Fire Alarm 411: Five Tools to Instantly Upgrade Your Install Game

Some fire alarm installation tools are so common that they hardly merit discussion. We all have ladders, screwdrivers, and cordless drills; however, there’s another category of tools that can transform productivity, reduce fatigue, and even improve safety, yet they rarely make it into a company’s standard kit.

Here are five tools that can make your techs faster, safer, and more consistent. None are exotic, but they are often overlooked. Add them to your standard inventory, and you may find your crew wondering how they ever worked without them:

1. Powder-actuated fastener (a.k.a., Shotgun):

The fastest and easiest way to install fire alarm wire is to attach it to ceiling grid wires. National Electrical Code (NEC) 300.11 prohibits us from using the wires that hold up the ceiling grid to support fire alarm wire; however, it is perfectly acceptable to use your own, separate grid wires. A powder-actuated fastener is the only way to quickly attach them to the deck. In case the fire marshal questions the independence of your grid wires from those used to support the ceiling grid, I recommend spray painting the wires red before installation.

Safety considerations: Powder-actuated fasteners use what are essentially .27 caliber blanks. The main safety feature is that they cannot fire unless the barrel is pressed against a firm surface. Despite that, there’s still a risk of injury. The noise is loud enough to cause hearing damage, and impact debris can get in one’s eyes. Require your techs to wear eye and hearing protection. Help others working nearby remain safe, too. Shouting a verbal “fire in the hole” warning is good practice.

Equipment selection: For occasional use, a simple one-shot model is fine; for frequent use, choose a tool that accepts ammo strips to reduce reload time. Add an extension pole so your techs can ditch the ladder. Besides speeding up install time, this eliminates the need for techs to squeeze between pipes and ductwork, and it keeps ears further from the blast.

The bottom line: Powder-actuated fasteners offer significant labor savings, but their use should not be treated lightly. Match the power level of your load to the material being fastened into. Never shoot into a metal pan roof with a soft overlay, as voiding the roof warranty or causing a leak will negate any cost savings. Don’t issue shotguns to untrained techs. There are numerous training resources available, including those from the tool manufacturers.

2. Harness with shock-absorbing lanyard:

Getting injured – or even fearing injury – slows the job down. A properly fitted harness enables techs to work at heights with confidence. Don’t forget the shock-absorbing lanyard. It is often sold separately, and the harness is useless without it. When buying fall protection harnesses, consider complementing them with trauma straps. They let the suspended worker stand in the harness, keeping blood circulating in their legs until rescue. These inexpensive add-ons can make a big difference.

3. Battery load tester:

NFPA 72 section 14.4.3 requires a three-hour battery load test for all new installs. Three hours is a long time for a test – six hours if you pre-test before the fire department final – and it is required at the FACU and every power supply. A load tester simulates the full-duration test in under a minute, legally and effectively. The time savings speaks for itself.

4. Telescoping pole:

Glow rods are great for fishing down a wall or across a small attic, but in commercial ceilings, they are wildly inefficient. Their bendability limits you to pushing a single section (about six feet) effectively, which means more ladder moves and more time overhead. You could try more sections, but you’ll spend more time fighting it, trying to get it to feed exactly where you want.

Fiberglass telescoping poles extend to 18 feet or more and are rigid enough to steer over pipes and through trusses. Assuming a four-foot reach, glow rods might give you five ceiling tiles per pull. A telescoping pole can easily cover 12 tiles – or 20 if you toss it like a spear and the string or wire feeds smoothly. That means fewer ladder climbs, fewer ladder moves, and fewer retries. The wire gets pulled faster and more accurately, and techs are less fatigued. Check out the Grabbit from Labor Saving Devices or similar models by Klein, Greenlee, and Jonard.

5. Multi-tool with electrical box blade:

Cutting in boxes used to mean tracing the outline and attacking it with a keyhole saw. It was slow, inconsistent, and tiring. Oscillating multi-tools have changed that completely. With a plunge cut and a blade shaped in the outline of an electrical box, a perfect hole can be cut in seconds.

Be sure to match the blade to the box type. Old-work plastic and new-work metal boxes have different dimensions, and if you use the wrong one, the box may fall through the wall. And skip the bargain-bin blades. A dull blade costs far more in wasted labor than you’ll save on the consumable.