SYNC™

SynC · Editorial revision

Mass Notification Systems

Revision8
EditedOct 19, 2026
StatusCurrent
Contents

View changes in this revision   Revision history

Current revision. This is editorial revision 8, the current text of this standard. Read it on the standard's page.

SynC Standards Team — Specifier (Platform Standards) ✓ OfficialDiscloses employment SynC (SynC Platform Team)
Remake batch 26: rewritten from scratch under the authoring cheatsheet with datasheet constraints; neighbors re-pointed to the new scope boundaries; the electrical code is now the adopted-electrical-code project fact

1 Scope

NOTE This standard covers the risk analysis, control equipment, operating consoles, notification appliances, speaker arrays, distributed-recipient platform, circuits, power supplies, installation, and acceptance testing of an emergency communications system, commonly called a mass notification system, provided under NFPA 72 Chapter 24. (1.1)
NOTE A fire alarm system answers one question, whether there is a fire, with one fixed response, evacuation. A mass notification system addresses many hazards and delivers a hazard-specific instruction: evacuate, shelter in place, lock down, relocate, or stand by. The correct response to a non-fire emergency is often the opposite of fire evacuation, which is why the ability of an emergency message to take priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal is the central requirement of this standard rather than a feature. (1.2)
NOTE NFPA 72 Chapter 24 recognizes three mass notification architectures that a project combines as its risk analysis requires. In-building mass notification reaches the occupants of a building through voice, visible appliances, and textual signs. Wide-area mass notification reaches people outdoors across a site or campus through high-power speaker arrays. Distributed-recipient mass notification reaches named individuals through text, email, telephone, mobile application, and desktop alert, wherever they are. (1.3)
1.4 The system shall comply with the edition of NFPA 72 adopted by the authority having jurisdiction.
1.5 The Contractor shall confirm the adopted editions of NFPA 72, the building code, and the fire code in writing with the authority having jurisdiction before preparing the risk analysis submittal.
1.6 The additional design criteria that apply beyond NFPA 72 Chapter 24 shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Additional Design Criteriaradio
● None beyond NFPA 72 Chapter 24 and the adopted codes
○ UFC 4-021-01 for a Department of Defense facility
NOTE Where a combined fire alarm and mass notification system is furnished, the fire alarm function, the control unit as a fire alarm control unit, the initiating devices, the fire evacuation signaling, and the shared emergency voice/alarm communication speakers and amplifiers are furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems. This standard adds the mass notification function to that equipment: the autonomous control unit function, the local operating consoles, the priority of emergency messages over fire alarm signaling, the non-fire visible notification, and the intelligibility criterion applied to mass notification messages. (1.7)
NOTE The following are outside this standard and are governed elsewhere. (1.8)
  • Fire detection, the fire alarm control unit, initiating devices, fire evacuation signaling, the shared voice evacuation speakers and amplifiers, and fire fighter telephone systems, see Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems
  • Routine paging, background music, and general intercom, see Public Address And PagingPublic Address and Paging SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-address-and-paging; a paging system interfaced to this system is a supplementary path and is not the emergency communications system
  • Emergency responder radio coverage enhancement, see Public Safety Radio SystemsPublic Safety Radio Enhancement SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-safety-radio-systems
  • The two-way emergency communication in elevator cars, see Vertical TransportationElevatorsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vertical-transportation
  • Two-way communication stations at areas of refuge that are not part of a mass notification function, which no standard in this library currently covers
  • Video surveillance, intrusion detection, and access control, see Video Surveillance SystemsVideo Surveillance SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/video-surveillance-systems, Intrusion Detection SystemsIntrusion Detection SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/intrusion-detection-systems, and Access Control SystemsAccess Control SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/access-control-systems
  • Raceway and conduit products and installation methods, see Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit
  • Public warning sirens operated solely by a civil authority outside the protected premises, except where they interface to the on-site system

2 Referenced Standards

2.1 Equipment, materials, and installation shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
2.2 Where referenced standards conflict, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
Standard Title
NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code
NFPA 70 National Electrical Code
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code
NFPA 1600 Standard on Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management
International Building Code Chapter 9, Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems
International Fire Code Chapter 9, Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems
UFC 4-021-01 Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems
UFC 4-010-01 DoD Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings
UL 864 Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems
UL 2572 Mass Notification Systems
UL 1480 Speakers for Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems, Including Accessories
UL 1711 Amplifiers for Fire Protective Signaling Systems
UL 1971 Signaling Devices for the Hearing Impaired
UL 1638 Visible Signaling Devices for Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems, Including Accessories
UL 2017 General-Purpose Signaling Devices and Systems
IEC 60268-16 Sound System Equipment, Part 16: Objective Rating of Speech Intelligibility by Speech Transmission Index
ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
ADA Standards for Accessible Design Accessibility standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act
OASIS CAP 1.2 Common Alerting Protocol
47 CFR Part 10 Wireless Emergency Alerts
IEEE 485 Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications

3 Submittals

3.1 Action Submittals

3.1.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for the Engineer's review and return before any mass notification equipment is procured or installed:
  • The risk analysis on which the system design is based, in the form NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires, with the Owner's and the authority having jurisdiction's acceptance recorded
  • The Owner's emergency response plan, or the portion of it that defines the emergencies, the messages, the recipients, and the personnel authorized to initiate messages
  • Product data for the autonomous control unit, every local operating console, every amplifier and power supply furnished under this standard, every speaker and high-power speaker array, every visible appliance and textual sign, the distributed-recipient platform, and every interface module, identifying the listing standard and the listing mark for each
  • Riser diagram showing the autonomous control unit, every local operating console, every amplifier and power supply, every speaker array site, every circuit with its class designation and its pathway survivability level, every interface to the fire alarm system, and primary and secondary power connections
  • Floor plans and site plans showing every speaker, array, visible appliance, textual sign, two-way call station, and local operating console, with the coverage area of each array
  • Message prioritization matrix listing every message source, every message, and the arbitration result when two sources contend
  • Message library listing every prerecorded message with its text, its trigger, its notification zones, and its distributed-recipient groups
  • Intelligibility design analysis identifying every acoustically distinguishable space in the covered area, its design basis, and the proposed measurement locations
  • Speaker circuit power calculation and amplifier sizing for every speaker circuit furnished under this standard
  • Secondary power calculation listing every component with its standby and emergency current draw, the durations applied, the margin applied, and the resulting ampere-hour capacity
  • Outdoor coverage analysis for every high-power speaker array showing the predicted sound pressure level and intelligibility over its assigned area
  • Cybersecurity plan covering remote access, account management, credential replacement, and firmware maintenance for the control unit, every networked component, and the distributed-recipient platform
Required Action Submittalscheckbox
☑ Accepted risk analysis
☑ Owner's emergency response plan
☑ Product data with listing standard and listing mark for each component
☑ Riser diagram with circuit classes and survivability levels
☑ Floor plans and site plans with appliance, array, sign, station, and console locations
☑ Message prioritization matrix
☑ Message library
☑ Intelligibility design analysis
☐ Speaker circuit power and amplifier sizing calculation
☑ Secondary power calculation
☐ Outdoor coverage analysis for each high-power speaker array
☑ Cybersecurity plan
3.1.2 The Contractor shall submit the mass notification action submittals as one coordinated package covering the whole system, together with the fire alarm action submittals where the two systems share a control unit.
3.1.3 The Engineer shall return a partial submittal without review, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of the Engineer's review of the resubmittal.
NOTE A mass notification submittal is reviewed as a system because the prioritization matrix, the message library, the circuit classes, and the secondary power calculation each describe the same equipment from a different side, and none of them can be checked alone. (3.1.4)

3.2 Informational Submittals

3.2.1 The Contractor shall submit the following for information before the pre-installation conference:
  • Certification and licensing documentation for the individual designated as system designer and for the individual designated as installer-in-charge
  • Fire alarm or low-voltage contractor licensing documentation required by the state or local jurisdiction
  • Evidence of the installing contractor's manufacturer-authorized training on the control unit platform and on the distributed-recipient platform proposed
  • Qualification statement listing comparable completed mass notification projects with their scope and completion dates
  • Proposed acceptance test plan giving the test procedures, the test sequence, the intelligibility measurement procedure, the personnel assigned, the forms to be used, and the witnessing arrangements
  • Where a public alerting interface is provided, the Owner's alerting authority designation and the test procedure agreed with that authority
Required Informational Submittalscheckbox
☑ Designer and installer-in-charge certification documentation
☑ Contractor license
☑ Manufacturer-authorized training evidence for the proposed platforms
☐ Qualification statement with comparable completed projects
☑ Proposed acceptance test plan with intelligibility measurement procedure
☐ Alerting authority designation and agreed public alerting test procedure

3.3 Closeout Submittals

3.3.1 The Contractor shall submit the following before the mass notification system is accepted:
  • Completed Record of Completion in the form NFPA 72 Chapter 7 requires, signed by the Contractor, by the individual who performed the testing, and by the authority having jurisdiction's representative
  • Acceptance test report, including the prioritization verification record and the intelligibility measurement report for every acoustically distinguishable space measured
  • Record documents reflecting the installed locations of every appliance, array, sign, station, and console, the surveyed coordinates of every array site, final circuit designations, and every deviation from the reviewed submittal
  • Control unit and local operating console configuration record listing every message, every zone, every recipient group, every priority assignment, every programmed delay, and every user account with its privilege level
  • The installed message library as audio files and message text, in a format the Owner can edit and reload
  • Operation and maintenance manual covering the procedure to initiate each message from each console, the procedure to issue and retract a distributed-recipient message, the procedure to issue and cancel a public alert where that interface is provided, the secondary power replacement interval, and the inspection and testing schedule NFPA 72 Chapter 14 requires
  • Cybersecurity closeout record listing every account created, the role assigned to each, the installed firmware version of each networked component, and a signed statement that every default and vendor-supplied credential has been replaced
  • Written warranty documents and the service contact information for warranty response
  • Signed inventory of the spare parts turned over to the Owner
Required Closeout Submittalscheckbox
☑ Record of Completion per NFPA 72 Chapter 7
☑ Acceptance test report with prioritization verification and intelligibility measurements
☑ Record documents with array site coordinates and final circuit designations
☑ Control unit and console configuration record
☑ Installed message library in an editable format
☑ Operation and maintenance manual
☑ Cybersecurity closeout record
☑ Warranty documents and service contact information
☑ Signed spare parts inventory

4 Quality Assurance

4.1 Designer and Installer Certification

4.1.1 The certification basis for the individual responsible for the mass notification system design shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
System Designer Certification Basisradio
● NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level III or higher
○ NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level IV
○ Professional Engineer licensed in the project jurisdiction with emergency communications system design experience
○ Professional Engineer registered in the fire protection discipline
○ Certification accepted by the authority having jurisdiction on submitted documentation
NOTE NICET Fire Alarm Systems certification is the credential most jurisdictions name for the person who lays out a Chapter 24 system, and Level III is the level at which the certification covers system design rather than installation and inspection. A Professional Engineer is named where the jurisdiction's licensing law treats a life safety system design as the practice of engineering, and the fire protection discipline is named where the project is reviewed under a fire protection engineering seal. The documentation-based option applies where the jurisdiction's own credential differs from both. (4.1.2)
4.1.3 The certification basis for the individual supervising field installation, programming, and testing shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Installer-in-Charge Certification Basisradio
● NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level II or higher
○ NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level III or higher
○ Manufacturer factory certification on the installed control unit platform
○ Certification accepted by the authority having jurisdiction on submitted documentation
NOTE Level II is the NICET level at which the certification covers installation and testing of a complete system under a designer's layout, and it is the floor most jurisdictions set for the person in charge on site. Level III is selected where the installer-in-charge also resolves field design changes. Manufacturer factory certification is selected where the control unit platform is one the manufacturer services only through certified installers, and the documentation-based option applies where the jurisdiction's own credential differs. (4.1.4)
4.1.5 The installing contractor shall hold the fire alarm or low-voltage contractor license the state or local jurisdiction requires for the duration of the work.
4.1.6 The installing contractor shall hold current manufacturer authorization for the control unit platform and for the distributed-recipient platform installed on this project.
4.1.7 Where the project is a Department of Defense facility, the designer and the installer-in-charge shall additionally meet the qualification requirements of UFC 4-021-01.
4.1.8 The individual designated as installer-in-charge shall be present on site during acceptance testing.

4.2 Product Listing

4.2.1 Mass notification control equipment shall be listed to UL 2572.
4.2.2 A control unit that performs both the fire alarm function and the mass notification function shall be listed to both UL 864 and UL 2572.
4.2.3 Speakers furnished under this standard for emergency voice notification shall be listed to UL 1480.
4.2.4 Amplifiers furnished under this standard shall be listed to UL 1711 or to UL 2572.
4.2.5 Visible notification appliances furnished under this standard shall be listed to UL 1971 or to UL 1638 for the signal they convey.
4.2.6 Textual and graphic signs that convey emergency messages shall be listed to UL 2572 or to UL 2017 as a component of the emergency communications system.
4.2.7 Every device shall appear on the control unit manufacturer's published compatibility listing for the control unit model proposed, and a device that does not shall not be installed.

4.3 Pre-Installation Conference

4.3.1 The Contractor shall convene a pre-installation conference before any mass notification rough-in begins, attended by the parties indicated in the datasheet.
Required Pre-Installation Conference Attendeescheckbox
☑ Mass notification contractor and the designated installer-in-charge
☑ Fire alarm contractor
☑ Electrical contractor
☑ Owner's information technology representative
☑ Owner's emergency manager or security director
☑ Engineer of Record
☐ Authority having jurisdiction
☐ Commissioning authority
4.3.2 The message prioritization matrix and the message library shall be reviewed line by line at the pre-installation conference and shall be signed by the attending parties.
4.3.3 The Contractor shall distribute conference minutes to every attendee and to the Engineer of Record within five business days of the conference.

5 Risk Analysis and Emergency Response Plan

5.1 Risk Analysis as the Basis of Design

NOTE The scope of a fire alarm system is prescribed by the building code from the occupancy and the building area. The scope of a mass notification system is not prescribed by any code; NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires it to be established by a risk analysis, and the analysis, once accepted, governs which hazards the system addresses, which areas and recipients it reaches, what survivability its pathways need, and how long it runs on secondary power. (5.1.1)
5.1.2 The basis of design for the mass notification system shall be a documented risk analysis prepared in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
5.1.3 The party responsible for preparing the risk analysis shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Risk Analysis Prepared Byradio
○ Owner, furnished to the Contractor as a design input
○ Engineer of Record, with the Owner's emergency manager
○ Contractor's designer, for the Owner's and the authority having jurisdiction's acceptance
NOTE An Owner that operates an emergency management program already holds the hazard inventory, the occupant data, and the response plan the analysis draws on, and furnishing the analysis keeps the design answerable to that program. The Engineer of Record prepares it where the analysis is part of the design contract and the Owner's program is being created alongside the building. The Contractor's designer prepares it on a design-build delivery, which places the hazard assessment with the party that also sizes the system to it, so the Owner's acceptance step is where the two are kept honest. (5.1.4)
5.1.5 The risk analysis shall be accepted in writing by the Owner and by the authority having jurisdiction before shop drawings are prepared.
5.1.6 The risk analysis shall address the nature and likelihood of the fire and non-fire hazards to which the facility is exposed, the number, mobility, familiarity, and language of the occupants, the indoor and outdoor areas to be covered, and the time available to notify and move people.
5.1.7 The detail of the risk analysis shall be commensurate with the complexity of the facility, and where the parties disagree whether the analysis is sufficiently detailed, the authority having jurisdiction shall make the determination.
5.1.8 No datasheet selection in this standard and no note on the drawings shall reduce a scope, coverage, survivability, or secondary power requirement the accepted risk analysis establishes.

5.2 Emergencies Addressed

5.2.1 The emergencies the mass notification system is programmed to address shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Emergencies Addressedcheckbox
☐ Fire, in coordination with the fire alarm evacuation signal
☐ Severe weather and tornado shelter-in-place
☐ Hazardous material release, internal or external
☐ Hostile event and lockdown
☐ Bomb threat and suspicious package
☐ Utility failure and infrastructure emergency
☐ Medical emergency requiring staff response
☐ Earthquake and structural emergency
☐ Flood and dam failure
☐ Civil disturbance
☐ All-clear and return to normal
☐ Drill and system test announcement
Per drawings — the accepted risk analysis (deferred by default)
5.2.2 Each selected emergency shall have at least one prerecorded message in the message library and at least one entry in the prioritization matrix.
5.2.3 Where the risk analysis identifies an emergency that is not listed in the datasheet, the Contractor shall add it to the message library and the prioritization matrix as the risk analysis directs.

5.3 Message Library and Emergency Response Plan

NOTE The emergency response plan is the Owner's document that says, for each emergency, what the occupants are told, who is told, in what order, and who is allowed to say it. The message library and the prioritization matrix are that plan written into the control unit, and the Contractor programs them from the plan rather than composing them. (5.3.1)
5.3.2 The Contractor shall program the message library and the prioritization matrix to match the Owner's accepted emergency response plan.
5.3.3 The number of prerecorded message templates furnished in the message library shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Prerecorded Message Templatesrange
Not less than
messages
1200
Per drawings — the accepted risk analysis and the emergency response plan (deferred by default)
5.3.4 Each prerecorded message shall state the nature of the emergency, the protective action to take, and where to go or what to avoid, in the order NFPA 72 Chapter 24 describes.
5.3.5 Each prerecorded message shall be recorded by a professional voice talent in a neutral accent, in each language the risk analysis identifies, and the recordings shall be delivered to the Owner in an editable format.
5.3.6 Where the risk analysis identifies occupants who do not share a common language, each message shall be provided in each identified language in the sequence the emergency response plan directs.
5.3.7 The Contractor shall not compose, alter, or omit message content independently, and any message the Contractor believes to be inconsistent with NFPA 72 Chapter 24 shall be referred to the Engineer of Record in writing before it is recorded.
5.3.8 A live message delivered from a local operating console shall be permitted to supplement, interrupt, or replace a prerecorded message under the priority the prioritization matrix assigns to the console.

6 Environmental and Service Conditions

6.1 Control equipment, local operating consoles, amplifiers, and power supplies installed indoors shall be rated for continuous operation across the ambient temperature and humidity range of the room in which they are installed, and not less than the 32°F to 120°F (0°C to 49°C) range at 93 percent relative humidity, non-condensing, that the listing standards apply.
6.2 Equipment installed outdoors, including high-power speaker array electronics, array site batteries, and outdoor visible appliances, shall be rated for continuous operation between Site Ambient Temperature MinimumSite Ambient Temperature MinimumParameterEach project supplies its own value.site-ambient-temperature-minimum and Site Ambient Temperature MaximumSite Ambient Temperature MaximumParameterEach project supplies its own value.site-ambient-temperature-maximum.
6.3 Array site batteries installed outdoors shall be housed in an enclosure that holds the battery within its rated operating temperature range, by heating, ventilation, or both, across the site temperature range stated above.
6.4 Array structures, their foundations, and their mounted equipment shall be designed for the wind and ice loads Adopted Building CodeAdopted Building CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-building-code assigns to the site.
6.5 Control equipment, batteries, array structures, and array site cabinets shall be anchored and braced as Seismic Design CategorySeismic Design CategoryParameterEach project supplies its own value.seismic-design-category requires for a designated seismic system under the adopted building code.
NOTE A mass notification system is one of the components the building code designates for continued operation after an earthquake, because the earthquake is one of the emergencies it exists to announce. Equipment that rides out the shaking but tips its battery cabinet over has survived the hazard it was installed to address and then failed to report it. (6.6)

7 System Architecture

7.1 Mass Notification Types Provided

7.1.1 The mass notification types provided on the project shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mass Notification Types Providedcheckbox
Any of:
☐ In-building mass notification
☐ Wide-area mass notification
☐ Distributed-recipient mass notification
Per drawings — the accepted risk analysis (deferred by default)
7.1.2 The in-building articles of this standard apply where in-building mass notification is provided, the wide-area articles apply where wide-area mass notification is provided, and the distributed-recipient articles apply where distributed-recipient mass notification is provided.
7.1.3 Where more than one type is provided, the same emergency shall be announced on every type from one initiating action at the control unit or at an authorized local operating console.
NOTE A campus that announces a lockdown on its in-building speakers, then separately on its outdoor arrays, then separately by text, has given its operator three things to do in the first minute of an emergency and has given the people outdoors a minute's head start into the building being locked down. One action that releases all three channels is what the risk analysis means when it calls for them together. (7.1.4)

7.2 Fire Alarm Relationship

7.2.1 The relationship between the mass notification system and the fire alarm system shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mass Notification System Architectureradio
○ Combined fire alarm and mass notification system on one listed control unit
○ Standalone mass notification control unit interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit
○ Standalone mass notification system with no fire alarm system on the premises
NOTE A combined system puts both functions on one UL 864 and UL 2572 listed control unit, so the voice evacuation speakers, the amplifiers, the circuits, and the secondary power serve both and the priority between the two functions is settled inside one panel by its listing. It is the usual arrangement where a voice fire alarm system is required anyway. A standalone control unit interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit applies where the fire alarm system already exists and is not being replaced, where the two systems are maintained by different parties, or where the risk analysis calls for a mass notification platform the fire alarm manufacturer does not offer; it costs a supervised interface, a second set of speakers or a listed speaker-sharing arrangement, and a second secondary power supply, and the priority between the two panels has to be engineered and tested rather than inherited. A standalone system with no fire alarm system applies to an outdoor site, a wide-area system serving open ground, or a distributed-recipient system on a campus whose buildings have their own fire alarm systems. (7.2.2)
7.2.3 Where a combined system is selected, the control unit, its notification circuits, and its secondary power shall be furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems, and this standard shall govern the mass notification function performed through them.
7.2.4 Where a standalone control unit is interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit, the interface shall be supervised so that a fault on the interface produces a trouble signal at both control units.
7.2.5 Where a standalone control unit is interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit, the arrangement shall be such that a fault or loss of power in the mass notification system does not impair any fire alarm detection, signaling, or emergency control function.
7.2.6 Where a standalone control unit shares the fire alarm notification appliances or speaker circuits, the sharing arrangement shall be listed for that purpose and shall appear on both manufacturers' compatibility listings.

7.3 Control Equipment Enclosure

7.3.1 The enclosure type of the autonomous control unit and of every local operating console shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Control Equipment Enclosure Typeselect
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3R
Type 4
Type 4X
Type 12
NOTE Type 1 is the enclosure a listed control unit ships in and is the arrangement for a control unit in a fire command center, an electrical room, or a security office. Type 2 adds a drip shield for a room with piping overhead. Type 3R applies to an exterior wall or a covered outdoor location, Type 4 to a hosed-down location, Type 4X to a corrosive or coastal atmosphere, and Type 12 to a dusty industrial interior. Every type above Type 1 is selected for the room the equipment lands in, not for the equipment. (7.3.2)
7.3.3 Control equipment and consoles installed outdoors shall be housed in a Type 3R enclosure at minimum, regardless of the type indicated in the datasheet.
7.3.4 Control equipment and consoles installed where exposed to a corrosive atmosphere, salt spray, or washdown shall be housed in a Type 4X enclosure, regardless of the type indicated in the datasheet.
7.3.5 High-power speaker array site cabinets shall be housed in a Type 3R enclosure at minimum, and in a Type 4X enclosure where exposed to a corrosive atmosphere or salt spray.
7.3.6 Every enclosure housing control equipment shall be secured with a lock keyed alike to the fire alarm control unit where one exists on the premises, and otherwise keyed as the Owner directs.

8 Autonomous Control Unit

8.1 Control Unit Functions

8.1.1 The mass notification system shall be controlled by an autonomous control unit that stores the message library, arbitrates among message sources according to the prioritization matrix, initiates messages on every provided mass notification type, and supervises every circuit, console, array, and interface in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
8.1.2 Where a combined system is selected, the fire alarm control unit furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems shall perform the autonomous control unit function under its UL 2572 listing.
8.1.3 Actions taken at the autonomous control unit shall take precedence over actions taken at any local operating console unless the prioritization matrix assigns a higher priority to a designated console for a designated message.
8.1.4 Where more than one autonomous control unit can control the same notification appliances, only one shall be in control at any time, and the transfer of control shall be a supervised, deliberate operator action recorded in the control unit event log.
8.1.5 The autonomous control unit shall annunciate a trouble signal on loss of primary power, on a secondary power fault, on loss of communication with any console, array site, amplifier, or interface, and on any circuit fault.
8.1.6 Where the mass notification system is combined with or interfaced to the fire alarm system, mass notification trouble signals shall be transmitted to the supervising station through the fire alarm off-premises transmission furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems.
8.1.7 The autonomous control unit shall record every message initiation, every priority override, every transfer of control, and every trouble event in a non-volatile event log that holds the number of events indicated in the datasheet.
Control Unit Event Log Capacityrange
Not less than
events
5001000200040001000020000
8.1.8 The autonomous control unit shall be located at the location indicated on the emergency communications system floor plans.

8.2 Control Unit Cybersecurity

8.2.1 The autonomous control unit, every networked component, and the distributed-recipient platform shall comply with the cybersecurity requirements of NFPA 72 Chapter 11.
8.2.2 The remote access policy for the autonomous control unit shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Remote Access to the Control Unitradio
○ Not permitted by any means
● Permitted for read-only diagnostics over an authenticated and encrypted connection
○ Permitted for diagnostics and programming over an authenticated and encrypted connection
○ Permitted only through an Owner-managed virtual private network
NOTE A mass notification control unit that can be reached remotely can be made to announce something remotely, which is the reason read-only diagnostics is the usual policy and programming access is granted only where the Owner's service arrangement needs it. Prohibiting remote access altogether trades the convenience of remote diagnosis for an attack surface of zero, and the Owner-managed virtual private network keeps the connection under the Owner's own authentication where the Owner operates one. (8.2.3)
8.2.4 Every account able to initiate a message from the distributed-recipient platform or from a networked console shall require multi-factor authentication.
8.2.5 The Contractor shall replace every default and vendor-supplied credential on the control unit, on every networked component, and on the distributed-recipient platform before acceptance testing begins.
8.2.6 The Contractor shall record every account created during installation and commissioning, with the privilege level of each, in the cybersecurity closeout record.

9 Local Operating Consoles

NOTE A local operating console is the position from which an authorized person selects and releases a prerecorded message, delivers a live voice message, and sees which messages are active and which zones they are reaching. It is the part of the system a person touches during an emergency, so where it sits and who can operate it are decided by the emergency response plan rather than by the equipment layout. (9.1)
9.2 Local operating consoles shall be provided in the quantity and at the locations indicated on the emergency communications system floor plans.
9.3 Each local operating console shall provide a microphone for live voice, controls to select any message in the message library and any notification zone or group, and a visible indication of system status and of every active message with its zones.
9.4 Each local operating console shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that loss of communication with the console produces a trouble signal.
9.5 The means by which a local operating console is secured against unauthorized use shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Console Access Control Methodselect
Keyswitch
Passcode entered at the console
Credential reader on the console
Console inside a locked enclosure
Console at a constantly attended location with no additional control
NOTE A keyswitch is operable by anyone holding the key and leaves no record of who turned it. A passcode is revocable without rekeying and the console logs which code was used, at the cost that a code shared across a shift is as anonymous as a key. A credential reader ties each message to a named badge holder and revokes with the badge, where the Owner operates an access control credential system the console can read. A locked enclosure fits a console in a public lobby that must not be reachable at all between emergencies, and no additional control fits a console behind a dispatch counter that is staffed around the clock and is itself secured. (9.6)
9.7 A local operating console shall be permitted to share an operator workstation or a monitoring display with the video surveillance system where the mass notification function remains under the control unit's listing, and the shared interface shall be defined in the shop drawings and coordinated with Video Surveillance SystemsVideo Surveillance SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/video-surveillance-systems.
9.8 Where the project is a Department of Defense facility, each local operating console shall meet the console requirements of UFC 4-021-01.

10 Message Priority

10.1 Priority over Fire Alarm Signaling

10.1.1 The priority of mass notification messages relative to fire alarm evacuation signaling shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Priority of Mass Notification over Fire Alarm Signalingradio
○ Mass notification emergency messages take priority over fire alarm evacuation signaling
○ Fire alarm evacuation signaling takes priority over mass notification messages
○ Priority assigned message by message in the prioritization matrix
NOTE NFPA 72 Chapter 24 permits a mass notification message to take priority over fire alarm signaling where the risk analysis supports it, and it is the arrangement that lets a shelter-in-place instruction hold occupants inside while a fire alarm that a tornado has set off tells them to leave. Fire alarm priority is selected where the risk analysis finds that no identified non-fire emergency calls for an instruction contrary to evacuation, or where the authority having jurisdiction will not accept an override of the fire alarm signal. Message-by-message assignment lets a hostile event message override the fire alarm while a utility failure message yields to it, at the cost of a matrix that has to be built, reviewed, and tested for every pairing. (10.1.2)
10.1.3 Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the override shall be supervised and annunciated at the fire alarm control unit and at every fire alarm annunciator so that responders know the fire evacuation signal has been overridden.
10.1.4 Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the fire alarm control unit shall continue to detect, to transmit alarm signals to the supervising station, and to operate emergency control functions while the override is active.
10.1.5 Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the fire alarm evacuation signal shall resume automatically when the overriding message ends unless the prioritization matrix directs that it stay suppressed for a designated message.

10.2 Live and Prerecorded Message Hierarchy

10.2.1 The priority of live voice relative to prerecorded messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Live Voice Priorityradio
● Live voice from an authorized console overrides prerecorded messages
○ Prerecorded messages override live voice
NOTE Live voice overriding the prerecorded message is the arrangement NFPA 72 Chapter 24 assumes for an in-building system, because the person at the console knows something the recording does not. Prerecorded priority is selected where the emergency response plan reserves live voice for trained personnel who are not always on site and does not want an untrained operator talking over an automated instruction. (10.2.2)
10.2.3 Where live voice overrides prerecorded messages, the prerecorded message shall resume or shall be cancelled, as the prioritization matrix directs, when the live message ends.

10.3 Prioritization Matrix

10.3.1 The autonomous control unit shall arbitrate among competing message sources according to the prioritization matrix derived from the emergency response plan.
10.3.2 The prioritization matrix shall list every message source, including the fire alarm control unit, the autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each wide-area input, the distributed-recipient platform, and any external alert input, and the arbitration result for every pair of sources that can contend.
10.3.3 Arbitration shall be deterministic so that the same pair of contending sources always yields the same result, and the lower-priority message shall be queued or suppressed rather than mixed with the higher-priority message.
10.3.4 A message of lower priority that was suppressed shall be released, or shall be discarded, as the prioritization matrix directs for that message, when the higher-priority message ends.
10.3.5 The prioritization matrix, once reviewed by the Engineer and signed at the pre-installation conference, shall be the contractual basis for control unit programming, and any change to it after signing shall be submitted to the Engineer of Record before it is programmed.

11 In-Building Mass Notification

11.1 Shared Voice Evacuation Equipment

11.1.1 The source of the speakers and amplifiers that deliver in-building mass notification messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
In-Building Speaker and Amplifier Furnishingradio
● Shared emergency voice/alarm communication speakers and amplifiers furnished under the fire alarm system
○ Dedicated mass notification speakers and amplifiers furnished under this standard
NOTE Where a voice fire alarm system is provided, its speakers already cover every occupiable space to the audibility the code requires, and the same speakers carry a mass notification message under the control unit's UL 2572 listing with no second set of appliances, circuits, or batteries. Dedicated speakers are furnished where no voice fire alarm system exists, where the fire alarm system is not being replaced and cannot be listed for the sharing, or where the risk analysis calls for coverage, such as an industrial high-noise area, that the fire alarm speaker layout does not reach. (11.1.2)
11.1.3 Where the shared speakers and amplifiers are furnished under the fire alarm system, their type, layout, tap settings, circuit power calculation, and installation shall be as specified in Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems, and this standard shall add the mass notification priority, the console operation, and the intelligibility criterion for mass notification messages stated below.
11.1.4 Where dedicated speakers and amplifiers are furnished under this standard, their layout, tap settings, and circuit power calculation shall achieve the audibility of NFPA 72 Chapter 18 and the intelligibility criterion of this standard in every acoustically distinguishable space the risk analysis requires to be covered.
11.1.5 Where dedicated speakers are furnished under this standard, the speaker type in each space shall be as indicated on the emergency communications system floor plans.

11.2 Audible Notification

11.2.1 In-building mass notification messages shall produce a sound pressure level not less than 15 dB above the average ambient sound level, or not less than 5 dB above the maximum sound level having a duration of at least 60 seconds, whichever is greater, measured in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 18.
11.2.2 A mass notification message shall be preceded by an alert tone distinct from the fire alarm temporal pattern, and the three-pulse temporal pattern of a fire alarm evacuation signal shall not be used for any mass notification message.
11.2.3 Where a mass notification message is to be heard in a sleeping area, the alert tone preceding it shall meet the low frequency requirement NFPA 72 Chapter 18 applies to audible appliances in sleeping areas.

11.3 Visible Notification for Non-Fire Events

11.3.1 Mass notification messages shall be accompanied by visible notification in every space where the fire alarm visible notification is required and in every additional space the risk analysis identifies.
11.3.2 The lens color of the visible appliances that signal a mass notification message shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mass Notification Visible Appliance Lens Colorselect
Amber
Clear, shared with the fire alarm visible appliances
Blue
Red
Green
White
NOTE Amber is the lens color the market has settled on for a non-fire alert, and an amber appliance marked ALERT beside a clear appliance marked FIRE tells a deaf occupant which of the two things is happening without a text display. A clear lens shared with the fire alarm appliances uses one appliance for both signals and relies on the textual sign or the message pattern to distinguish them, which the listing and the authority having jurisdiction have to accept. Blue, red, green, and white lenses are procurable for a project whose emergency response plan assigns a color to a particular event, such as blue for a medical response or red for a lockdown, and each extra color is an extra appliance in every room it covers. (11.3.3)
11.3.4 Visible appliances dedicated to mass notification shall be marked ALERT, and shall not be marked FIRE.
11.3.5 Where a visible appliance signals both fire alarm and mass notification conditions, the means of distinguishing the two signals shall be defined in the shop drawings and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
11.3.6 Mass notification visible appliances within view of one another, and within view of fire alarm visible appliances, shall be synchronized in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 18.
11.3.7 Where a supplementary paging system is interfaced to this system as a non-life-safety path, the visible notification that accompanies an emergency message delivered over that path shall be furnished under this standard, and the paging system furnished under Public Address And PagingPublic Address and Paging SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/public-address-and-paging shall not be relied on for any visible notification.

11.4 Textual and Graphic Signs

11.4.1 The extent to which textual or graphic message signs are provided for in-building mass notification shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Textual Message Sign Provisionradio
○ Not provided
○ Provided in designated spaces
○ Provided throughout the covered area
Per drawings — the accepted risk analysis (deferred by default)
NOTE A text display carries the instruction to a deaf occupant, to a person wearing hearing protection, and to anyone in a space too loud for voice, and it holds the instruction on the screen after the voice message ends. Signs in designated spaces fit a project whose risk analysis finds those conditions in a lobby, a shop floor, or a classroom wing; signs throughout fit a facility whose occupants are not expected to hear a voice message anywhere, and the cost of a sign in every room is what keeps the first arrangement the common one. (11.4.2)
11.4.3 Where textual signs are provided, their locations shall be as indicated on the emergency communications system floor plans.
11.4.4 Textual signs shall display the same instruction as the voice message and the distributed-recipient message for the same event.
11.4.5 Textual signs shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that loss of communication with a sign produces a trouble signal.
11.4.6 Where a digital signage system owned by the Owner is interfaced as a supplementary display path, the interface shall be arranged so that an emergency message takes control of every connected display and holds it until the message is cancelled.

12 Voice Intelligibility

12.1 Acoustically Distinguishable Spaces

NOTE An acoustically distinguishable space is a space that is physically separated from its neighbors, or that differs from them in reverberation, ambient noise, ceiling height, or surface finish enough that a voice message intelligible in one is not thereby intelligible in the other. A corridor, the open office it serves, and the stair at its end are three such spaces, and the intelligibility analysis treats each on its own. (12.1.1)
12.1.2 The intelligibility design analysis shall divide the covered area into acoustically distinguishable spaces and shall designate each as a space in which intelligibility is required or a space in which it is not.
12.1.3 A space shall be designated as not requiring intelligibility only where the risk analysis finds that occupants of that space will receive the instruction by another means or need no instruction, and the basis for each such designation shall be documented and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
NOTE A loud but unintelligible message in a space where intelligibility is required is a failure of the system rather than of the occupant; audibility is necessary and is not sufficient. (12.1.4)

12.2 Intelligibility Criterion

12.2.1 Intelligibility shall be expressed as the Speech Transmission Index measured in accordance with IEC 60268-16, or as its equivalent on the Common Intelligibility Scale.
12.2.2 The average Speech Transmission Index across the measurement locations in each acoustically distinguishable space requiring intelligibility shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Average Speech Transmission Index per Spacerange
Not less than
STI
0.40.8
Default: 0.5 STI
12.2.3 The Speech Transmission Index that not less than 90 percent of the measurement locations in each acoustically distinguishable space shall individually achieve shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Speech Transmission Index at Individual Locationsrange
Not less than
STI
0.40.8
Default: 0.45 STI
NOTE NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires voice messages to be intelligible and its annex describes an average of 0.50 STI, with 90 percent of locations at 0.45 STI or higher, as the level at which trained listeners reliably understand an unfamiliar instruction. A fire evacuation message is short and expected; a mass notification message is longer, names a hazard the occupant did not anticipate, and is often the only time they hear it, which is why the average criterion is held at 0.50 rather than at the 0.45 the fire alarm standard applies to its own voice messages. Values above 0.50 are selected for a courtroom, a lecture hall, or a space where the message is in the listener's second language, and each step up is bought with more speakers at lower output rather than more power. (12.2.4)
12.2.5 Where the measured value in any acoustically distinguishable space does not meet the criteria indicated in the datasheet, the Contractor shall add or relocate speakers, adjust tap settings and equalization, or provide acoustic treatment accepted by the Engineer of Record, and shall repeat the measurement, at no additional cost to the Owner.

12.3 Intelligibility Verification Method

12.3.1 The method by which intelligibility is verified at acceptance shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Intelligibility Verification Methodradio
● Quantitative measurement of the Speech Transmission Index with a calibrated instrument
○ Qualitative listening assessment by a panel in accordance with NFPA 72 Annex D
NOTE NFPA 72 permits either method, and the quantitative one produces a number that can be compared with the criterion in the datasheet, repeated after a renovation, and defended to the authority having jurisdiction. The listening assessment costs no instrument and is accepted by some jurisdictions for a small system, at the cost that its result rests on the panel's judgment and cannot be re-run against the same baseline later. (12.3.2)
12.3.3 The coverage of the intelligibility verification shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Intelligibility Verification Coverageradio
○ Every acoustically distinguishable space in which intelligibility is required
○ A representative sample of each type of acoustically distinguishable space, accepted by the authority having jurisdiction before testing
NOTE Measuring every space is the only coverage that proves the system in the rooms that differ from their neighbors in ways the design analysis did not predict, and it is the coverage a project with a few dozen spaces affords without discussion. A sample by space type, agreed with the authority having jurisdiction before testing, is what a campus with several hundred classrooms of one construction uses, with every atypical space measured individually. (12.3.4)
12.3.5 Quantitative measurements shall be taken with an instrument that implements IEC 60268-16, at the measurement locations identified in the intelligibility design analysis, at the ambient noise level the space experiences in normal occupancy.

13 Wide-Area Mass Notification

13.1 High-Power Speaker Arrays

NOTE Wide-area mass notification uses high-power speaker arrays on poles, towers, or rooftops to put an alert tone and an intelligible voice message over the open ground of a site, where there is no building to carry an in-building message and no roster to carry a text. Coverage is governed by array height, directivity, spacing, terrain, building shadowing, and the ambient noise of the site, and the arrays are laid out from an outdoor coverage analysis rather than from a spacing rule. (13.1.1)
13.1.3 Array sites shall be located as indicated on the emergency communications site plan.
13.1.4 Each array site shall be mounted on the supporting structure indicated on the emergency communications site plan.
13.1.5 The final position of each array site shall be established by a joint site survey of the Contractor and the Owner's representative, recorded by surveyed coordinates, and accepted by the Engineer of Record before any foundation or structure is installed.
13.1.6 The outdoor coverage analysis shall demonstrate that every array site, operating alone and together with its neighbors, achieves the sound pressure level and the intelligibility criterion of this standard over its assigned area without an echo or time-delay effect from an overlapping array that degrades intelligibility.
13.1.7 The sound pressure level a wide-area message produces at the edge of each array's assigned area shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Wide-Area Sound Pressure Level at Coverage Edgerange
Not less than
dB(A)
6090
Default: 70 dB(A)
NOTE Outdoor ambient noise on a campus quad sits near 55 dB(A) and near an arterial road or an industrial yard rises past 70 dB(A), and the message has to clear it by the same 10 dB to 15 dB margin an indoor message does; 70 dB(A) at the coverage edge is what a quiet campus needs, and a site beside a highway or a flight line needs more arrays or a higher level. Each 6 dB added at the coverage edge roughly doubles the array count for the same ground, which is why the level is set from the site's measured ambient rather than from the array's rated output. (13.1.8)
Array Site Communication Linkradio
○ Supervised wired link on fiber or copper
○ Supervised radio link
○ Supervised wired link with a supervised radio link as the second path

13.3 Wide-Area Signal Content

13.3.1 The content of a wide-area message shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Wide-Area Signal Contentradio
● Alert tone followed by an intelligible voice message
○ Intelligible voice message with no preceding tone
○ Alert tone or siren with no voice message
NOTE An alert tone turns heads before the words start, and outdoors, where the listener is walking away from the array or talking, the first sentence of a message with no tone is lost. Voice with no tone is selected where the emergency response plan uses the arrays for routine announcements a tone would make alarming. Tone or siren alone is selected where the risk analysis finds that a single conditioned response, such as take cover on a siren that means tornado and nothing else, serves the population better than words it does not hear clearly, and it is the arrangement a civil warning siren already on the site uses. (13.3.2)
13.3.3 Where the risk analysis requires a voice instruction outdoors, a tone or siren shall not be substituted for it.
13.3.4 Where a wide-area tone is also used by a civil warning siren audible on the site, the wide-area tone shall be distinct from it unless the emergency response plan intends the two to mean the same thing.

13.4 Array Site Power

13.4.1 Each array site shall have its own primary power connection and its own secondary power sized for the standby and emergency operation durations of this standard.
13.4.2 Where an array site is beyond the reach of the site's primary power distribution, it shall be powered by a photovoltaic charging system sized for the site's solar resource with a battery capacity that holds the standby and emergency operation durations through the number of consecutive days without recharge indicated in the datasheet.
Photovoltaic Array Site Autonomyrange
Not less than
days
314
Default: 5 days
NOTE An array on a remote pole fails on the cloudy week, not the sunny one, and the autonomy is the number of such days the battery carries the site. Five days covers most of the continental United States outside the Pacific Northwest and the northern tier in winter, where the array count and the battery cost are traded against a longer autonomy or a primary power extension. (13.4.3)

14 Distributed-Recipient Mass Notification

14.1 Platform and Integration

NOTE A distributed-recipient system delivers a message to a list of named recipients over public telecommunications and data networks, by text message, email, telephone call, mobile application, and desktop alert. It reaches people who are off site, in transit, or in a space no speaker covers, and it reaches no one who is not on the list, which is why it supplements the in-building and wide-area systems rather than replacing them. (14.1.1)
14.1.2 The source of the distributed-recipient platform shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Distributed-Recipient Platform Furnishingradio
○ New platform furnished under this standard
○ Owner's existing platform, integration furnished under this standard
○ Not applicable, no distributed-recipient mass notification provided
NOTE A new platform is furnished where the Owner has none, and it is specified by the channels, enrollment model, and reporting it provides rather than by a product. Integration to an existing platform applies to a campus or an enterprise that already runs one, where a second platform would split the recipient roster and the operator's attention. Not applicable fits a single building whose risk analysis finds no off-site or mobile population to reach. (14.1.3)
14.1.4 The method by which the distributed-recipient platform is initiated shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Distributed-Recipient Platform Initiationradio
○ Initiated by the autonomous control unit through a listed supervised interface
○ Initiated by the same authorized personnel from the platform's own console, with no interface to the control unit
○ Initiated both by the control unit through a listed interface and from the platform's own console
NOTE An interface from the control unit releases the text message with the same action that releases the voice message, which is the one-action arrangement the risk analysis usually asks for, and it is supervised and tested like any other output. A platform operated separately from its own console has no listed interface to build or supervise and is the arrangement an Owner's existing hosted platform most often allows, at the cost of a second operator action in every emergency. Both paths keep the text message available from the platform console when the control unit is the thing that has failed. (14.1.5)
14.1.6 Where the platform is initiated by the autonomous control unit, the interface shall be supervised so that loss of connection to the platform produces a trouble signal at the control unit.
14.1.7 The distributed-recipient platform shall be hosted on infrastructure outside the protected premises so that an emergency that disables the site does not disable the platform.

14.2 Delivery Channels

14.2.1 The channels on which the distributed-recipient platform delivers messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Distributed-Recipient Delivery Channelscheckbox
☑ Text message
☑ Email
☐ Automated telephone call
☐ Mobile application push notification
☐ Desktop alert on networked workstations
☐ Owner's website and social media accounts
☐ Owner's digital signage
14.2.2 The platform shall deliver one message to every selected channel from one operator action.
14.2.3 The platform shall report, for each message, the number of recipients addressed, delivered, and confirmed on each channel that supports confirmation, within the interval indicated in the datasheet.
Delivery Reporting Intervalrange
Not more than
minutes
160
Default: 15 minutes
14.2.4 Each message delivered on a channel that supports it shall carry the same instruction the voice message and the textual signs carry for the same event.

14.3 Recipient Enrollment

14.3.1 The model by which recipients are enrolled on the distributed-recipient platform shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Recipient Enrollment Modelradio
○ Owner-maintained roster imported from the Owner's directory
○ Self-registration by recipients
○ Owner-maintained roster with self-registration for recipients outside the directory
NOTE A roster imported from the Owner's directory reaches every employee, student, or resident the directory holds, on the day they are added to it, and reaches nobody the directory does not know. Self-registration reaches visitors, contractors, and family members who opt in, and reaches only those who did. The combined model is what a campus with a population of both kinds uses, at the cost of two enrollment paths to maintain and a roster that is never entirely clean. (14.3.2)
14.3.3 Where a roster is imported from the Owner's directory, the platform shall synchronize with the directory at an interval not exceeding 24 hours and shall report each synchronization failure.
14.3.4 The platform shall support recipient groups by building, department, role, and response team, and a message shall be addressable to any group or combination of groups.

14.4 Public Alerting Interface

14.4.1 Whether the system interfaces to the public alerting infrastructure shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Public Alerting Interfaceradio
○ Interface to the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System through the Owner's designated alerting authority
● Not provided
NOTE The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, distributes one authenticated Common Alerting Protocol message to Wireless Emergency Alerts on every capable mobile device in a drawn area and to the Emergency Alert System on broadcast radio and television. It reaches visitors and passers-by whom no roster holds, and origination through it is reserved to a designated alerting authority, which is a government body rather than a building owner. A facility interfaces to it where it is itself such an authority or where its emergency response plan has an agreement with one. (14.4.2)
14.4.3 Where a public alerting interface is provided, the system shall originate alerts only through a Federal Emergency Management Agency approved alert origination tool, under the credentials and the approval workflow of the Owner's designated alerting authority.
14.4.4 Where a public alerting interface is provided, the interface shall be arranged so that no test, drill, or routine message can be released to the public alerting infrastructure.

15 Two-Way Emergency Communications

15.1 Whether two-way emergency call stations are provided as part of the mass notification function shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Two-Way Emergency Call Stationsradio
○ Provided
○ Not provided
Per drawings — the emergency communications site plan and floor plans (deferred by default)
15.2 Two-way emergency call stations shall be provided at the locations indicated on the emergency communications site plan and floor plans.
15.3 Each call station shall connect, on one action by the user, to a local operating console or to the constantly attended location the emergency response plan designates, and shall identify its location to the answering party.
15.4 Each call station shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that a fault in the station or its path produces a trouble signal.
15.5 A call station installed outdoors shall be marked by a blue light visible from every approach and shall be rated for the site conditions of this standard.
15.6 The answering party at a local operating console shall be able to release a message to the zone from which a call originated without ending the call.
NOTE Fire fighter telephone systems are furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems, the two-way communication in elevator cars is furnished under Vertical TransportationElevatorsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/vertical-transportation, and a two-way communication station at an area of refuge that is not part of a mass notification function is not furnished under this standard. (15.7)

16 Circuits, Pathways, and Survivability

16.1 Pathway Class

16.1.1 Every mass notification pathway shall be designated and installed in accordance with the class definitions of NFPA 72 Chapter 12.
16.1.2 The class of the notification circuits serving mass notification speakers, visible appliances, and textual signs shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Mass Notification Circuit Classselect
Class A
Class B
Class X
Per drawings — the emergency communications riser diagram (deferred by default)
16.1.3 The class of the network pathway between the autonomous control unit, the local operating consoles, the array sites, and any remote node shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Control Network Pathway Classselect
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class N
Class X
Per drawings — the emergency communications riser diagram (deferred by default)
16.1.5 Where a combined system is selected, the class of the shared notification circuits shall be as selected under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems, and the class indicated above shall apply to circuits furnished under this standard.

16.2 Pathway Survivability

16.2.1 The pathway survivability level applied to mass notification pathways shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Pathway Survivability Levelselect
Level 0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Per drawings — the accepted risk analysis and the emergency communications riser diagram (deferred by default)
NOTE NFPA 72 Section 12.4 defines the levels and they are not a ladder. Level 0 imposes no provision. Level 1 relies on a fully sprinklered building with the pathway in metal raceway. Level 2 uses a 2-hour circuit integrity cable, a 2-hour rated cable system, or a 2-hour rated enclosure. Level 3 combines the Level 2 methods with a fully sprinklered building, and Level 4 applies the Level 2 methods at a 1-hour rating. A fire alarm system picks its level from the evacuation strategy; a mass notification system picks it from the risk analysis, which can ask the pathways to survive an explosion, a flood, or a structural failure that no fire rating addresses, and for those the answer is route diversity and a second path rather than a higher level. (16.2.2)
16.2.3 The pathway survivability level shall be determined by the risk analysis for both fire and non-fire emergencies, and where the risk analysis requires a mass notification message to reach areas not yet affected by an emergency, the pathways serving those areas shall be arranged to survive the emergency for the time the emergency response plan requires.
16.2.4 The Contractor shall confirm that the proposed cable type, raceway, and installation method have been evaluated as a system for the selected survivability level before any material is purchased.
16.2.5 Where the risk analysis requires the control network to survive the loss of any one building, the network pathway shall be routed by diverse paths so that no single building, duct bank, or manhole carries both legs.

17 Power Supplies

17.1 Primary Power

17.1.1 The source of primary power for the mass notification control equipment shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Primary Power Sourceradio
○ Normal building power distribution
○ Emergency power system branch
○ Legally required standby power system
○ Optional standby power system
NOTE On normal power the secondary battery, rather than a generator, carries the system through an outage, and a generator fault never shows at the panel as a mass notification trouble. On a generator-backed branch the battery carries only the transfer interval and the system runs for as long as the generator has fuel, which is the arrangement a risk analysis that identifies a multi-day utility failure asks for. The emergency branch is used where the adopted codes classify the system as an emergency load, the legally required standby branch where they classify it as standby, and the optional standby branch where the Owner elects generator backing the codes do not require. (17.1.2)
17.1.3 The autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each amplifier and power supply, and each array site shall be supplied from a dedicated branch circuit with no other load connected.
17.1.4 Each branch circuit overcurrent device shall be identified MASS NOTIFICATION CIRCUIT, or FIRE ALARM AND MASS NOTIFICATION CIRCUIT where the control unit is combined, and shall be secured against unintentional operation.
17.1.5 Where a combined system is selected, the primary power arrangement selected under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems shall serve the shared control unit, and the arrangement indicated above shall apply to equipment furnished under this standard.
17.1.6 The Contractor shall submit the connected load calculation for every branch circuit serving mass notification equipment to the Engineer of Record.

17.2 Secondary Power

17.2.1 The secondary power standby duration shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Secondary Power Standby Durationrange
Not less than
hours
24486072
17.2.2 The secondary power emergency operation duration following the standby period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Secondary Power Emergency Operation Durationrange
Not less than
minutes
153060120
NOTE NFPA 72 Chapter 10 sets 24 hours of standby followed by 15 minutes at maximum voice output as the floor for an emergency communications system, and Chapter 24 lets the risk analysis require more. Sixty hours is the figure some jurisdictions and UFC 4-021-01 apply where the site is not attended over a weekend, and a longer emergency operation duration is selected where the emergency response plan expects messages to repeat through a shelter-in-place lasting an hour or more rather than through a fifteen-minute evacuation. (17.2.3)
17.2.4 The secondary power supply shall meet or exceed the durations NFPA 72 Chapter 10 requires for an emergency communications system, regardless of the values indicated in the datasheet.
17.2.5 Every component of the system, including each local operating console, each amplifier, each array site, and each textual sign, shall be provided with secondary power so that the whole system continues to operate on loss of primary power.
17.2.6 The battery calculation shall apply not less than the safety margin NFPA 72 Chapter 10 requires and shall list every component with its standby current, its emergency operation current, the durations applied, and the resulting ampere-hour capacity.
17.2.7 The autonomous control unit shall supervise every battery, charger, and battery connection in the system, including those at array sites, and shall produce a trouble signal on failure of any of them.
17.2.8 Where a combined system is selected, the secondary power furnished under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems shall be sized to include the mass notification load at the durations indicated above.

18 Installation

18.1 Wiring Methods

18.1.1 Mass notification circuits shall be installed as fire alarm circuits in accordance with NFPA 70 Article 760 and the other provisions of Adopted Electrical CodeAdopted Electrical CodeParameterEach project supplies its own value.adopted-electrical-code.
18.1.2 Mass notification circuit conductors shall not occupy the same raceway, cable, cable tray, or enclosure as conductors of other building systems except where NFPA 70 Article 760 permits it.
18.1.3 Cable installed in a plenum used for environmental air, and cable installed in a vertical riser, shall be listed for that use.
18.1.4 Where a combined system is selected, the raceway policy and the conductor sizes selected under Fire Alarm SystemsFire Alarm SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/fire-alarm-systems shall apply to the mass notification circuits.
18.1.5 Raceway products and installation methods shall comply with Raceways And ConduitRaceways and ConduitResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/raceways-and-conduit.
18.1.6 Network cabling between the autonomous control unit, the local operating consoles, and the distributed-recipient interface that is installed on the Owner's structured cabling shall comply with Structured CablingStructured Cabling SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/structured-cabling, and the Contractor shall identify every such pathway on the riser diagram as a pathway whose class depends on that cabling.

18.2 Array Structure Installation

18.2.1 Array structures shall be installed at the surveyed positions accepted under the joint site survey, on foundations designed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the project jurisdiction for the loads of this standard.
18.2.2 Array structures shall be grounded and bonded, and provided with lightning protection, in accordance with Grounding And BondingGrounding and Bonding for Electrical SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/grounding-and-bonding and Lightning ProtectionLightning Protection SystemsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/lightning-protection.
18.2.3 Array site cabinets shall be mounted so that their doors can be opened and their batteries replaced from grade or from a fixed platform without a lift.

18.3 Identification and Labeling

18.3.1 The autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each amplifier and power supply, each array site cabinet, and each interface enclosure shall be labeled with its function in permanent lettering in accordance with Equipment LabelingElectrical Equipment LabelsResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/equipment-labeling.
18.3.2 Where the control unit is combined with the fire alarm control unit, the label shall read FIRE ALARM AND MASS NOTIFICATION CONTROL UNIT.
18.3.3 Each local operating console shall be labeled with the zones and the mass notification types it controls.
18.3.4 Mass notification circuit conductors, junction boxes, and pull boxes shall be identified in accordance with Electrical IdentificationWiring System IdentificationResolves to the current adopted revision.sync/electrical-identification so that a mass notification circuit is distinguishable from a fire alarm circuit at every accessible point.

19 Acceptance Testing

19.1 Pre-Test Readiness

19.1.1 The Contractor shall complete a full pre-test of the installed system, including every message on every provided mass notification type, before requesting acceptance testing.
19.1.2 The Contractor shall not request acceptance testing until the system is completely installed, completely programmed to the signed prioritization matrix and message library, and free of trouble conditions.
19.1.3 The Contractor shall bear the cost of any retest required because the system was presented for acceptance testing with an incomplete installation, an unresolved trouble condition, or missing documentation.

19.2 Test Witnessing

19.2.1 The parties witnessing acceptance testing shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Acceptance Test Witnessescheckbox
☑ Authority having jurisdiction
☑ Engineer of Record
☑ Owner's emergency manager
☐ Owner's information technology representative
☐ Commissioning authority
☐ Fire alarm contractor
☐ Third-party inspection agency
19.2.2 The Owner shall notify the occupants and the neighbors of the site of the date and time of every audible test before it is conducted.
NOTE A wide-area test that nobody was warned about produces calls to the public safety answering point, and a lockdown message released during a test that was not announced produces a lockdown. The notice is a test precondition rather than a courtesy. (19.2.3)

19.3 Acceptance Test Scope

19.3.1 The acceptance test shall exercise the items indicated in the datasheet in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14 and Chapter 24.
Acceptance Test Scopecheckbox
☑ Every prerecorded message released from the control unit and from each console
☑ Live voice from each console to each zone
☑ Prioritization matrix verified for every contending pair of sources
☑ Priority over or under fire alarm signaling verified with the fire alarm contractor present
☑ Audibility measured in each notification zone
☑ Intelligibility verified per the verification method and coverage of this standard
☑ Visible appliances and textual signs verified in each zone
☐ Wide-area coverage measured at the edge of each array's assigned area
☐ Distributed-recipient delivery verified on each channel to a test group
☐ Public alerting interface verified by the agreed test procedure
☐ Two-way call stations verified end to end
☑ Secondary power operation verified with primary power disconnected
☑ Supervision verified by inducing a fault on each circuit, link, and interface
19.3.2 Acceptance testing shall not be performed in stages on separate days unless the authority having jurisdiction accepts a staged test in advance.

19.4 Prioritization Verification

19.4.1 The prioritization matrix shall be verified by presenting each pair of contending sources simultaneously and confirming that the system resolves the contention as the signed matrix directs, that the lower-priority message is queued or suppressed without being mixed into the higher, and that the lower-priority message is released or discarded as the matrix directs when the higher ends.
19.4.2 Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the test shall confirm with the fire alarm contractor present that the override is annunciated at the fire alarm control unit, that detection and supervising station transmission continue during the override, and that the evacuation signal resumes as the matrix directs when the override ends.

19.5 Intelligibility Measurement Report

19.5.1 The intelligibility measurement report shall identify each acoustically distinguishable space, each measurement location, the measured value at each, the instrument used and its calibration date, and the pass or fail result against the criteria of this standard.
19.5.2 Where an acoustically distinguishable space fails, the Contractor shall correct it as the intelligibility criterion article requires and shall repeat the measurement in that space before the system is accepted.

19.6 Distributed-Recipient and Public Alerting Verification

19.6.1 The distributed-recipient platform shall be tested by releasing a test message to a test group on every selected channel, from the control unit where that initiation is provided and from the platform console, and the delivery report shall be included in the acceptance test report.
19.6.2 Where a public alerting interface is provided, it shall be tested only by the procedure agreed with the Owner's designated alerting authority, in a test mode that cannot release a live public alert, and the authority's confirmation shall be included in the acceptance test report.

20 Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance

20.1 The Owner shall maintain the mass notification system in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14, and with UFC 4-021-01 where the project is a Department of Defense facility, after the system is accepted.
20.2 The inspection and testing program the Contractor's service agreement provides shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Inspection and Testing Programradio
● Semiannual inspection with annual testing per NFPA 72 Chapter 14
○ Quarterly inspection with annual testing
○ Quarterly inspection with semiannual testing
○ Monthly inspection with annual testing
NOTE NFPA 72 Chapter 14 sets the semiannual inspection and annual test as the floor, and a mass notification system that is combined with the fire alarm system is inspected on the fire alarm schedule. The quarterly and monthly programs are selected where the risk analysis identifies an emergency frequent enough that a dormant fault matters within the year, such as a site in a tornado region, or where UFC 4-021-01 or the Owner's emergency management program sets a shorter interval. (20.3)
20.4 The interval at which a test message is released on the distributed-recipient platform to confirm delivery on every channel shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Distributed-Recipient Test Message Intervalrange
Not more than
months
13612
20.5 Intelligibility shall be re-verified in any acoustically distinguishable space whose finishes, partitions, ceiling, or speaker layout are changed after acceptance, and the re-verification shall be recorded against the acceptance baseline.
20.6 The Contractor shall turn over the inspection and testing schedule, the device inventory, and the test forms NFPA 72 Chapter 14 requires at closeout.

21 Delivery, Storage, and Handling

21.1 Equipment shall be delivered in the manufacturer's original packaging and stored in a clean, dry space within the manufacturer's published storage temperature and humidity limits until installed.
21.2 Array electronics and array site cabinets shall be stored under cover until they are mounted and energized, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of any component damaged by weather before energization.
21.3 Batteries shall be stored charged, within their rated storage temperature range, and shall be placed in service before the storage interval the manufacturer publishes is exceeded.

22 Warranty

22.1 Warranty Period

22.1.1 The equipment warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Equipment Warranty Periodrange
Not less than
months
12243660
22.1.2 The installation warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Installation Warranty Periodrange
Not less than
months
12243660
22.1.3 Both warranty periods shall begin at the date of system acceptance.
22.1.4 The equipment warranty shall cover the control unit, consoles, amplifiers, power supplies, batteries, speakers, arrays, visible appliances, textual signs, call stations, and interface modules against defects in materials and workmanship.
22.1.5 The installation warranty shall cover wiring, terminations, mounting, array structures, raceway, programming, and the message library against defects in workmanship, including any deficiency that causes a space to fall below the audibility or intelligibility established at acceptance.
22.1.6 Where a manufacturer's warranty on a component extends beyond the period indicated in the datasheet, the longer period shall apply to that component.
22.1.7 Where a warranty repair is made, the repaired or replaced work shall carry a new warranty of the full original term from the date of the repair, or the remainder of the original term, whichever is longer.

22.2 Warranty Service Response

22.2.1 The maximum time within which the Contractor responds on site to a reported system trouble during the warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Warranty Service Response Timerange
Not more than
hours
272
Default: 24 hours
22.2.2 The Contractor shall provide corrective service for any defect covered by the warranty at no additional cost to the Owner, including labor, parts, and travel.
22.2.3 Where a fault leaves any provided mass notification type unable to deliver a message to any part of its covered area, the Contractor shall restore it before leaving the site or shall provide an interim means of notification accepted by the Owner's emergency manager.

22.3 Distributed-Recipient Platform Subscription

22.3.1 Where a new distributed-recipient platform is furnished under this standard, the subscription term included in the installed cost shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
Included Platform Subscription Termrange
Not less than
months
12243660
22.3.2 The Contractor shall deliver the subscription in the Owner's name, with the Owner as the account holder, so that the service continues under the Owner's control when the included term ends.

23 Spare Parts

23.1 The Contractor shall deliver the spare parts indicated in the datasheet at substantial completion.
Required Spare Partscheckbox
☑ Console microphone of each installed type
☑ Amplifier module of each installed rating
☐ Speaker of each installed type
☐ Array loudspeaker driver of each installed type
☑ Visible appliance of each installed lens color and candela rating
☐ Textual sign of each installed type
☐ Call station of each installed type
☑ Interface module of each installed type
☐ Secondary power battery of each installed size
☐ Radio link module of each installed type
☑ Enclosure and console keys
23.2 The quantity of each spare device type shall be as indicated in the datasheet, expressed as a percentage of the installed quantity of that type.
Spare Device Quantityrange
Not less than
%
010
Default: 2 %
23.3 The minimum quantity of any spare device type shall be as indicated in the datasheet regardless of the percentage calculated.
Spare Quantity Per Device Typerange
Not less than
devices
010
Default: 1 devices
23.4 Spare devices shall be of the same model and firmware revision as the installed devices, delivered in their original packaging, and turned over against a written inventory signed by the Owner's representative.
23.5 Spare devices and spare batteries shall be stored in a conditioned location identified in the closeout documentation.

Written and maintained by SynC. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.