unfinished.one

Uniformat D5030

Fire alarm control panel

Also called FACP, fire panel, fire alarm

Service life

20 yearsmedian of the stated lives · sources say 15–25 years
0510152025301525

Years in service. The band runs from the shortest to the longest life the sources state, so it shows how much they disagree, not how long 80% of units last. The line is the median of the stated lives.

Basis

How sources are chosen and recorded: sourcing policy.

Municipal lives for electrical (D50)

35 municipalities in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta state a life for electrical as a whole, in 27 distinct tables: 10–50 years, median 20. These come from capital asset policies: accounting lives, used for amortization. They describe the system rather than this component, and none is a measured life.

Median 20 yearsKingston: Electrical Equipment, 10 yearsGrey Highlands: Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Exterior Lighting, 15 yearsLloydminster: Permanent Structures - Electrical, 20 yearsLloydminster: Portable Structures - Electrical, 20 yearsComox Valley: HVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc., 20 yearsCranbrook: HVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc, 20 yearsParksville: Electrical Infrastructure, 20 yearsTelkwa: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 20 yearsAmherstburg: Mechanical/Electrical - HVA, Lighting, Security systems, Electrical Panel, 20 yearsGrey Highlands: Interior Lighting, 20 yearsGrey Highlands: Ice Surface Lighting, 20 yearsKenora: Buildings - Electrical System, 20 yearsLondon: Building Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.), 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Interior Lighting - Standard, 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Interior Lighting - High Wattage, 20 yearsMeaford: Electrical - Emergency Lighting, 20 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Interior Lighting, 20 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Ice Surface Lighting, 20 yearsWelland: HVAC/Electrical/Mechanical, 20 yearsDuncan and North Cowichan: Building Other (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.), 25 yearsTofino: Systems - mechanical, electrical, HVAC, 25 yearsGreater Napanee: E25 Plant Mechanical & Electrical, 25 yearsKirkland Lake: Buildings and Improvements - Mechanical/Electrical, 25 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing, 25 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Electrical System, 25 yearsBrockton: Mechanical/Electrical (Heating/Cooling System, Refridgerating System), 40 yearsGreater Madawaska and Quinte West: Electrical, 40 yearsSimcoe: Electrical, 40 yearsTrent Lakes: Electrical, 40 yearsMeaford: Electrical - System, 50 yearsFort St. James, Revelstoke and 2 more: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsOkanagan-Similkameen: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsSalmo: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsVulcan County: HVAC (electrical, mechanical), 20–30 yearsBancroft, Centre Hastings and 2 more: Electrical/Plumbing, 25–30 years0102030405060

Years. Each dot is one stated life and each bar a stated range; equal values stack. The dashed line is the median. Policies that copy the same table count once.

All 37 stated lives
MunicipalityAs writtenYearsKindSource
KingstonElectrical Equipment10accountingp15 · 2016
Grey HighlandsExterior Lighting15accountingp11 · 2026
MeafordElectrical - Exterior Lighting15accountingp17 · 2020
The Blue MountainsExterior Lighting15accountingp11 · 2019
Fort St. James, Revelstoke, Rossland, Tumbler Ridge · same tableElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp5, p9, p7, p5 · 2010
Okanagan-SimilkameenElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp11 · 2023
SalmoElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp6 · 2016
LloydminsterPermanent Structures - Electrical20accountingp11 · 2023
LloydminsterPortable Structures - Electrical20accountingp11 · 2023
Comox ValleyHVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc.20accountingp6 · 2010
CranbrookHVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc20accountingp9 · 2010
ParksvilleElectrical Infrastructure20accountingp9 · 2023
TelkwaElectrical/Plumbing/Fire20accountingp8
AmherstburgMechanical/Electrical - HVA, Lighting, Security systems, Electrical Panel20accountingp8 · 2026
Grey HighlandsInterior Lighting20accountingp11 · 2026
Grey HighlandsIce Surface Lighting20accountingp11 · 2026
KenoraBuildings - Electrical System20accountingp15 · 2026
LondonBuilding Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.)20accountingp2 · 2023
MeafordElectrical - Interior Lighting - Standard20accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordElectrical - Interior Lighting - High Wattage20accountingp17 · 2020
MeafordElectrical - Emergency Lighting20accountingp17 · 2020
The Blue MountainsInterior Lighting20accountingp11 · 2019
The Blue MountainsIce Surface Lighting20accountingp11 · 2019
WellandHVAC/Electrical/Mechanical20accountingp8 · 2021
Vulcan CountyHVAC (electrical, mechanical)20–30accountingp5 · 2024
Duncan, North Cowichan · same tableBuilding Other (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.)25accountingp17, p9 · 2011
TofinoSystems - mechanical, electrical, HVAC25accountingp12 · 2009
Greater NapaneeE25 Plant Mechanical & Electrical25accountingp16 · 2012
Kirkland LakeBuildings and Improvements - Mechanical/Electrical25accountingp10 · 2020
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing25accountingp11 · 2010
The Blue MountainsElectrical System25accountingp11 · 2019
Bancroft, Centre Hastings, Hastings Highlands, Wollaston · same tableElectrical/Plumbing25–30accountingp5, p4, p6, p5
BrocktonMechanical/Electrical (Heating/Cooling System, Refridgerating System)40accountingp2 · 2009
Greater Madawaska, Quinte West · same tableElectrical40accountingp17, p38 · 2025
SimcoeElectrical40accountingp19 · 2025
Trent LakesElectrical40accountingp10 · 2009
MeafordElectrical - System50accountingp17 · 2020

Each row was matched to its page automatically: the label and the number appear in the text of the cited page. An editor has not yet compared every row with the table, so follow the page link before relying on one. About the policies · All approved rows as JSON

Preventive maintenance

10 tasks in 3 work orders. Intervals that fall due together are one visit: the every 2 years visit also covers the monthly and annual tasks.

  1. 1Monthly
  2. 2Monthly
  3. 3Monthly
  4. 4Monthly
  5. 5Monthly
  6. 6Monthly
  7. 7Monthly
  8. 8Monthly
  9. 9Monthly
  10. 10Monthly
  11. 11Monthly
  12. 12Annual

Months from the schedule start. Download the tasks as CSV for a CMMS, or ask the MCP tool get_pm_schedule for dated visits.

Monthly · 2 tasks

Source: UFC 3-601-02 Fire Protection Systems Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance (7 October 2021, with Change 1, 18 April 2025), Table 2-1 Fire Detection and Alarm System ITM Tasks

TaskPage
Inspect panel condition: connections, fuses and LEDs (unmonitored panels)p34
Resolve any trouble indications (unmonitored panels)p34

Annual · 6 tasks

Source: UFC 3-601-02 Fire Protection Systems Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance (7 October 2021, with Change 1, 18 April 2025), Table 2-1 Fire Detection and Alarm System ITM Tasks

TaskPage
Test receipt of alarm, supervisory and trouble signals and operation of outputsp34
Verify all lamps and LEDs are litp34
Load test backup batteries with a meterp34
Check condition of power supplies and batteriesp34
Check manual pull stations are accessiblep34
Test notification appliances (horns, strobes, speakers) workp35

Every 2 years · 2 tasks

Source: UFC 3-601-02 Fire Protection Systems Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance (7 October 2021, with Change 1, 18 April 2025), Table 2-1 Fire Detection and Alarm System ITM Tasks

TaskPage
Operate manual pull stations to check alarm is receivedp35
Test supervisory devices (low air, temperature, water level) signal the panelp35

Frequencies are ISO 8601 durations in the data (P3M = every 3 months).

Open questions

Know the answer? Send it with a source to [email protected].

Cite this

Citation

unfinished.one (2026). Fire alarm control panel, v0.2.0. https://unfinished.one/c/fire-alarm-panel/v/0.2.0

BibTeX

@misc{unfinished_fire_alarm_panel_0_2_0,
  title = {Fire alarm control panel},
  author = {{unfinished.one}},
  year = {2026},
  version = {0.2.0},
  url = {https://unfinished.one/c/fire-alarm-panel/v/0.2.0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

Licence CC BY 4.0 · How to cite · JSON · Versions: 0.2.0, 0.1.0