Does My Fire Alarm Line Have to Be a POTS Line?

What NFPA 72 actually requires

The old arrangement most buildings still have is a DACT, a digital alarm communicator transmitter, which dials out over two separate telephone lines and tests each of them at least every six hours. If either line fails, the panel reports a trouble condition. That is the setup copper retirement breaks.

NFPA 72 has permitted alternatives for years:

Cellular can serve as a single supervised path, and is also used as one of the two paths in a dual path setup. It does not depend on the building’s internet service.

IP as a sole path is allowed where the supervising station polls the panel at intervals of 200 seconds or less, so a cut cable shows up as a trouble signal within minutes.

Dual path under section 26.6.3 requires that a single failure in one path cannot prevent transmission over the other, with at least one path supervised so a failure is detected within 60 minutes.

In practice, most replacements land on a single supervised cellular path, and that is what most replacement platforms are built around. A second path is added where the AHJ, the insurer or the occupancy calls for it, not as the default.

Your AHJ still decides

This is the part that catches people out. NFPA 72 is a model code. What applies to your building is whichever edition your state or city adopted, plus any local amendments, as interpreted by your Authority Having Jurisdiction. Two counties an hour apart can land in different places.

So the accurate answer is that copper is not required by the model code, and has not been for years, but you confirm the specifics with your AHJ and your alarm monitoring company before you change anything.

What to do about it

If your panel is still dialing out over two copper lines, you are paying for the most expensive option and the one with an expiry date on it. Replacing it is not a phone project that happens to touch compliance. It is a compliance job that happens to involve a phone line, and it wants to be planned rather than rushed after a retirement notice lands.

Ask three questions of anyone proposing a replacement: what path does it use and how is it supervised, how long does it run on battery, and will you test with my central station before the copper is disconnected. If any answer is vague, keep looking.

Aerial Infrastructure replaces POTS lines for fire alarms, elevator phones and fax nationwide, and we are not tied to a single platform. See how POTS line replacement works, or book a free line survey.

This article is general information, not a compliance determination. Confirm requirements for your building with your Authority Having Jurisdiction.