Are standalone smoke detectors ever required to have strobes?

[Yikes]

Following up on a previous thread with even more basic questions:

In a residential building that does not otherwise have any fire alarm system:

1. For the stand-alone single- or multi-station smoke alarms inside the dwelling units, is a visual indicator (such as a strobe) ever required?​

2. If "yes", please cite the specific code, regulation, standard, wording and section.​

 

[Joe.B]

Assuming it's a project in CA?

I just cruised through 11A and there is no mention of visual indicators for alarms, no mention of alarms at all.

11B-702 references Fire Alarm Systems. If 11B is applicable, and CBC 907.2.9 dictates the installation of a fire alarm system, then yes.

 

[Yikes]

Thanks Joe. My project is in California, but at this point the question is for any multifamily project in any state. And I'm referring specifically to buildings that don't otherwise have a fire alarm system.

Example:
A 100-unit publicly funded (ADA applies) housing development anywhere in IBC land, consisting of (25) buildings, each with (4) garden style apartments where the front door opens directly to the exterior. Buildings are unsprinklered (no flow alarm). There is no interior corridor or other common space in any building, so there's no building-wide fire alarm system required by the IBC.
All we have for emergency alarms is the individual smoke detectors inside each bedroom and hallway.

Per ADA, at least 2% of the units have to be communication accessible. But I can't find anything (yet) in IBC or in ADA that compels the smoke detectors in those two units to be equipped with a strobe when there's no other fire alarm system provided in the building. That sounds crazy to me, but it initially appears to be the case, and I want to see if someone can prove me wrong.

 

[Joe.B]

809.5.2 Residential Dwelling Unit Smoke Detection System
Residential dwelling unit smoke detection systems shall comply with NFPA 72 (1999 or 2002 edition) (incorporated by reference, see “Referenced Standards” in Chapter 1).

NFPA LiNK®

The leading information and knowledge resource on fire, electrical and related hazards.

link.nfpa.org

You have to create a login, but they do provide free access, they do not allow copy and paste though.

 

[Joe.B]

It looks like their scope doesn't dictate when it's required. Only that if it is required, they tell you how. Yup, seems crazy to me too, but I can't prove you wrong...

 

[Joe.B]

I guess it does kind of make some sense though, just because a unit is required to have some level of accessibility, that does not mean that it will automatically be used. I am thinking about maybe a two story 8-plex, it wouldn't be required to have an alarm system. But if the code required that at least one unit had a strobe, there's no guarantee the occupant will appreciate it. Anyway, I'm not arguing one way or the other, just presenting a possible explanation.

 

[Yikes]

I just don't understand how ADA doesn't require strobes or other visible notification on smoke alarms in communication units.
It only talks about what to do if/when strobes are provided.

It requires a strobe for the doorbell, why not for the smoke and/or CO alarm?

 

[Paul Sweet]

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design do require strobes:

215 Fire Alarm Systems

215.4 Transient Lodging. Guest rooms required to comply with 224.4 shall provide alarms complying with 702.

215.5 Residential Facilities. Where provided in residential dwelling units required to comply with 809.5, alarms shall comply with 702.

224.4 Guest Rooms with Communication Features. In transient lodging facilities, guest rooms with communication features complying with 806.3 shall be provided in accordance with Table 224.4.

224.5 Dispersion. Guest rooms required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 and guest rooms required to provide communication features complying with 806.3 shall be dispersed . . . At least one guest room required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 shall also provide communication features complying with 806.3. Not more than 10 percent of guest rooms required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 shall be used to satisfy the minimum number of guest rooms required to provide communication features complying with 806.3.

702.1 General. Fire alarm systems shall have permanently installed audible and visible alarms complying with NFPA 72 (1999 or 2002 edition) (incorporated by reference, see “Referenced Standards” in Chapter 1), . . . In addition, alarms in guest rooms required to provide communication features shall comply with sections 4-3 and 4-4 of NFPA 72 (1999 edition) or sections 7.4 and 7.5 of NFPA 72 (2002 edition).

806.3 Guest Rooms with Communication Features. Guest rooms required to provide communication features shall comply with 806.3.

806.3.1 Alarms. Where emergency warning systems are provided, alarms complying with 702 shall be provided.

If the IBC and ANSI A117.1 don't have similar requirements they don't meet the ADA.

 

[Yikes]

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design do require strobes:

215 Fire Alarm Systems

215.4 Transient Lodging. Guest rooms required to comply with 224.4 shall provide alarms complying with 702.

215.5 Residential Facilities. Where provided in residential dwelling units required to comply with 809.5, alarms shall comply with 702.

224.4 Guest Rooms with Communication Features. In transient lodging facilities, guest rooms with communication features complying with 806.3 shall be provided in accordance with Table 224.4.

224.5 Dispersion. Guest rooms required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 and guest rooms required to provide communication features complying with 806.3 shall be dispersed . . . At least one guest room required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 shall also provide communication features complying with 806.3. Not more than 10 percent of guest rooms required to provide mobility features complying with 806.2 shall be used to satisfy the minimum number of guest rooms required to provide communication features complying with 806.3.

702.1 General. Fire alarm systems shall have permanently installed audible and visible alarms complying with NFPA 72 (1999 or 2002 edition) (incorporated by reference, see “Referenced Standards” in Chapter 1), . . . In addition, alarms in guest rooms required to provide communication features shall comply with sections 4-3 and 4-4 of NFPA 72 (1999 edition) or sections 7.4 and 7.5 of NFPA 72 (2002 edition).

806.3 Guest Rooms with Communication Features. Guest rooms required to provide communication features shall comply with 806.3.

806.3.1 Alarms. Where emergency warning systems are provided, alarms complying with 702 shall be provided.

If the IBC and ANSI A117.1 don't have similar requirements they don't meet the ADA.

Yes, the code requires strobes inside of communication accessible dwelling units in buildings that are provided with a fire FIRE alarm systems.
And yes, when fire alarm strobes are in a unit, the CBC requires that SMOKE and/or CO detectors within the unit should be able to activate those fire alarm strobes when the detectors are in operation.

However, in buildings that are NOT required to have (nor are provided with) a FIRE alarm system, that have units that are required to have single-or multi-station SMOKE detectors/alarms, I see nothing that requires those smoke detectors/alarms to be equipped with strobes, even in designated communication accessible dwelling units.

I recall the old saying, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”, but the code treats fire alarms and smoke alarms as two separate systems: a smoke alarm is not a fire alarm.