Frequently Asked Questions

Per NFPA 72 §14.4.5 (referenced by Texas Administrative Code Title 28), commercial fire alarm systems require an annual full functional test, semiannual visual inspection of initiating devices, and battery testing per the manufacturer's documentation. Smoke detectors must be replaced 10 years from date of manufacture per NFPA 72 §14.4.7.

NFPA 25 sets the minimums: weekly visual on dry-system air gauges, monthly visual on wet-system control valves and gauges, quarterly main drain test (or annual if continuously monitored), annual full sprinkler ITM, 5-year internal pipe/obstruction investigation, and 50-year sprinkler-head sample test for most head types (sooner for dry, ESFR, and harsh-environment heads).

It depends on AHJ adoption of IFC §510 and your building's size, height, and below-grade footprint. Texas adopted the 2024 IFC effective January 1, 2025 in unincorporated areas of large counties; many cities are adopting their own amendments. Use our Building Signal Check tool to find out in under a minute, or our AHJ Lookup to check your jurisdiction's adoption.

The AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) is the local entity enforcing fire code at your building — usually the local fire marshal. The Texas State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO) is a state agency within the Texas Department of Insurance; it licenses fire-protection contractors and individual technicians, and performs plan review for state-owned buildings and certain regulated occupancies. Most local fire-protection enforcement happens at the local fire marshal level, not the SFMO.

Yes — NFPA 10 allows the monthly visual inspection (tag punch) to be done by the building owner or designated staff. The annual inspection, internal maintenance (6-year), and hydrostatic test (12-year for dry chem, 5-year for CO₂) must be done by a Texas SFM-registered extinguisher contractor.

NICET — National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies — is the credential AHJs ask for on plan review. It runs four levels (I, II, III, IV) across multiple fire-protection disciplines. NICET certification is evidence of technical competency in the trade. At Zion, every senior tech holds NICET II or III in their primary discipline.

A trouble signal indicates a fault in the fire alarm system itself (battery low, broken wire, communication failure). A supervisory signal indicates a fault in a system the fire alarm supervises (sprinkler valve closed, water tank level low, generator failure). Both must be addressed, but they have different urgencies and different code-response requirements.

Fire watch is the deployment of trained personnel to continuously patrol a building or area when the fire-protection system is impaired or out of service. NFPA 1 Chapter 18 and IFC §901.7 govern when it's required — typically when a sprinkler system is out of service over 10 hours in a 24-hour period, or when a fire alarm is offline. We provide fire watch personnel; see /services/fire-watch/.

For monitored accounts and AHJ-driven emergencies, we dispatch 24/7. Standard service-call response in DFW is typically same-day or next-business-day; in Austin and statewide it's typically next-business-day. After-hours and weekend response is available for any account by arrangement.

Yes. We service systems regardless of who installed them — fire alarm panels, sprinkler systems, suppression systems, monitoring accounts. Switching contractors is straightforward: we walk the building, document what's installed, identify open deficiencies from prior reports, and take over the ITM schedule.

For most commercial fire alarm systems, switching monitoring is a programming change at the panel plus a new monitoring agreement — no equipment replacement required. Cost is the labor for the programming visit (typically a half-day) plus any communicator-path equipment if your current setup is POTS-only and needs IP/cellular conversion.