NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 56

In Compliance
NFPA 72
Fire alarms, signaling,
and emergency communications
NFPA 72 and the
need to reduce nuisance
smoke alarms
By Shawn Mahoney
A
tragic fire in a Philadelphia
rowhouse on
January 5 resulted in
the deaths of 13 people.
Investigators found that
none of the smoke alarms within the
upper unit, where the fire occurred,
56 | NFPA JOURNAL * SUMMER 2022
appeared to be working at the time
of the fire. Three smoke alarms had
been stuffed into a kitchen drawer, and
another was found in a bedroom drawer.
One alarm remained on the ceiling of a
bedroom but did not include a battery.
An additional alarm was found on the
floor of another bedroom, also without
batteries. I can only guess at the specific
circumstances that led to these smoke
alarms being disabled or removed, but
history tells us that nuisance alarms are
often involved.
One objective of Chapter 29 in
, National Fire Alarm and
, is to ensure that resiNFPA
72®
Signaling Code®
dential smoke detectors and alarms
correctly detect hazardous conditions
while minimizing nuisance alarms.
This is important because nuisance
alarms can lead to occupants disabling
or removing smoke alarms from the
ceiling if they become annoyed with
the constant sounding. According to
the 2021 NFPA report " Smoke Alarms
in U.S. Home Fires, " almost three out
of five home fire deaths were caused
by fires in properties with no smoke
alarms or smoke alarms that failed to
operate-an indication of how crucial
the presence of working smoke alarms
is to life safety in the home.
Because of this, NFPA 72 paragraphs
29.11.3.4 (4) and (5) address
the placement of smoke alarms near
stationary or fixed cooking appliances,
which are recognized as the primary
source of nuisance alarms. Prior to
January 1, 2023, smoke alarms need to
be equipped with an alarm silencing
GETTY IMAGES

NFPA Journal - Summer 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Summer 2022

Contents
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 1
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - Contents
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 3
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 4
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 5
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 6
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 7
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 8
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 9
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 10
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 11
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 12
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 13
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 14
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 15
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 16
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 17
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 18
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 19
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 20
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 21
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 22
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 23
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 24
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 25
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 26
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 27
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 28
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 29
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 30
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 31
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 32
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 33
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 34
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 35
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 36
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 37
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 38
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 39
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 40
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 41
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 42
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 43
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 44
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 45
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 46
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 47
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 48
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 49
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 50
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 51
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 52
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 53
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 54
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 55
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 56
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 57
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 58
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 59
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 60
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 61
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 62
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 63
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 64
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 65
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 66
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 67
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 68
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 69
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 70
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 71
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 72
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 73
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 74
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 75
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 76
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 77
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 78
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 79
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 80
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 81
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 82
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 83
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 84
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 85
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 86
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 87
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 88
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 89
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 90
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 91
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 92
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 93
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 94
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 95
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 96
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 97
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 98
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 99
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 100
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 101
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 102
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 103
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 104
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 105
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 106
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 107
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 108
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 109
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 110
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 111
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 112
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 113
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 114
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 115
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 116
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 117
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 118
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 119
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 120
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 121
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 122
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 123
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 124
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 125
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 126
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 127
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 128
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 129
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 130
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 131
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 132
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 133
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 134
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 135
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 136
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_201610_sprinkler
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120304
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com