
uhmm. It seems nobody does this.
peter d
Senior Member
- Location
- New England
In my area, a yearly testing contract is required by the fire marshall's office.
highendtron
Senior Member
I have an annual contract with two customers to test their fire alarm systems. One establishment is a day care and the other is a senior rest home. What are you looking for? I base the charges on the time spent testing each device and it usually takes three hours at each place.
MisterCMK
Member
- Location
- Twin Cities, MN
Yes, that is what we primarily do is fire alarm work. What do you want to know?
A large chunk of our work is fire, and it is nothing like electrical work, the need for experience in this field is a must, and having all the special insurances in place, is also a must, and even the contract is different form our electrical contract, with fire work you marry the project, your knowledge of all the related codes, is another must, but if you make the step it is a great field, just be prepared to be paying 5 to 6 times plus the annual audit increases, for insurance, the first time you fill out the annual audit to renew your policy, you will get the idea of the liability your facing.
gadfly56
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
We do testing and inspection of fire alarm systems and are likewise located in New Jersey. If you are looking to do this yourself, there are three ways you can qualify in NJ to work on fire alarm systems.
1. Be a licensed electrical contrator.
2. Be a licensed Fire & Burglar alarm installer.
3. Be a licensed Fire Equipment Contractor with a qualification for fire alarm.
If you're 2. or 3., there's a certain presumption you know what you're doing. If you are 1. and have spent the last 10 years doing nothing but VFD installs (for example), you might want to pause before you jump in. If you need someone to do the inspection for you, check the yellow pages or PM me and we'll see if we can help.
Contracts are necessary to protect both you and your client. I'm not sure if the contract is required directly or indirectly. For example, the fire official is going to want to see proof that the fire alarm system is maintained during the year, not just that it gets inspected once a year. He/she wants to know that if a problem occurs between inspections there is a contractual relationship that will move the repair process forward. The proof is provided by a current contract.
When a new fire alarm is commissioned, the Record of Completion has a line about who has the contract for maintaining the system. Without that line being filled out, the AHJ may not sign off on the install.
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
what about the monitoring station or Central Station? Do you make a contract with them or the customer?
gadfly56
Senior Member
- Location
- New Jersey
- Occupation
- Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
We have a contract with a central station provider and re-sell the monitoring service. There is a contract between us and the customer and also between the customer and the provider. We wind up taking all the financial risk :roll:.
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
Does the rates of monitoring vaires with the size of the system or is it a flat rate?
If you're 2. or 3., there's a certain presumption you know what you're doing. If you are 1. and have spent the last 10 years doing nothing but VFD installs (for example), you might want to pause before you jump in. If you need someone to do the inspection for you, check the yellow pages or PM me and we'll see if we can help.
Well I have been doing some residential and commercial lately but my experience is more industrial, I think I could still learn fire systems, would you recommend any training course?
If you're 2. or 3., there's a certain presumption you know what you're doing. If you are 1. and have spent the last 10 years doing nothing but VFD installs (for example), you might want to pause before you jump in. If you need someone to do the inspection for you, check the yellow pages or PM me and we'll see if we can help.
Well I have been doing some residential and commercial lately but my experience is more industrial, I think I could still learn fire systems, would you recommend any training course?
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
what products do you use to test devices?
Devices are tested to manufactures testing standards, in some cases they have test tools, and in others they may have the panel monitor the device conditions.
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
I am referring to the anually testing required. Although addressable system have the ability to monitor their connected devices, they still need to be testes, right?
you have monthly qtr an annual testing on some systems, it will depend on a number of things, for example, do they monitor water flow, have fire pumps, door closures, not every system is the same, and testing may be different for every one.
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
I see, like you said there is a lot to learn code related, and I believe when it comes to inspections must be the same things, some inspectosr want to enforce some codes more than others, right?
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
the system that I talking about it is small conventional panel, 3 zones every zone with just 2 sd in the 1 and 2 nd floor and 2 or 3 heat detectors in the basement, nothing else.no even pull stations, or remote annunciators or horn strobes, they have bells, it is an old garden complex with 7 panels with the same set up.
And if one of those garden units has someone that is heard of hearing or vision problems, you may need a strobe and horn, or some other notify appliance in their unit, this fire business is full of liability issues, the reason it cost more for insurance, and you need approved contracts on every account without exception.
mtnelectrical
Senior Member
- Location
- Essex, New Jersey
would that be the owner responsability to ask for up to code compliance or the fire marshall or you who maintain the system?
approved contracts? by who.
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