CAT Safety and Compliance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), visible notification appliances (strobes) must be installed in which areas of a commercial building?
- Only in restrooms and sleeping areas
- In all areas required to have audible notification appliances, plus sleeping areas (Correct answer)
- Only in common corridors
- Only when requested by the building owner
Correct answer: In all areas required to have audible notification appliances, plus sleeping areas
ADA requires visible notification wherever audible notification is required and specifically in sleeping areas to accommodate hearing-impaired occupants.
Question 2: Which document must an alarm technician keep on-site while performing work on a fire alarm system?
- Only their business card
- A copy of the system's original design drawings and any as-built documentation (Correct answer)
- The manufacturer's marketing brochure
- The previous inspection report only
Correct answer: A copy of the system's original design drawings and any as-built documentation
NFPA 72 and most AHJs require that system documentation including as-built drawings be available on-site during installation or service.
Question 3: Alarm technicians who work on fire alarm systems in most US states must hold a license issued by:
- The federal Department of Homeland Security
- The state licensing board or applicable state authority (Correct answer)
- NFPA directly
- Their employer only
Correct answer: The state licensing board or applicable state authority
Fire alarm licensing is a state-level requirement; most states require technicians to pass an exam and maintain a state-issued license.
Question 4: Before leaving a fire alarm system in a 'trouble' condition at the end of a service visit, a technician must:
- Simply log the issue internally
- Notify the building owner/responsible party and, if required, the AHJ and monitoring station in writing (Correct answer)
- Disable the panel to avoid false alarms
- Wait 24 hours before notifying anyone
Correct answer: Notify the building owner/responsible party and, if required, the AHJ and monitoring station in writing
Leaving a system in trouble requires notifying the responsible party and potentially the AHJ to ensure life-safety coverage is maintained or alternative measures are taken.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a Central Station as defined by NFPA 72?
- It serves as the local fire department dispatch center
- It is a facility that receives alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals and retransmits them to the appropriate authorities (Correct answer)
- It is the primary electrical panel for the building
- It is the control unit location inside the protected premises
Correct answer: It is a facility that receives alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals and retransmits them to the appropriate authorities
A Central Station is a UL-listed, 24/7 staffed off-site monitoring facility that receives signals and notifies emergency services.
Question 6: Which chemical is a concern when disposing of older ionization-type smoke detectors?
- Mercury
- Lead
- Americium-241 (Correct answer)
- Cadmium
Correct answer: Americium-241
Ionization smoke detectors contain a small amount of Americium-241, a radioactive material that requires proper disposal per Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidelines.
Question 7: Under OSHA 29 CFR 1926, when working on a ladder at a fire alarm installation job site, the minimum distance the top of the ladder must extend above a roof access point is:
- 1 foot
- 2 feet
- 3 feet (Correct answer)
- 4 feet
Correct answer: 3 feet
OSHA requires that a ladder used for roof access extend at least 3 feet above the point of support to provide a safe handhold.
CAT Safety and Compliance 3
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), visible notification appliances (strobes) must be installed in which areas of a commercial building?