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Insurance Companies
The building insurer may wish to approve
product choice and construction standards.
Insurance companies, like local governmental
authorities, are likely to accept products that
are UL Classified for the specific application
and, for this reason, they should welcome
the FR Series.
Often, insurance companies act as regulatory
approval “consultants” to specifiers and
contractors on a job site. It is very much in
their interest to see that products used on
the job conform to local regulations and are
installed correctly. Thus, the insurer may
be a good source of information if local
regulations are confusing.
Assuring UL Status in an
Installed System
There are three steps to maintaining UL
Status in an installed system:
1) Purchase complete FR Series Fire-Resistant
Speaker Assemblies
An FR Series Fire-Resistant Speaker
Assembly includes an FR Enclosure-
Fiber Kit with pre-cut mineral-fiber
panels, metal Enclosure and mounting
rails along with a matching Speaker
Assembly and Baffle.
2) Confirm the Ceiling System Conformance
Confirm that the ceiling system itself is
properly rated and properly installed.
Insurance Companies
3) Install the FR Series Fire-Resistant Speaker
Assemblies Properly
Follow the FR Series installation
instructions carefully.
Terminology: Fire Resistance
UL and other authorities use the term “fire
resistance” to describe the ability of a
structure such as a ceiling system to act as
a barrier against the spread of fire and to
confine the fire to its area of origin. A
“3-hour fire resistant” rating means the
ceiling has met this goal for at least 3
hours in a highly controlled test.
Now, install a loudspeaker system in this 3-
hour fire-resistant ceiling. If the ceiling
system, with loudspeaker installed, can still
pass the 3-hour test, the loudspeaker system
can be rated as a “3-hour fire resistant
loudspeaker system.” And, a loudspeaker
system rated for 3-hour fire resistant ceilings
can also be used in 1-hour or 2-hour ceiling
systems.
This is exactly the kind of test Underwriters
Laboratories performed on the FR Series
Fire-Resistant Speaker Assemblies. In that
test, a 3-hour fire-resistant ceiling with FR
Series Fire-Resistant Speaker Assemblies
installed performed comparable to the same
ceiling with no loudspeakers installed. As a
result, the FR Series Fire-Resistant Speaker
Assemblies carry the UL mark and are “UL
Classified” for use in specified 3-hour, fire-
resistant ceiling systems.
Part 3
(continued)
