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Trade walkthroughs

How to inspect a fire alarm system

A fire alarm system is life-safety scope: the record that matters is the acceptance test run by the licensed installer and witnessed by the AHJ, not a superintendent's walk. Your job on this walkthrough is narrower and still important — observe, verify against the approved shop drawings, and document that the rough-in and device install were done right, so nothing you could have caught earlier turns into a failed acceptance test later.

For the GC's superintendent and the QC manager documenting fire alarm rough-in and device install alongside the licensed technician — not a substitute for the NICET tech's testing or the AHJ's acceptance.

Step by step

  1. Work from the approved shop drawings only

    Verify the device layout, circuit routing and panel location against the AHJ-approved fire alarm shop drawings — never against a field guess. Any deviation gets logged and routed back through the fire alarm contractor, not fixed on the fly.

  2. Check rough-in wiring and boxes

    Confirm the initiating and notification circuits are the listed cable, run and supported per the approved drawings, with boxes set for each device location. Photograph the runs and boxes while the walls are open.

  3. Verify device coverage and locations

    Observe that smoke and heat detectors, pull stations, horns and strobes are placed and spaced as the approved drawings show, at the mounting heights they require, with nothing blocked by later trades' work. Note gaps for the contractor to address.

  4. Confirm device mounting and finish

    Devices should be mounted to their listed boxes, level and secure, not covered in drywall dust or painted over. Check that strobes and speakers are the right candela and orientation the drawings call for.

  5. Document penetrations and firestopping

    Every cable through a rated wall or floor needs the listed firestop system; log each penetration for the firestopping walk. This is a common miss that surfaces at the AHJ's life-safety inspection.

  6. Observe and record the acceptance test

    The licensed technician runs the functional acceptance test — device-by-device activation, notification, and monitoring — with the AHJ witnessing. Your role is to observe, record that it happened, and file the technician's certified test report, not to certify it yourself.

  7. Assemble the documentation trail

    Collect the approved drawings, the contractor's test and inspection reports, and your dated photos of rough-in and devices into one record. That package is what proves the work for the turnover set and the AHJ.

What gets missed

  • Treating a superintendent's walk as the acceptance test — the required test is the licensed tech's, witnessed by the AHJ, and nothing else stands in for it.
  • Devices painted over, dust-fouled or blocked by ductwork installed after the fire alarm rough-in.
  • Cable penetrations of rated assemblies left un-firestopped until the life-safety inspection.
  • Field changes made off the approved shop drawings without a revision routed back through the fire alarm contractor.
  • No consolidated record, so the AHJ asks for a test report nobody kept a copy of.

Questions people ask

Can our field walk certify the fire alarm system?
No. Fire alarm is life-safety scope — the licensed installer runs and certifies the acceptance test and the AHJ signs off. Your walk observes and documents so the work is right before that test, and it never replaces it.
When do we bring in the AHJ?
The AHJ witnesses the fire alarm contractor's acceptance test once the system is complete and pre-tested; your rough-in documentation and photos support that inspection rather than standing in for it.

Terms worth knowing

Checklists that make this a one-tap job

Free, field-ready checklists, each with the photo every item needs before it can be submitted.

Fire alarm Rough-in· Fire alarmFire alarm rough-in inspection checklistBack boxes, conduit, wire type and mounting heights verified before the walls and ceilings cover the rough-in5 items8 photosFire alarm Final· Fire alarmFire alarm final inspection checklistAcceptance-test walk observing and documenting each device, appliance, panel function and interface before turnover5 items10 photosFire alarm Punch· Fire alarmFire alarm punch checklistCloseout walk for mislabeled devices, coverage gaps and trouble signals cleared before signoff4 items6 photos
See the whole checklist library

Related guides

Reading the steps is one thing. Proving you walked them is the job.

RTI holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and the photos are attached, then chains the record so it can be proven untouched later.

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