Mass notification is a relatively new concept for the life safety community. It arose from the inability of emergency management personnel to communicate with and direct people during emergencies. Since the publication of the Unified Facilities Criteria, a 2002 U.S. Department of Defense program outlining the design, operation, and interfaces required for mass notification in military facilities (the final version for mass notification was approved in 2008), many U.S. military facilities throughout the world have installed mass notification systems (MNS). In the private sector, the demand for MNS has been rising steadily since Sept. 11, 2001. In response, the 2010 edition of NFPA 72 greatly improves design direction for the layout of intelligible voice systems.
The National Fire Protection Association introduced MNS criteria in the annex of the 2007 edition of NFPA 72, where it was presented for explanatory purposes only. After the 2007 edition of NFPA 72 was published, the NFPA Standards Council created a technical committee to develop a new chapter for the 2010 edition. Released in October 2009, the 2010 edition of the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code provides emergency communication system (ECS) requirements (which include MNS) in Chapter 24. At this time, however, ECS systems are not a requirement of NFPA 72; it provides the design, installation, and maintenance requirements and guidelines for systems if they are required by local codes or other governing authorities or if an owner decides to voluntarily implement an ECS system.