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Department of Safety and Professional Services
Department of Safety and Professional Services
Programs

Fire Alarm Plan Submittal Guidelines

Fire Alarm Plans Required to be Submitted

In accordance with Wis. Admin. Code SPS 361.30, the State of Wisconsin has adopted the component review of all Fire Protection Systems for buildings that require plan submittal effective January 1, 2012.

Exceptions to required review will only be as follows:

  1. Projects involving the alteration or addition of 20 or fewer devices to an existing fire alarm system do not need to be submitted.  A “device” includes both detection devices and notification appliances.  This includes, but is not limited to, all the following:  fire alarm control panels, power supply panels*, annunciators, horns, strobes, combination horn / strobes, speakers, combination speaker /strobes, smoke detectors, heat detectors, pull stations, and door holders.  Relay modules or monitoring modules are not considered alarm devices.
    Note:  Replacement fire alarm control panels must be listed for use with all the existing devices installed on the fire alarm system. 

  2. For the purpose of plan review requirements, detection or monitoring systems which are not connected to the building fire alarm system (e.g., smoke detection in an unoccupied storage facility with off-site monitoring, sprinkler system monitoring or elevator recall operations in a building without a fire alarm system), are not required to be submitted for review. 

  3. Projects where only single- and multiple-station smoke alarms are required.

  4. Hospitals, Nursing Homes, CBRF and Hospice buildings (reviewed by DHS).

Please note that the trigger date for fire protection system plan review is based on the date of the original building plan submittal.  The submittal of a stand-alone fire alarm system installation or alteration will be based on the permit date.

There are two options for submission of fire alarm plans for review:

  1.  Submit plans and additional documentation to DSPS via eSLA.

  2. Submit plans and additional documentation to a municipality on the Delegated Agent List.

Delegated Municipality

Some municipalities are delegated agents of the department to perform plan review and inspection of fire detection and suppression system per Wisconsin State Stat. 101.12(3). Fire suppression and fire alarm plans may be submitted to these delegated agents. An exception is that DSPS retains jurisdiction for plan review and inspection for all state-owned buildings, as well as projects for which the owner chooses to submit plans to DSPS.  Contact the municipality for more information on submission of fire suppression and fire alarm plans.

Note for City of Milwaukee

Fire alarm plans for buildings or structures (other than State-owned) constructed within the limits of Milwaukee shall be submitted to the City of Milwaukee for review, in lieu of submitting to DSPS.

What to Submit

The following shall be in PDF format, as applicable:

  1. A completed online plan review application via eSLA.

  2. Within the application, identify the Transaction ID No. related to the parent building plan review approval (CB-xxx, DIS-xxx, etc.). 

  3. Required Supervising Professional signature if entire building exceeds 50,000 cubic feet of volume. This signature is required for stand-alone plan submittals with no previous related building transaction ID. Have a properly credentialed individual sign as the Supervising Professional and include this signature page with your submittal. The original supervising professional’s signature for the building project is applicable to fire alarm submittals and a separate signature is not required.  Stand-alone fire alarm system submittals require a supervising professional signature. A supervising professional is required to be credentialed as a Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer or Designer of Engineering Systems (Electrical).

  4. Complete properly signed/sealed fire alarm plan set.

  5. Submit additional documentation.  Combine the following into one file for submittal in eSLA:

    1. Battery calculations and Voltage-drop calculations for each notification appliance circuit.

    2. Applicable material data sheets.

    3. A detailed, project-specific “Sequence of Operation” Narrative or Matrix which clearly identifies all functions of the fire alarm system, including the transmission of alarm, supervisory and trouble signals to an approved supervising station.  Include the communication method of signals sent from the fire alarm system to the supervising station.

    4. A completed SBD-8128, Checklist for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review summary sheet.

  6. Instructions on how to Submit a Fire Alarm Plan Review Application online via eSLA.

Signing / Sealing Plans

  1. There are two options for taking responsibility for the working plans:

    1. Signing and sealing of plans shall comply with SPS 361.31(1).  Fire alarm plans shall be stamped by a Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer or Designer of Engineering Systems (Electrical).

    2. In only those cases where the submitter is both the designer and installer of the fire alarm system, a signature only will suffice Wis. Stat. 443.14(6).  It shall be an original signature and dated.   

  2. Each sheet shall be individually signed / sealed.  If more than one sheet is bound together in a PDF plan set, the registrant may sign/seal and date only the title or index sheet if the signed sheet identifies clearly all other sheets comprising the bound PDF plan set.

  3. Electronic Signature/Seal. Designers shall provide an electronic version of their Wisconsin Professional Architect/Engineer/Designer original signature and seal or original signature/date applied to the PDF plan documents prior to upload.  If an electronic signature is used, attestation shall be included indicating this signature is an electronic signature.  Plans shall not be uploaded as certified. 

Plan Review Fees

  1. Fees shall be determined in accordance with Table 302.31-1 or Table 302.31-2 found in Chapter SPS 302 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. 

  2. Reduced plan review fees (Table 302.31-2) may be utilized for projects in municipalities that perform inspections as an agent of the Division of Industry Services.

  3. Municipalities that have authority to perform inspections can be found on the Inspections Delegated Agent List.

  4. Reduced fees (Table 302.31-2) do not apply to State-owned buildings.

  5. In addition to the plan review fee, a plan entry fee of $100 shall be included with each submittal.

  6. Per SPS 302.10, plan review fees shall be doubled for projects where the installation, erection, or construction was initiated without the required DSPS approval.

  7. Payment of plan review fee shall be completed at the time of application submittal. Plans will not be accepted for review until fees are paid in full.

General Notes

  1. Plans submitted to DSPS shall be submitted in PDF format.

  2. Consider scheduling a plan review consultation prior to the full plan review submittal. This consultation appointment provides a meeting with a DSPS plan reviewer to discuss the submittal process, code questions, etc. 

  3. Plans submitted for review shall be construction documents.  Plans submitted marked as “Preliminary” or “Not for Construction” will not be reviewed.

  4. Fire alarm submittals for new construction, building additions or building alterations cannot be reviewed prior to building plan approval.

  5. Fire alarm plans submitted to DSPS shall be of sufficient clarity, character and detail to show how the proposed design will conform to code. 
    Clarification:  Plans shall include room names/use, symbol legend (symbols shall match legend), ceiling heights and construction, storage height / layout, etc.

  6. Plans shall include a detailed riser diagram of the complete system.  All devices shall be identified by type and location.  Wire gauge(s) shall also be clearly identified.  All of this information must be shown on the submitted plans.  In lieu of a riser diagram, the system circuitry may be shown on the floor plans.

  7. One (1) set of plans bearing the DSPS stamp of conditional approval shall be kept at the building site and be open to inspection by DSPS or its authorized representative.

Resources

NFPA Standards*

  • NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2012 edition

  • NFPA 11, Low-, Medium- and High-Expansion Foam, 2010 edition

  • NFPA 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems, 2011 edition

  • NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 13D, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 13R, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low Rise Residential Occupancies, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 14, Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 16, Installation of Foam-Water Sprinkler and Foam-Water Spray Systems, 2015 edition

  • NFPA 17, Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 17A, Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 20, Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 22, Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection, 2013 edition 

  • NFPA 24, Installation of Private Fire Mains and Their Appurtenances, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, 2011 edition

  • NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 2012 edition 

  • NFPA 30B, Code for the Manufacture and Storage of Aerosol Products, 2011 edition 

  • NFPA 45, Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, 2015 edition

  • NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2023 edition

  • NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, 2013 edition

  • NFPA 409, Aircraft Hangars, 2011 edition

  • NFPA 2001, Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, 2015 edition

* This is not a comprehensive list of all State-adopted NFPA standards.  For a complete listing of the most current standards, refer to the 2015 International Building Code, Chapter 35 – Referenced Standards and the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

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