Mass Notification NFPA and Beyond! Ray Grill, P.E. ARUP

Agenda What is mass notification? Why is mass notification in NFPA 72? Review some of the criteria in NFPA 72 – Where is the standard headed?

What is Mass Notification? A system used to provide information and instructions to people, in a building, area site, or other space.  Individual Building System  Autonomous Control Unit  Notification Network  Intelligibility/Audio Intensity  Local Operating Consoles  Giant Voice System (Outdoors)  Base-wide Control System (Combination Interior and Outdoor)

Methods of Communicating? A Mass Notification System may use inteIIigible voice communications, visible signals, text, graphics, tactile or other communications methods.

What is the Purpose? Initiate evacuation, relocation, or to provide information to occupants. Fire emergencies, weather emergencies, terrorist events, biological, chemical or nuclear emergencies or any combination of these.

How is it done? The system may be automatic, manual, or both. Single, on-site location or may include multiple command locations. Systems may be wired, wireless or some combination of the two.

Why is Mass Notification in NFPA Deaths 372 Injured Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia June 25, 1996

Background to Mass Notification in NFPA 72 July Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) Design: DoD Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings  Goal: All inhabited buildings to have terror resistant construction  Required for FY04 and later for all facilities construction projects  Applicable to owned and leased facilities occupied by DoD personnel regardless of funding source  Includes requirement for Mass Notification

Background to Mass Notification in NFPA 72 December UFC Design and Operation & Maintenance of Mass Notification Systems  Mass Notification System Guidelines, UFC , Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems  Purpose: To provide real-time information to all building occupants or personnel in the immediate vicinity of a building during emergency situations

Background to Mass Notification in NFPA 72 June 2003 Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency petitioned NFPA to develop a standard for Mass Notification. NFAC TCC was charged with the task of reviewing this request. NFAC TCC Task Group was formed February First Task Group meeting held March Subsequent meetings May 2004 and August 2004.

Scope of Changes to NFPA Modifications to individual chapters to allow for the use of fire alarm systems for mass notification on their own or integrated with other systems. Added a new Annex E to provide guidance for the application, installation, location, performance, and maintenance of Mass Notification Systems

Where are the applications? Department of Defense University campus’s Corporate campus’s Specific risk areas Regional Where ever people need to be given information

Overview of Annex E Preface: Annex E is not part of the requirements of this NFPA document, but is included for informational purposes only.

Overview of Annex E Cont. NFPA 72 contains requirements that can impact the application of Mass Notification Systems. Coordination of the functions of a mass notification system with those of a fire alarm system is essential in order to provide effective communication in an emergency situation. Conflicting or competing signals or messages from different systems could be very confusing to occupants, and could have a negative impact on the intended occupant response.

Overview of Annex E Cont. Where independent systems are used, the mass notification system would need to interface with the fire alarm system to effect related control actions such as temporary silencing of notification appliances. The use of a single integrated combination system might offer both economic and technical advantages. In any case, coordination between system functions is essential. What does this tell us?

Planning is essential!

Overview of Annex E 1.Introduction Scope, Purpose & Application. 2.Fundamentals Equipment, Designer, Installer, Operator Performance Based Design System Fundamentals Power Supplies Compatibility Distinctive Signals at Control Unit Function Status Indicators Trouble signals

Overview of Annex E Deactivation of Signals Distinctive Notification Signals Temperature, Humidity Variation Installation and Design Transient Protection Wiring Grounding Initiating Devices Location and Mounting Zoning and Annunciation Monitoring Integrity

Overview of Annex E Documentation Approval and Acceptance Load Calculations As-built Drawings and O&M Manuals Inspection and Commissioning

Overview of Annex E 3.System Features Fire Alarm Systems Supplementary Functions Multiple Buildings System Priorities Voice Messages Visible Signaling Operating Consoles

Overview of Annex E 4.Central Control Stations Location that can initiate communication to multiple buildings or locations based on information gathered or received from other agencies or sources. Criteria for communication methods and equipment as well as operation of the CCS.

Chapter 3 Definitions New Definitions Mass Notification System Wide Area Notification Generic changes to some definitions to allow the definition to also apply to mass notification

Chapter 4 Fundamentals 4.7 – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Chapter 5 Initiating Devices 5.15 – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Chapter 6 Protected Premises Language is being added to Annex confirming that the Chapter is applicable to fire alarm systems used for mass notification. Language revised to not limit application to fire emergencies only.

Chapter 6 Protected Premises – NEW SECTION – Live voice instructions originating from the protected premises fire or mass notification systems shall override all previously initiated signals and shall have priority over: 1) Any subsequent automatically initiated signals on that channel and, 2) Remotely generated mass notification messages.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances Revised Annex material to remove fire alarm specific language. Revised text throughout the chapter to address devices utilized for mass notification as well as fire alarm. Removed the term “occupiable area” and replace with “required to be served by the system”.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances – NEW TEXT – “Notification appliances shall be permitted to be used within buildings or outdoors and to target the general building, area, or space, or only specific parts of the building, area or space designated in specific zones and sub-zones.”

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances – NEW TEXT under “Physical Construction” – Appliances intended for use in special environments, such as outdoors versus indoors, high or low temperatures, high humidity, dusty conditions, and hazardous locations, or where subject to tampering, shall be listed for the intended application.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances – NEW TEXT – Notification appliances used for signaling other than fire shall not have the word FIRE, or any fire symbol, in any form (I.E., stamped, imprinted, etc.) on the appliance visible to the public. Combination audible and visual appliances shall be permitted to have FIRE markings provided that the visible appliance used to signal fire is only used for fire signaling.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances & 3 – Introduce “lenses” as a component required to be listed with the device.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances – Location of Audible Appliance “for a Building or Structure” – NEW TEXT – Location of Audible Notification Appliances for Wide Area Signaling – NEW TEXT - Install audible notification appliances for wide area signaling in accordance with the requirements of the authority having jurisdiction, approved design documents and the manufacturer’s installation instruction to achieve the required performance.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances – (Changed to limit requirement to fire alarm devices) – Lights used for fire alarm signaling only or to signal the intent for complete evacuation shall be clear or nominal white and shall not exceed 1000 cd (effective intensity) * – NEW TEXT – Lights used to signal occupants to seek information or instructions shall be clear, nominal white or other color as required by the emergency plan for the area or building.

Chapter 7 Notification Appliances Revised text to provide criteria for visual notification appliances for buildings versus wide area signaling. Synchronization of strobes used for mass notification required – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Chapter 8 Supervising Stations 8.6 – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Chapter 9 Public Fire Alarm Reporting 9.8 – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Chapter 11 Household – Mass Notification Systems (See Annex E)

Where is Mass Notification Headed in the Codes? NFPA 72 TCC recommended a separate technical committee Standards Council approved the TC Coordination with NFPA Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems New Chapter 12 to NFPA 72 Emergency Communication Systems

Emergency Communication Systems Chapter Structure

Chapter 12 Scope Scope. This Committee shall have primary responsibility for documents on the risk analysis, design, application, installation and performance of emergency communications systems, and their components. Public emergency services communications systems covered by NFPA 1221 are outside the scope of this committee except where they interface with in-building bi- directional amplifiers and where trouble and supervisory signals are intended to be monitored by the building fire alarm system.

One-Way ECS In-Building EVACs Relocation of section 6.9 and other requirements Survivability requirements to reference new chapter Permits a mass notification control unit to take control of fire alarm notification appliances including amplifiers, speakers, and strobes Will require a tone or voice message any time the priority is granted to the mass notification control unit Strobes used for dual purposes shall not be marked ‘FIRE’, strobes to be blank or ‘ALERT’

One-Way ECS In-Building MNS Operation of MNS system is based on the emergency response plan Intelligibility of voice messages are required to meet the requirements of chapter 7 (notification) Visual notification to be completed through strobes, textual, graphic or video displays Re-labeling of existing strobes labeled fire is required to be completed in a manufacturers approved method

One-Way ECS Wide Area MNS High powered speaker arrays (HPSA) for large outdoor areas Mounted at heights to prevent hearing damage to nearby persons Are not permitted to provide mass notification to occupants inside structures or buildings

One-Way ECS Distributed Recipient MNS Communication to a wide range of targeted individuals or groups Systems include mass dialing systems, reverse 911, , SMS (mobile phone text messages), and other directed communication methods

Two-Way ECS Wired Emergency Services Firefighter and warden telephones Elimination of common talk

Two-Way ECS Radio Emergency Services In Building amplifiers Bidirectional amplifiers

With ECS comes INTELIGIBILTY Chapter 7 - Proposed to adopt ISO 7240 Part 19 What is it?

Current Proposal NFPA * Voice Intelligibility Voice intelligibility, shall be designed and measured in accordance with ISO What does this mean?

NFPA 72 – 2010 Proposed Required speech intelligibility values for indoor locations shall be achieved as outlined in Table The speech intelligibility values shown in Table are considered minimum values * In cases where these values cannot be achieved, the Authority Having Jurisdiction shall be permitted to allow lower minimum values or require alternative methods of notification.

ISO STI 0.50 same as CIS 0.7

ISO Scope This part of ISO 7240 specifies the design, installation, commissioning and service requirements for a sound system for emergency purposes (s.s.e.p.; see ISO :2005, Figure 1, item C), which is primarily intended to broadcast information for the protection of lives within one or more specified indoor or outdoor areas during an emergency.

Code Development Where is NFPA 72 in the Process ROP Meetings were held – January 20-24, 2008 Report on proposals posted – June 20, 2008 Comment Closing Date – August 29, 2008 ROC Meetings– October 20-24, 2008 Report on comments posted – February 24, 2009 NFPA WSC – June 2009 Standards council issuance – July 31, 2009

Thank You