12/2 Shielded Fire Alarm Cable - FPLR Riser Rated, Red, Data, 1000ft

This is the heavy, shielded riser-rated fire alarm cable: two 12 AWG solid bare copper conductors, insulated black and red, wrapped in an aluminum-Mylar foil shield with a drain wire, under a red PVC jacket listed FPLR under NEC Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits. It's a data-grade cable, with insulation built to the tighter electrical tolerances that addressable panels specify for their signaling line circuits, so it's approved for SLC loops as well as notification and initiating circuits. 12 AWG is the largest conductor commonly used on a power-limited fire alarm circuit, with about a quarter the loop resistance of 16 AWG, so it's the cable for the longest and most heavily loaded notification appliance circuits and for voice evacuation speaker circuits, where a big strobe count or a long amplifier run would push a smaller gauge past the panel's voltage-drop limit. The foil shield and drain wire keep induced noise out of a circuit that has to share a riser or a tray with power, lighting, or motor wiring.

FPLR covers the vertical runs between floors of a multi-story building and every ordinary in-wall and in-ceiling run that isn't a return-air plenum. The red jacket is the fire alarm identification that inspectors and future technicians expect to see. The cable is UL and ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, and made in the USA, and it comes on a 1000 ft wooden spool with sequential footage marks on the jacket.

Features

• FPLR riser rated. Listed under NEC Article 760 for power-limited fire alarm circuits in riser shafts, vertical runs between floors, and general in-wall and in-ceiling use.
• 12 AWG solid bare copper conductors. About a quarter the loop resistance of 16 AWG, for the longest notification circuits, the highest strobe counts, and voice evacuation speaker runs.
• Aluminum-Mylar foil shield with drain wire. 100% coverage against induced noise from power, lighting, and motor circuits sharing the route, with a 24 AWG drain wire for a clean bond at the panel.
• Data grade. Insulation held to the electrical tolerances addressable panels call for on a signaling line circuit.
• PVC insulation, black and red. Color-coded conductors for polarity on notification and speaker circuits, with a 0.012 in wall.
• Red PVC jacket. The standard fire alarm identification, so the cable is recognizable in a tray, a riser, or a junction box years after it's installed.
• 300 V, 75 °C. The ratings a power-limited fire alarm circuit calls for.
• 6.38 mm outer diameter. A 0.015 in jacket wall over the shield, sized to fit standard fire alarm fittings and connectors.
• UL Listed, ETL Listed, RoHS compliant, made in the USA. Also carries the Canadian FT4 flame rating.
• 1000 ft wooden spool. Sequential footage marks on the jacket; put it on a spool stand and it pays out cleanly.

Where It Fits

It suits long notification appliance circuits with a high count of horns and strobes, voice evacuation speaker circuits from the amplifier to the last speaker on a floor, riser runs between the fire alarm control panel and floor terminal cabinets in high-rise apartment buildings, hotels, hospitals, and offices, notification and speaker circuits that share a riser or a cable tray with power, lighting, or elevator wiring, signaling line circuits where the panel manufacturer calls for a shielded pair, and any power-limited fire alarm run that needs the lowest voltage drop available in a two-conductor cable.

Good to Know

The gauge is the point. A 12 AWG pair is about 3.2 ohms per 1000 ft round trip, so a notification circuit drawing 3 A at the far end of a 500 ft run loses about 4.8 V, which 16 AWG couldn't do at all; on a 300 ft run at 1.5 A the drop is under 1.5 V. Run the calculation against the panel maker's limit before you settle on a gauge, and remember that a speaker circuit is figured on impedance and wattage rather than current, using the amplifier manufacturer's tables. Ground the shield's drain wire at the panel end only and tape it back at the device end; a shield grounded at both ends becomes a loop that picks up the noise it was meant to reject. The data-grade insulation is built for SLC loops, but the foil shield still adds capacitance, which some addressable panels count against loop length, so check the panel's SLC wiring guide for its shielded-cable limit. FPLR covers risers and general use but not return-air plenums; a run through a plenum ceiling needs FPLP. The cable is listed for fire alarm circuits under Article 760, and the AHJ has the final say on using it for anything else. Keep fire alarm cable separate from power conductors in raceways and boxes, as the code requires for power-limited circuits. 12 AWG solid is stiff, so give it a generous bend radius, use device terminals rated for it, and don't expect it to tuck into a small backbox the way 18 AWG does. The PVC jacket isn't UV stabilized or rated for wet locations or burial, so an outdoor device should be fed through conduit or from a cable rated for it.

Specifications

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