A Fire Alarm Pull Station and the ADA. Do you know which ones are compliant?

By Nick Markowitz Jr.
Fire Investigator

The building you will be inspecting today is required under the Americans with Disabilities Act to be ADA compliant. The building is used by the public including individuals who use pull stations. You are the AHJ and technically not required to enforce ADA, but are required to inform building owners of the code. You have a job site where questions are being raised about the pull stations not meeting ADA code.
You try to stay up with all the ADA codes to assist your building owners and their contractors in complying and they are looking for answers. Could you answer correctly whether or not a pull station meets ADA requirements?

The supplier of the pull station says his pull station is compliant because it meets the ADA 5 pound or less operation requirement ADA requires of door locks and sink handles etc so it has to be Ok. But the architects say no it does not and refuses to allow its use. The architect states he is worried because a person with an infirmity of the hands such as severe rumitoid arthritis which deforms the hand joints would be unable to operate the station because of its small opening design. A person with a deformed hand could not properly operate the station.

So who is right? The architect is right because you know that besides the 5 or less pounds needed to operate the station the very same code which gives design criteria for door handles etc also applies to fire alarm pull stations. The code is part of the ADAAG Operating Mechanisms Guidelines 4.1.3(13), so even though the pull station meets part of the code for this job site, the station fails to meet the requirements. But the supplier protests saying he supplies these stations all over and never had them questioned. This is where it gets interesting. Technically the supplier’s stations can be used in old construction for replacement purposes or in buildings which do not have to meet ADA and many do not have to. So yes that’s why the non-fully complying stations are still being made.

So is there an ADA approved pull station. The answer is No?
ADA does not approve items, they only set guidelines to follow. It is up to the manufacturer of the product to make sure it meets ADA guidelines. Confused? You’re not the only one. Additionally there are no ADA police . ADA is enforced by a complaint or lawsuit were the US Justice Dept will send out trained experts to determine compliance. So if you see one building done fully to ADA and the exact same building across town without all the ADA items, the non complying structure built at the same time it could be just one phone call away from a complaint. To be sure a building is fully compliant there are special training courses and certifications available through the ADA. There are also many handicapped advocacy groups that provide services as well. ADA is a very complicated issue and even the best intentions to meet the code can be wrong.

ADA has been in effect since 1992 and still there are inspectors who do not realize about compliant pull stations and strobe lights required in restrooms. I see the wrong equipment being used and specified all the time and no one catches it till the Justice Dept gets involved. ADA like our new UCC, which uses the ICC, are complicated and take time to learn. Do yourself and everyone a favor by getting yourself educated. Wrong answers help no one and only make all code professionals look like fools.

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