A Designer’s Guide to Fire Alarm Sequence of Operations by Larry D. Rietz, SET, CFPS,
Every fire alarm system design requires a functional fire alarm sequence of operation for a designer to describe how the system should operate. While being a basic requirement for any fire alarm system design, errors and omissions are still frequently made in the design process. So, what code requirements apply and what is the purpose of a fire alarm sequence of operation? How can an accurate sequence of operation be created and what elements are frequently missed? And what are the five big design decisions made by a Fire Alarm Designer or Fire Protection Engineer that require a special or unique sequence of operation? This presentation is a must for both new and experienced fire alarm designers and Fire Protection Engineers, as well as the AHJs that provide fire alarm plan review services.Learning Objectives:
What is the purpose of a fire alarm sequence of operation and what code requirements apply to them?
How can an accurate sequence of operation be created and what elements are frequently missed?
What are five fire alarm design decisions that require a special or unique sequence of operations?
Larry D. Rietz is Vice President and Service Line Leader for Fire Detection and Alarm for Jensen Hughes and works as a designer, instructor, author, and industry advocate. He is a NICET Level IV Certified Fire Alarm designer and Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) with over 29 years of life safety industry experience. After working for almost 15 years with a large Fire Alarm manufacturer and service provider, he has spent the last 12 years with Jensen Hughes, 7 of those years as Director of the Denver office. Over those years, he directed the talented team of engineers and helped grow the Denver business over 300% in just four years. At the same time, he has designed and analyzed multiple large fire alarm and emergency communication systems for transportation, entertainment, and higher education campuses and was the Project Manager for the Denver International Airport Public Safety Notification Upgrade and On-Call Life Safety Systems projects. Larry currently serves on the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) Board of Directors as Secretary, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 1616 Standard on Mass Evacuation, Sheltering and Re-entry, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 72 Chapter 24 (SIG-ECS), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 72 Chapters 12, 21, & 23 (SIG-PRO), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 101/5000 Education and Day-Care Occupancies (SAF-END), and on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NPFA 909, Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties and NFPA 914, Code for the Protection of Historic Structures (CUL-AAA). He also serves on three different UL Standards Technical Panel (UL 864, 464/1480, and 2525). He is a frequent presenter at a large variety of industry events, is a Contract Instructor with AFAA, and is a guest lecturer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Maryland (UMD) fire protection programs.
Past, Current and Future of the Alarm Transmission Ecosystem by Richard Roberts
An informative presentation that provides an overview of the Alarm Transmission Ecosystem as well as providing information as to why changes are being made that will enhance public life safety. This discussion is important because the technologies for transmitting alarm, trouble, and supervisory signals from the protected premises to the fire department is changing rapidly. Several of the legacy technologies are becoming or are obsolete. Presentation Agenda: 1. History of U.S. Alarm Transmission EcoSystem; 2. Issues with Legacy Alarm Transmission Technologies 3G Sunset FCC Mandate for POTS; 3. Alarm Transmission Requirements in the 2022 edition of NFPA 72®
Presenter: Richard Roberts is Senior Industry Affairs Manager at Honeywell Security and Fire with over 35 years in the fire alarm and life safety markets. His experience spans the installation, sales, and the development of products/systems. Currently, Mr. Roberts is a member of thirteen NFPA Technical Committees, member of several ICC Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) Working Groups and a member of two Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel (STP). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Fire and Life safety Section (FLSS) of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC), Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS) and is the Chair of NEMA’s Building Codes Committee as well as a member of the Model Codes Committee of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM).
Discussion Panel of Experts ... Trends and changes in the life safety industry as they relates to Technology & Codes and insight into University Campus and Health Care Occupancies. From Technology to Codes to Specific Markets, this panel of experts will discuss the future of our industry and answer questions. Please visit our website to submit your questions at: ww.nifad.com/askexperts.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION FOR THE EXPERTS
Dr. Rodger Reiswig, Vice President, Industry Relations, Johnson Controls (JCI)
Rodger has been part of Johnson Controls for over 36 years. Starting his career as a fire alarm field technician, Rodger has held several life safety systems focused roles: sales, sales engineering, training, and management. Today, Rodger holds the position of Fellow & VP, Industry Relations. In this global role, Rodger is instrumental in improving life safety for people around the world through his efforts to improve fire protection codes and standards and champion their adoption and enforcement. Rodger is part of numerous industry and code related organizations, and he serves on 28 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committees as well as on NFPA’s Standards Council.
Larry D. Rietz, SET, CFPS: Jensen Hughes
Larry D. Rietz is Vice President and Service Line Leader for Fire Detection and Alarm for Jensen Hughes and works as a designer, instructor, author, and industry advocate. He is a NICET Level IV Certified Fire Alarm designer and Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) with over 29 years of life safety industry experience. After working for almost 15 years with a large Fire Alarm manufacturer and service provider, he has spent the last 12 years with Jensen Hughes, 7 of those years as Director of the Denver office. Over those years, he directed the talented team of engineers and helped grow the Denver business over 300% in just four years. At the same time, he has designed and analyzed multiple large fire alarm and emergency communication systems for transportation, entertainment, and higher education campuses and was the Project Manager for the Denver International Airport Public Safety Notification Upgrade and On-Call Life Safety Systems projects. Larry currently serves on the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) Board of Directors as Secretary, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 1616 Standard on Mass Evacuation, Sheltering and Re-entry, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 72 Chapter 24 (SIG-ECS), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 72 Chapters 12, 21, & 23 (SIG-PRO), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 101/5000 Education and Day-Care Occupancies (SAF-END), and on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NPFA 909, Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties and NFPA 914, Code for the Protection of Historic Structures (CUL-AAA).
He also serves on three different UL Standards Technical Panel (UL 864, 464/1480, and 2525). He is a frequent presenter at a large variety of industry events, is a Contract Instructor with AFAA, and is a guest lecturer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Maryland (UMD) fire protection programs.
Justin Daniels, CCFS President and Former Fire Marshal, University of Oklahoma - Norman Campus
Justin started working in the fire marshal’s office at the University of Oklahoma in February 2002. In February 2008, Justin became a Certified Fire Inspector, promoted to Assistant Fire Marshal in January 2013, and then to Fire Marshal in August 2013. As Fire Marshal, his duties and responsibilities included but were not limited to: fire inspections for all 300+ existing buildings on campus; fire and life safety training for faculty, staff and students; plan review for new buildings and existing facility remodels; fire drills; fireworks and open flame permits; assist with game day operations and other special events; fire investigation; supervision of 3 Fire Inspectors; and ensure all fire and life safety systems on campus were inspected and maintained. Justin was also responsible for Emergency Management Operations and served as the OU Emergency Operations Center manager. In August 2023, Justin left OU to join the team at Knox Company as an Application Specialist. He works primarily with corporate customers and assists with training first responder personnel on Knox rapid response products.
William (Bill) Koffel, President, Koffel Associates
Bill Koffel is President of Koffel Associates and recognized as an expert in the fire protection and life safety aspects of codes and standards. With offices in MD and the Middle East, the firm provides consulting; engineering; code development; seminar; and product testing services to clients worldwide. Formerly with the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, he was conducted licensure, certification, and accreditation surveys of health care facilities. Bill serves on numerous NFPA Technical Committees, is the past Chair of the NFPA 25 Technical Committee, and chairs the NFPA Technical Committee on Emergency Communication Systems, the NFPA Life Safety Technical Committee on Health Care Occupancies, and the NFPA Correlating Committee on Automatic Sprinkler Systems.
