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210.12(D) Arc-Fault Requirements Expanded in Fire, Police, Ranger Stations and Similar Areas

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Change Summary

  • Arc-Fault requirements have been expanded to fire, police, ambulance, and similar areas.

NEC®Text

Article 210 Branch Circuits Not Over 1000 Volts ac, 1500 Volts dc, Nominal
210.12 Arc-Fault Circuit-Interrupter Protection.
(D) Other Occupancies. All 120-volt, single-phase, 10-, 15-, and 20-ampere branch circuits supplying outlets or devices installed in the following locations shall be protected by any of the means described in 210.12(A)(1) through (A)(6):
(1) Guest rooms and guest suites of hotels and motels
(2) Areas used exclusively as patient sleeping rooms in nursing homes and limited-care facilities
(3) Areas designed for use exclusively as sleeping quarters in fire stations, police stations, ambulance stations, rescue stations, ranger stations, and similar locations.

Material taken from the National Electric Code. is reprinted with permission from NFPA 70., 2023 edition. National Electrical Code®, Copyright 2022, National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. All rights reserved.

Expert Analysis

A revision has been made to clarify that areas designed for use exclusively as sleeping quarters in fire stations, police stations, ambulance stations, rescue stations, ranger stations, and similar locations are required to be AFCI protected.
This new language addresses the ambiguity regarding these sleeping locations that are not fully defined as a dormitory unit but have the same electrical fire risk. These locations present similar hazards regarding electrical fires on these circuits.

Leviton Comment: Also note that 10 Amp circuits have also been added to this article. Allowances for 10 Amp circuits have been added throughout the NEC for 2023. See article 210.23(A) for more on this.

Leviton Solution

Leviton offers AFCI receptacles and dual function AFCI/ GFCI receptacles. The SmartlockPro® Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle offers protection both from electrical fires that could result from arc-faults and from electrical shock or electrocution due to ground faults in one smart device.

An Industry First!

Figure 1

Through advanced technology, the SmartlockPro® Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle helps protect home and family by working to detect arc-fault and ground fault hazards and, if detected, quickly cuts off power to help avoid a potential fire or shock/ electrocution occurrence. The SmartlockPro® Dual Function AFCI/GFCI Receptacle offers a National Electrical Code® (NEC®) compliant option for AFCI/ GFCI protection in residential kitchens and laundry areas for new construction, modifications/extensions and replacement receptacles. It is also ideal as a replacement for ungrounded receptacles, satisfying NEC® requirements for both AFCI and GFCI protection. Leviton’s AGTR1 is rated at 15-Amp, 125-Volt, 20-Amp Feed-Through. It is Tamper-Resistant, back and side wired and a self-grounding clip is included.

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