S-95 Certificate: Fire Alarm Supervision Explained

The S-95 is the New York City Certificate of Fitness for Supervision of Fire Alarm Systems and Other Related Systems. Its holder is the person in a building who knows the fire alarm control panel, responds when it signals, and keeps the alarm log book. This guide walks through what the FDNY's S-95 study booklet asks you to know and how the exam is set up. It is a study aid, not a substitute for the booklet or for your building's own procedures.

Who needs the S-95

The booklet sets out which certificate supervises which kind of fire alarm system. Systems with voice communication (warden phones or a public address function) generally fall to a Fire and Life Safety Director, an F-80 holder in homeless shelters, or an F-53 holder. The S-95 covers the rest: a fire alarm system without a voice communication system, in a building that does not need one of those other certificate holders.

A few points from the booklet's requirements section:

• People who already hold an F-89, T-89, F-80 or F-53 do not need a separate S-95 for the same premises.
• Those holders can get an S-95 for a different premises without taking the exam, but the booklet says an employer recommendation letter and the $25 payment are still required.
• The S-95 can also be obtained through the FDNY's Alternative Issuance Procedure (AIP), using the S-95 AIP affirmation form.

For the general requirements, the booklet points to the FDNY's General Notice of Exam. That notice says applicants must be at least 18 with a reasonable understanding of English, and that in-person applicants bring ID and a letter of recommendation from their employer on official letterhead, giving your full name, experience and work address. The letter is valid for six months, and self-employed applicants submit a notarized letter instead. Our exam day guide covers the rest of that notice.

What the S-95 holder can and cannot do

The booklet is firm about limits. Its comparison chart shows that an S-95 holder may visually inspect smoke detectors and other fire alarm components, but may not clean, test or maintain smoke detectors, and may not program, service, repair or replace alarm components. That work belongs to S-97 or S-98 technicians (and smoke detector cleaning also to S-78/F-78 holders). The booklet also says S-95 holders must not repair the central station transmitter or install or modify any part of the system.

What the holder does do, in the booklet's terms, is supervise the operation and testing of the system, report problems to the right people, and make sure everything is written down.

The panel and its three signals

At the center of the material is the fire alarm control panel (FACP), which processes signals from initiating devices and activates the right outputs. The booklet describes three signal types, and telling them apart is one of the most useful things you can study.

Signal	What it means (per the booklet)	Typical sources it lists	FDNY dispatched?
Fire alarm	A device whose activation indicates fire or a fire signature	Pull station, smoke detector, heat detector, water-flow switch	Yes, via the central station
Supervisory	A monitored system or device is compromised or in an abnormal state	Sprinkler valve tamper switch, tank water level, dry-pipe low air, fire pump running or failure	No
Trouble	A fault: the system, transmitter or communication path is wholly or partly out of service	Battery, AC power failure, ground fault, open or short circuit, phone line failure	No

When a fire signal comes in, the booklet says the panel sounds the building's horns and strobes, sends a signal to an FDNY-approved central station, and controls certain building functions. The central station must pass every fire alarm signal to the FDNY immediately, even if the panel restores itself. Supervisory and trouble signals still need investigating and correcting at the building, but the booklet notes they do not indicate fire.

Acknowledge, silence, reset

The booklet explains the panel's main buttons. Acknowledge registers an alarm, trouble or supervisory condition, and the holder should report to the panel when an alarm activates if present and practical. Alarm silence quiets the notification devices after evacuation while the cause is investigated, but it does not stop the signal going to the central station. Reset returns the system to normal once the condition is cleared, and a device still in alarm (a smoke detector still sensing smoke, a pull station still pulled) will set off another alarm. The booklet repeats one rule in capitals: do not silence or reset until FDNY personnel have verified the condition.

Devices the booklet covers

A large part of the booklet is about initiating devices and related equipment. Expect material on:

• Smoke detectors: ionization types (better at flaming fires), photoelectric types (better at smoky, smoldering fires), beam, duct and air-sampling detectors,.
• Heat detectors: rate-of-rise detectors usually self-restore, while most fixed-temperature detectors need replacing by a technician after they activate.
• Water-flow switches, which signal the panel when water flows in the sprinkler system but do not control the water.
• Carbon monoxide detectors, and the booklet's point that a CO alarm that will not reset should be treated as CO still present.
• Manual pull stations, single and double action, which must be reset at the station before the panel.
• Gas detectors connected to the panel, which the booklet says produce a supervisory signal rather than a building alarm tone.

It also gives maintenance intervals: for example, smoke detectors are cleaned at least every six months (analog detectors within a week of signaling the need) and tested for smoke entry at least once a year by S-78, S-97 or S-98 holders, and pull stations should be visually inspected at least monthly where practical.

The alarm log book

Record keeping gets detailed treatment. According to the booklet, the alarm log book is kept at the main panel, is bound (not spiral) with numbered pages, is written in ink, starts fresh each calendar year, and is kept for three years from the last entry. It has four sections:

1. Daily entries: who was on duty, their certificate number, and the times they started and were relieved.
2. System off-line entries: when and why the system went off-line, the central station operator notified, and when it was restored.
3. Activated alarm entries: time, device type and location, probable cause, and the responding FDNY unit and officer.
4. Notification entries: when occupants were told about a non-functioning or improperly functioning system, and why.

Off-line, out of service and notifications

Before a test, inspection or drill that will activate the system, the booklet says the central station must be told so the system is taken off-line and the FDNY is not dispatched for nothing. When a system or part of it is impaired, the owner or owner's representative must be notified, the FDNY must be told promptly, and a placard goes over a defective device. The booklet explains the Impairment Coordinator role and lists what an outage notification to the FDNY should include: the condition, the area affected, the occupancy type, the expected time back in service, and the coordinator's name and phone number. Where a required system is out of service, it notes that a fire watch by certified fire guards may be needed, which is the F-01 certificate's territory.

The booklet closes with short sections on portable fire extinguishers and lithium-ion battery safety, so expect those topics too.

Exam facts

Questions	35 multiple-choice, four options each, on a touch-screen computer
Time	53 minutes
Passing score	At least 70%
Application fee	$25, paid online or in person (no cash); 2% convenience fee on credit cards
Where	FDNY Headquarters, 9 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn
Scoring	Unanswered questions count as wrong; no penalty for guessing

The booklet asks you to apply and pay online before arriving. Its special renewal requirements line for the S-95 says "None"; general renewal rules are in the General Notice.

Try an example question

This question is our own, written to match the booklet's topics. It is not from the real exam.

The panel shows a supervisory signal from a sprinkler valve tamper switch. What does this signal indicate?

1. A fire has been detected on the floor where the valve is
2. A monitored part of the system is in an abnormal state and needs investigating
3. The panel's battery is failing
4. The FDNY has been dispatched to the building

Answer: B. The booklet describes supervisory signals as an abnormal condition in a monitored device, such as a valve that is closed or in the wrong position, and notes they are not a fire signal and the FDNY is not dispatched for them.

Practice for the S-95

Read the official booklet first, then test yourself. Our S-95 practice page has free sample questions, and the full question bank with timed 35-question mock exams is on the pricing page.