Hard-wired systems require electrician or alarm-firm tech

Retrofitting a house or building a new one with a hard-wired fire alarm system requires the help of an electrician or alarm company, according to John Moore, co-owner of Alarmco Inc. in Little Rock.

“If you’re trying to get things to code, they’re going to require that either an electrician or a licensed alarm company [install them],” he says.

Alarms installed by alarm companies differ from those electricians install, he says. That’s because alarms installed by electricians run at 110 volts and use the same type of wiring and power as electrical outlets. They also have nine-volt battery backup required by code and are interconnected.

“If an alarm company puts them in, they use low-voltage wires that connect to a security panel,” Moore explains. “If there’s an emergency, a security panel alarm sounds and calls the security central station. They can notify the homeowner or dispatch the fire department.”

Electricians must be licensed contractors to do such work, while alarm companies are regulated and licensed by the Arkansas State Police. Some towns, like Bentonville, have even more strict rules about who can and can’t install fire alarms.

“If you want [fire alarms] to be hard-wired and tied together, this will require an electrical permit and a master electrician to pull the permit and have it inspected,” says Lance Blasi, chief building inspector for the city. “Only licensed electricians can do electrical work in Bentonville.”

WHEN TO INSTALL?

Regardless of who installs a fire alarm system, there are right and wrong times to go about installing it, according to Moore. It’s best to install hard-wired alarms when a house is being remodeled before the walls are up and the painting done, he says.

That’s because installation requires running wires throughout the house, and that can leave holes in walls or drywall.

“It’s better to have a plan in place so that then your sheetrock [contractor] can repair it and make any holes disappear,” Moore says.

Some families go above and beyond code when installing fire systems in their homes, Moore says, by installing heat detectors in attics, under houses and near heating and air conditioning units.

“If a fire starts in an attic and you didn’t have a smoke detector up there, you’d never know it until the thing fell down through the ceiling,” Moore says. “Heat detectors can detect a fire in areas that are not ideal for smoke detectors. You can’t really put smoke detectors in attics or under houses because of how dusty and dirty it gets.”