Can I Run Fire Alarm Circuits in an Elevator Shaft?

When installing electrical conduits in multi-story buildings, electrical contractors are looking for the easiest and least invasive way to get circuits from floor to floor. If electrical rooms are stacked, risers are typically run through these rooms. But what if that’s not an option? Building officials don’t like to have electrical risers that serve multiple floors in stairwells since they’d have multiple penetrations in a 2 hour enclosure that would have to be firestopped….properly. Each penetration is a potential failure point. What about the elevator shaft? Seems like a no-brainer until the elevator inspector catches wind of it.

Everything to do with new or upgraded elevators is regulated by ASME 17.1. The IBC and NFPA 101 have chapters regarding elevators, but they supplement ASME17.1. They don’t override it. Section 2 covers electric elevators & Section 2.8.2.2 of ASME A17.1 states: “only such electrical wiring, raceways, cables, coaxial wiring, and antennas used directly in connection with the elevator, including wiring for signals, for communication with the car, for lighting, heating, air conditioning, and ventilating the car, for fire detecting systems, for pit sump pumps, and for heating and lighting the hoistway and/or the machinery space, machine room, control space, or control room shall be permitted to be installed inside the hoistway, machinery space, machine room, control space, or control room.”

So we can run it up the shaft, right? Maybe. If it’s a new circuit that isn’t going to have anything else connected to it besides elevator lobby, shaft and machine room fire alarm devices, then yes, you can run it up the shaft. You’ll need to coordinate (& pay) the elevator vendor to run the cab while you’re installing the pipe, as well as firestop all penetrations into & out of the shaft with 2 hour rated fire caulk.

If it’s an existing fire alarm circuit that has other devices on it, you can’t run it up the shaft. You either have to dedicate a new circuit for the elevator devices or else find a different way to run vertical risers. Only elevator related equipment can be in the shaft or machine rooms & a fire alarm circuit that has non-elevator devices on it is no longer elevator related.

Gamewell-FCI by Honeywell has all the state-of-the-art fire alarm equipment you need to minimize your installation costs. Affiliated Fire Systems has over 40 years of experience that will keep unforeseen costs and problems at bay.