These Fire Alarm Experts Get a Failing Grade When Installing a FM 200 System In a School for at Risk Children

By Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator

One of my many institutional clients, which runs a day school program for At risk youth and Adjudicated Youth who are staying on the campus in the residence program, called me the other day and wondered if I could temporarily disarm the FM 200 Clean Agent system they have in their computer room. They forgot about air conditioning men working with torches, which might set it off and the company who installed it could not get someone on site for several hours.

I take care of all the alarms on the campus and the computer department never let me know this system had been installed in this school. I arrived and temporarily took the system off line and then started asking questions when I failed to get a trouble signal on the main school fire panel that I should have. Well as usual it turns out codes were once again not followed by the company who goes around telling everyone they're fire alarm experts.

First off the FM 200 system panel is required by code to be tied to the main fire system, as would a kitchen hood in a school cafeteria, the sprinklers etc. They also never got permits from the AHJ nor did they file the sealed plans drawn by a professional as required by the UCC that was in effect when they installed the system. They also failed to install automatically closing doors to insure the clean agent stays in the room and puts out the fire. They also failed to tie into the ac unit in the ceiling so it stops operating when the system activates. Add all this to the fact immediately outside the computer room is classrooms for 100 grade school students who would have no idea the FM 200 system has activated and could be filling up their classrooms with Halitron (Freon) Gas, if the doors fail to seal off the gas.

Again nothing but excuses from this company who claim they did only what they had to do and that the system is perfectly safe and installed properly. Unfortunately there ineptness for now the 3rd time on campus has been the straw that broke the camels back and they will be doing no further work at this campus. What further angered the AHJ was the fact besides not notifying him about the install they never notified the local fire dept of the fact they could be walking in on a FM 200 system that has dumped 100 pounds of Halitron and could be dangerous if the gas becomes heated as Freon produces Phosgene gas known during WWI as nerve gas. Everytime I have installed a Fire System I have always let the AHJ know what is going on and invited the local fire dept through for a company inspection so they know how to respond and reset it. Its just good practice to do so. Something this company does not care to do. Despite the fact many of there techs are in fact volunteer firefighters. But this is not the first time I have run into problems with these clean agent systems.

I have a customer who bought an old machine shop building which in its Engineering Dept. had an older style Halon system installed in its computer room, with one big problem. When the pull station was installed to activate the Halon Trip it was installed directly next to a light switch and one day an employee poking around in the darkened room found the wrong switch and tripped the system. My customer heard the alarm go off ran back and got his employee out to a safe area till the gas dissipated. When I checked out the pull station I found it was one that had been recalled for causing false activations and when the company that did the install wrongly was asked to move the pull station and reset the system and fill the tank, they refused until the AHJ who again was never notified the system was in the building started procedures against them. This once again proves that Fire system installing companies think they can get away with any kind of install they want and do not need to meet the minimum requirements of the code. If a contractor can not meet the minimum building code requirements of the UCC which are very minimum at that in many cases, then they have no business doing any work in this or any state.

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