NFPA 101 Fire Alarm

Systems, Part 3:
Residential, Healthcare,
and Daycare Occupancy
Requirements
July 18, 2019

Fire alarm requirements for one- and

two-family dwellings, hotels and
dormitories, apartments, residential
board and care facilities, inpatient and
outpatient healthcare, and daycare
occupancies
In the previous installment of this series, we explained what NFPA 101:
Life Safety Code requires for fire alarm systems in buildings or parts of
buildings used for education, detention, assembly, business, industrial
processes, and more. In this piece, we cover fire alarm needs in the
following occupancies:

 One- and two-family dwellings

 Lodging and rooming houses
 Hotels and dormitories
 Apartment buildings
 Residential board and care facilities
 Inpatient and outpatient healthcare facilities
 Day care buildings
Readers may find it helpful to explore Part 1, where we discuss how
alarms may be triggered (system initiation), what those alarms may
sound and look like (occupant notification), and whether or not a signal
is sent to professionals tasked with contacting emergency services
(monitoring).

If you’re not sure which occupancy type your building falls under, take a
look at this article—or at NFPA 101, section 6.1. Notably, new structures
and existing structures often follow different rules, as this video from the
NFPA explains:
Fire alarm requirements in one- and
two-family dwellings and lodging or
rooming house occupancies
Houses that shelter as many as two families are considered one- and
two-family dwellings, as long as they do not rent rooms to more than
three additional guests at one time (NFPA 101, section 6.1.8.1.1). If this
home rents rooms to anywhere between four and sixteen outsiders—as
in the case of a vacation rental—it would then be classified as a lodging
or rooming house (6.1.8.1.2).

This
home may need to meet fire alarm requirements for lodging or rooming house occupancies depending
on how many people stay in rented rooms. Source: Wikimedia
One- and two-family dwellings
These occupancies typically require only the necessary number of alarms
to alert sleepers and residents within living areas. Section 24.3.4.1.1 of
NFPA 101 requires one- and two-family dwellings to have only an alarm
system (no monitoring needed) with audible alarms in the following
locations:

 Within every sleeping room

 In the immediate vicinity outside of every sleeping room
 On every level of the building (including basements)
According to section 24.3.4.1.2, one- and two-family dwellings need
smoke detection systems that comply with section 9.6. They also need an
approved means of occupant notification (for more on what section 9.6
entails and occupant notification, read Part 1). In addition, existing one-
and two-family dwellings may use battery-powered smoke alarms
instead of the electrically powered models typically required in new
dwellings (24.3.4.1.3).

Lodging or rooming house occupancies

In section 26.3.4.1.1, NFPA 101 requires fire alarm systems for lodging or
rooming house occupancies. But none of these systems require
monitoring. And under section 26.3.4.1.2, existing lodging or rooming
houses don’t require fire alarm systems at all if they meet three criteria:

 An existing smoke detection system is installed

 The system includes approved detectors for every sleeping
room in accordance with section 9.6.2.10
 The building has at least one pull station per floor to initiate
the smoke detection alarm
When these occupancies do feature a fire alarm system, an approved
automatic sprinkler system or manual pull station may sound the alarm
(26.3.4.2). Notification devices must be installed in accordance with
section 9.6.3 (26.3.4.3), with two caveats:

 Visible signals for hearing-impaired people are not required if

the proprietor lives in the building and there are five or fewer
rooms for rent (26.3.4.3.1)
 A positive alarm sequence—a sort of delayed alarm—is
permitted in section 26.3.4.3.2 (for more, read Part 1).

Fire alarm requirements for hotels

and dormitories, apartment
buildings, and residential board and
care occupancies
NFPA 101 applies a different (and more demanding) set of rules to
buildings that house people in large numbers—or where residents may
not be fully able to care for themselves.

Hotels provide temporary shelter for more than 16 persons and are

primarily used by guests who stay only for a brief time (NFPA 101,
6.1.8.1.3). Dormitories—a term that covers everything from fraternities
to military barracks—also provide accommodations for at least 17
people (6.1.8.1.4). However, dormitories differ from hotels in that they
house people who are not members of the same family in the same
room or closely associated rooms.

Apartments are buildings—or parts of buildings—with three or more

dwellings (6.1.8.1.5). These spaces have independent bathrooms and,
unlike dormitories, individual cooking facilities. Residential board and
care occupancies provide sleeping accommodations and care to at
least four people (6.1.9.1). These occupants aren’t related (by blood or
marriage) to the building’s owner. Examples of residential board and care
facilities include:

 Housing for physically or mentally handicapped persons

 Assisted living facilities
 Rehab or mental health facilities
Notably, these examples exclude facilities that offer nursing or acute
care.

New hotels and dormitories

In hotels and dormitories, a hazard in one space may threaten others. As
such, the NFPA requires additional forms of initiation in hotels and
dormitories—not just the manual pull stations found in other residential
occupancies.

From the 2018 edition of NFPA 101

28.3.4.2 Initiation. The required fire alarm system shall be initiated by each of the
following:

(1) Manual means in accordance with 9.6.2

(2) Manual fire alarm box located at the hotel desk or other convenient central
control point under continuous supervision by responsible employees
(3) Required automatic sprinkler system
(4) Required automatic detection system other than sleeping room smoke detectors
Like lodging or rooming houses, new hotels and dormitories must also
install notification devices in accordance with section 9.6.3 (28.3.4.3.1).
A positive alarm sequence is permitted (28.3.4.3.2). Rooms and suites
specifically for hearing-impaired people—and other occupiable areas
that aren’t rooms or suites—must provide visible notification appliances
(28.3.4.3.3, 28.3.4.3.4). New hotels and dormitories must also provide
alarm monitoring and emergency forces notification (28.3.4.3.6).
 Fire
alarm systems in new hotels activate and notify occupants using a variety of devices. Source: Wikimedia

Further, some new hotels or dormitories need alarm annunciation.

Annunciation simplifies the task facing first responders by showing which
parts of the building are under threat on a fire alarm control panel. (For
more details on how to divide a building into zones for annunciation, see
section 9.6.7.) According to section 28.3.4.3.5, new facilities must have
alarm annunciation if they meet at least one of the following conditions:

 The building is three or more stories high

 The building includes more than 50 guest rooms
Existing hotels and dormitories
The rules for initiation in existing hotels and dormitories are nearly
identical to those for new construction. Section 29.3.4.2 requires
initiation by:
  A manual fire alarm box at a convenient and constantly
supervised location
 An automatic sprinkler system
 An automatic detection system (not sleeping room smoke
detectors)
In addition, many of these occupancies also require pull stations in
accordance with section 9.6.2. However, if there are other “effective
means to activate the fire alarm system”—such as a complete automatic
sprinkler or detection system—these pull stations aren’t required.

Notification appliances must be provided in accordance with section

9.6.3 (29.3.4.3.1). Per section 29.3.4.3.2, a positive alarm sequence is
permitted, as is a presignal system—which gives on-site staff the chance
to investigate the source of the problem before sounding a general fire
alarm. And unlike new hotels and dormitories, existing facilities don’t
require visual notification appliances for visually impaired individuals.

Existing facilities that aren’t currently configured for monitoring must

make provisions to immediately alert the fire department in case of a fire
(29.3.4.3.6). They must also include alarm monitoring when it comes time
to replace their current fire alarm system (29.3.4.3.7).

Finally, each suite in an existing hotel or dormitory requires at least one

approved single-station detector per guest room, living area, and
sleeping room (29.3.4.5). Those smoke alarms don’t need to be
interconnected, and they don’t need a secondary power source
(29.3.4.5.1, 29.3.4.5.2).

Residential board and care facilities

Section 32.1.1.5 divides residential board and care facilities into separate
categories of small (sleeping accommodations for 16 or fewer residents)
and large (over 16 residents).
Both new and existing small facilities have few requirements for their
fire alarm systems. The systems must initiate manually and notify
occupants automatically—without delay (32.2.3.4, 33.2.3.4). These
systems do not require alarm monitoring.

Large board and care facilities—new and existing—have the same

initiation requirements as hotels and dormitories (32.3.3.4.2, 33.3.3.4.2).
Those alarm systems are activated by:

 Fire alarm pull stations in accordance with section 9.6.2 (save

for existing occupancies with alarms activated by a complete
automatic sprinkler or detection system)
 A manual fire alarm box at a convenient and constantly
supervised location
 An automatic sprinkler system
 An automatic detection system (excluding sleeping room
smoke detectors)
 Initi
ation rules vary among board and care facilities (like this nursing home). Source: U.S. Air Force

New large board and care facilities require annunciator panels—used

to display the approximate location of a fire alarm’s source—while
existing ones don’t (32.3.3.4.3). And both new and old occupancies must
provide notification in accordance with section 9.6.3, automatically and
without delay (32.3.3.4.4, 33.3.3.4.4). However, section 33.3.3.4.4 specifies
that notification in existing large facilities must be provided “by
internal audible alarm.” When these occupancies are part of a high rise,
new large facilities must include PA system evacuation announcements
as part of their alarm signals (32.3.3.4.5).

New large facilities also require alarm monitoring that complies with
section 9.6.4 (32.3.3.4.6). Section 32.3.3.4.6 adds that smoke detection
devices or systems may initiate a positive alarm sequence, as long as it
lasts 120 seconds or less. Existing large occupancies may feature these
systems (33.3.3.4.6.1). However, when these systems lack monitoring,
trained staff members should be continually available to contact the fire
department (33.3.3.4.6.2).

Apartment buildings
New apartment occupancies need fire alarm systems unless they
meet both of the following conditions:

 They are under four stories high (30.3.4.1.1)

 They have fewer than 12 dwelling units (30.3.4.1.1)
NFPA 101 makes one additional exception: no fire alarm system is
required if each dwelling unit is separated from contiguous dwelling
units by fire barriers with at least a 1-hour fire-resistance rating and  each
unit has its own independent exit or a stairway/ramp that ends at ground
level (30.3.4.1.2).

Existing apartments follow all of the same provisions, with one slight

change: fire barriers need only a 1/2-hour fire-resistance rating
(31.3.4.1.2).

Initiation

For both existing and new apartments, initiation of the alarm system

must be manual, unless the apartment meets all of the following
conditions (30.3.4.2, 31.3.4.2):

 The building has four or fewer stories

 It includes no more than 16 dwelling units
 An approved, supervised automatic sprinkler system is
installed throughout
In new apartment buildings with sprinkler systems, activation of the
sprinkler system must also initiate the fire alarm system (30.3.4.2.3).
Automatic activation may also be required in existing apartment
buildings that have:

 Complete approved automatic fire detection and notification

systems (31.3.4.2.3)
 Sprinkler protection in select areas (31.3.4.2.4)
 Sprinkler protection throughout (31.3.4.2.5)

Fire
sprinkler systems in new and existing apartment buildings must initiate the fire alarm system when
activated. Source: David Evers via Flickr

Notification and monitoring

The standard notification methods of section 9.6 apply to new and

existing apartments (30.3.4.3, 31.3.4.3). In addition, these sections require
visible signals in units for hearing-impaired people, and allow for the use
of a positive alarm sequence. Existing apartment buildings may also use
existing presignal systems for notification.
These occupancies also need alarm monitoring and emergency forces
notification as described in section 9.6.4 (30.3.4.3.5, 31.3.4.3.5). Both new
and existing apartment buildings also need a panel that displays the
approximate location of an alarm’s source (annunciator panels), unless
they have:

 Up to 50 rooms and  only one or two stories (30.3.4.3.3,

31.3.4.3.3)
 Up to 16 dwelling units and  as many as four stories
(30.3.4.3.4, 31.3.4.3.4)

Healthcare and ambulatory

healthcare occupancies
Inpatient healthcare facilities (healthcare occupancies) and outpatient
healthcare facilities (ambulatory healthcare occupancies) provide care to
four or more patients. In these occupancy types, patients’ abilities to
protect themselves may be limited by disabilities, age, injury, or other
factors. For more precise definitions, see sections 6.1.5.1 and 6.1.6.1.
 NFP
A 101’s rules for fire alarms in healthcare occupancies vary with the types of care provided, the number
of patients, and other factors. Source: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

Inpatient facilities
Initiation

For inpatient healthcare facilities, sections 18.3.4.2.1 and 19.3.4.2.1

require fire alarm systems to initiate manually and automatically.
Acceptable means include waterflow alarms, detection devices, or
detection systems. However, smoke detectors required for these systems
do not need to initiate the fire alarm system (18.3.4.2.3, 19.3.4.2.3).

Alarm boxes may be excluded from the exits of patient sleeping areas if
all three of the criteria in sections 18.3.4.2.2 or 19.3.4.2.2 are met:

 There’s a manual alarm box at each nurse’s station (or

another constantly attended location)
 Travel distance between these boxes don’t exceed those
specified by section 9.6.2.5
 The boxes are visible and continuously accessible
Notification and monitoring

Like other occupancies, new and existing inpatient healthcare facilities

must comply with notification rules provided in section 9.6.3. However,
NFPA 101 allows for a few customizations to notification devices in new
inpatient facilities (and identical provisions for existing ones can be
found in section 19.3.4.3.1).

From the 2018 edition of NFPA 101

18.3.4.3.1 Occupant Notification. Occupant notification shall be accomplished

automatically in accordance with 9.6.3, unless otherwise modified by the following:

(1) Paragraph 9.6.3.2.3 shall not be permitted to be used.

(2)* In lieu of audible alarm signals, visible alarm-indicating appliances shall be
permitted to be used in critical care areas.
(3) The provision of 18.3.2.5.3(13)(c) shall be permitted to be used.
Item 1 in this list refers to a provision governing smoke detectors. In
essence, section 9.6.3.2.3 says that specific detectors—those used to
automatically open doors—don’t need to sound an evacuation alarm.
However, NFPA 101 doesn’t let installers working on inpatient facilities
make use of this exception. Section 18.3.2.5.3(13)(c), on the other hand,
addresses smoke alarms located near cooktops or ranges. These
detectors don’t need to trigger a building-wide notification system.

Both new and existing facilities must provide notification in accordance

with section 9.6.4 (18.3.4.3.2.1, 19.3.4.3.2.1). However, these sections add
that the kitchen smoke detectors mentioned above need not send a
signal to emergency forces.

These facilities must also have any activating device perform required
emergency control functions automatically (18.3.4.4, 19.3.4.4). Such
functions include shutting down ventilation systems, unlocking doors,
and other fire safety functions (9.6.5). However, existing inpatient
healthcare facilities whose smoke detectors or detection systems have
reconfirmation features—meaning that they confirm that a problem still
exists after a set period of time—do not need to automatically notify the
fire department. Those detectors can delay emergency forces notification
for up to 120 seconds of triggering (19.3.4.3.2.2).

Outpatient facilities
New and existing outpatient healthcare facilities have far fewer
requirements for their alarm systems—largely because their occupants
can more easily evacuate themselves. Systems in these facilities should
initiate manually and by any other required detection systems (20.3.4.2,
21.3.4.2). Sections 20.3.4.3 and 21.3.4.3 allow for the use of a positive
alarm sequence.

Alarm monitoring in accordance with section 9.6.4 is required for both

new and existing occupancies (20.3.4.3.2, 21.3.4.3.2.1). Like existing
inpatient facilities, existing outpatient facilities with reconfirmation
features on their smoke detectors can have those detectors delay
emergency forces notification for as much as 120 seconds after
triggering (21.3.4.3.2.2). Finally, any activating device installed as part of
the fire alarm system should perform all required emergency control
functions automatically (20.3.4.4, 21.3.4.4).

Daycare occupancies
According to section 6.1.4.1, a facility where someone looks after at least
four clients (unrelated children or adults) for less than 24 hours a day is
considered a day care. Newly constructed daycare facilities are required
to have fire alarm systems unless they’re housed in only one
room and  have a direct, ground-level exit or an exit access balcony
(16.3.4.1). Existing daycare facilities can forgo a fire alarm system only if
they consist of just one room, whether or not it has such exits (17.3.4.1).

Un
der certain conditions, single-room daycare occupancies may not require fire alarm systems. Source: Air
Force Medical Service

In both new and existing facilities, fire alarm systems must initiate
manually and by any required detectors and sprinklers (16.3.4.2, 17.3.4.2).
Occupant notification should comply with section 9.6.3, but may employ
positive alarm sequence and private operating mode (16.3.4.3, 17.3.4.3).

If it serves more than 100 clients—or if a new fire alarm system is

installed—a system protecting an existing daycare center must have
emergency forces notification (17.3.4.4). All new facilities, however, must
provide automatic notification (16.3.4.4).