Fire Alarm Installation & Design

A new fire alarm system has to be designed to code, approved by the fire department, installed, programmed and tested before anyone can move in. Rainier Fire does every step, for new construction and tenant improvements in commercial, industrial and multifamily buildings.

Design, stamped in-house

Every system starts with a design: where each detector, pull station, horn and strobe goes, how they connect back to the panel, and how the system meets the fire code for your type of building.

Rainier Fire’s designs are prepared and stamped by our NICET Level III technician in Fire Alarm Systems. NICET (the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies) certifies fire alarm technicians in four levels.

That level matters in Washington. The state fire code requires that all fire alarm construction documents be reviewed by a NICET Level III, an equivalent ESA/NTS Level III fire alarm designer, or a Washington-licensed professional engineer before they’re submitted for a permit (WAC 51-54A-0907, section 907.11.2). Because our design review is done in-house, nothing waits on an outside engineer.

What we handle

1. Design: a code-compliant layout for your building and how it’s used.
2. Shop drawings: the detailed drawings the installation is built from.
3. Submittals and permits: drawings and equipment data sheets go to the fire department for review, and we pull the fire alarm permit.
4. Installation: devices, wiring and the fire alarm control panel, the brain of the system.
5. Start-up and programming: we power the system up and program every device to do what the design says.
6. Complete functional testing: our own device-by-device test of the whole system.
7. Acceptance testing: the final test, witnessed by the fire department, that clears the system to go in service.

Voice evacuation, where the system plays spoken instructions instead of just sounding horns, is part of our standard work when the building needs it.

Open, non-proprietary equipment

We install fire alarm systems from open product lines, including Kidde FX Series, Potter AFC Series, Silent Knight and Fire-Lite. With a non-proprietary system, any qualified fire alarm company can service it later, so you’re never locked into one vendor for parts, programming or inspections.

Working with your electrician

On some jobs the electrical contractor already has the fire alarm in their scope. We can split the work: their crew runs the conduit, pulls the wire and installs the devices, and we supply the equipment and handle the design, permits, programming and testing. See Parts & Smarts for how that works.

Licensed and certified

• NICET Level III, Fire Alarm Systems.
• Seattle Fire Department FA-1 certified.
• City of Vancouver endorsed contractor.
• Licensed in Washington (RAINIF*746KF) and Idaho (2581236).

Sources

1. Washington Administrative Code, WAC 51-54A-0907, “Fire alarm and detection systems,” section 907.11.2, Design review (State Building Code Council amendment to the 2021 International Fire Code, effective March 16, 2024).