Fire Alarm Plan Submittal Guidelines
Plans Required to be Submitted
In accordance with Wis. Admin. Code sec. 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:
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: 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.
*Replacement fire alarm control panels must be listed for use with all the existing devices installed on the fire alarm system.
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.
Projects where only single- and multiple-station smoke alarms are required.
Hospitals, Nursing Homes, CBRF and Hospice buildings (reviewed by DHS).
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.
Options for Submission of Plans for Review
Submit plans and additional documentation to DSPS using esla.wi.gov.
OR
Submit plans and additional documentation to a Delegated Agent for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review.
Some local government agencies are delegated agents of the department to perform plan review of fire detection and suppression systems per Wis. Stat. sec. 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 for all state-owned buildings, as well as projects for which the owner chooses to submit plans to DSPS. Contact the listed agency for more information on submission of fire suppression and fire alarm plans.
Note for City of Milwaukee projects: Fire suppression 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:
A completed online plan review application via esla.wi.gov.
Within the application, identify the Transaction ID No. related to the parent building plan review approval (CB-xxx, DIS-xxx, etc.).
Complete properly signed/sealed fire suppression plan set.
Additional documentation:
Battery calculations and voltage-drop calculations for each notification appliance circuit.
Material data sheets.
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.
A completed SBD-8128, Checklist for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review. Supervising Professional signature is required in SBD-8128 if entire building exceeds 50,000 cubic feet of volume. A supervising professional is required to be credentialed as a Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer, or Designer of Engineering Systems (Fire Protection).
See the eSLA Information page for user guides and general instructions.
Signing/Sealing Plans
There are two options for taking responsibility for the working plans:
Signing/Sealing in accordance with SPS 361.31(1). Fire alarm plans shall be stamped by a Wisconsin registered Architect, Professional Engineer, or Designer of Engineering Systems (Electrical).
OR
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.
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.
Electronic Signature/Seal: Designers may provide an electronic version of their Wisconsin Professional Architect/Engineer/Designer original signature and seal or original signature/date, with the contractor license number, 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
Fees are determined in accordance with Table 302.31-1 or Table 302.31-2 found in SPS 302.
Reduced plan review fees (Table 302.31-2) may be utilized for projects in municipalities that perform inspections as a Delegated Agent. See the list of Delegated Agents for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review.
Reduced fees (Table 302.31-2) do not apply to State-owned buildings.
In addition to the plan review fee, a plan entry fee of $100 shall be included with each submittal.
Per SPS 302.10, plan review fees are doubled for projects where the installation, erection, or construction was initiated without the required DSPS approval.
Payment of plan review and submission fees shall be completed at the time of application submittal. Plans will not be accepted for review until fees are paid in full.
General Notes
Plans submitted to DSPS shall be submitted in PDF format.
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.
Plans submitted for review shall be construction documents. Plans submitted marked as “Preliminary” or “Not for Construction” will not be reviewed.
Fire alarm submittals for new construction, building additions, or building alterations cannot be reviewed prior to building plan approval.
Plans submitted to DSPS shall be of sufficient clarity, character, and detail to show how the proposed design will conform to code. Plans shall include room names/use, symbol legend (symbols shall match legend), ceiling heights and construction, storage height / layout, etc.
One 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.
Additional Resources
eSLA Information page for user guides and general instructions
Commercial Building Fire Alarm FAQs
Delegated Agents for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plan Review
Delegated Agents for Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Inspection
NFPA Standards
NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2012 edition
NFPA 11, Low-, Medium- and High-Expansion Foam, 2016 edition
NFPA 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems, 2015 edition
NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2019 edition
NFPA 13D, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, 2019 edition
NFPA 13R, Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Low Rise Residential Occupancies, 2019 edition
NFPA 14, Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems, 2019 edition
NFPA 16, Installation of Foam-Water Sprinkler and Foam-Water Spray Systems, 2019 edition
NFPA 17, Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2021 edition
NFPA 17A, Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems, 2021 edition
NFPA 20, Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection, 2019 edition
NFPA 22, Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection, 2018 edition
NFPA 24, Installation of Private Fire Mains and Their Appurtenances, 2019 edition
NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, 2011 edition
NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 2021 edition
NFPA 30B, Code for the Manufacture and Storage of Aerosol Products, 2019 edition
NFPA 45, Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, 2019 edition
NFPA 70, National Electrical Code®, 2023 edition
NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code®, 2019 edition
NFPA 409, Aircraft Hangars, 2016 edition
NFPA 2001, Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, 2018 edition
Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all State-adopted NFPA standards. For a complete listing of the most current standards, refer to the 2021 International Building Code®, Chapter 35 – Referenced Standards and the Wisconsin Administrative Code.