NFPA 72

The NFPA 72 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, 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 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
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 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