We buy surplus fire alarm cable
Fire alarm cable is easy to read because the rating is printed on the jacket. Boxes and reels from a fit-out rarely need more than a photograph.
Send the lot
Six details are enough to start: what the cable is, how much there is, where it is and what condition it is in. Photos can follow by text or email.
Prefer to talk 954-740-1983The rating is printed along the jacket, and that is most of the identification. FPL, FPLR and FPLP tell you where the cable can run, the red color marks the circuit, and most of what arrives comes from a project that finished with material left over rather than from a building coming down. Sizes run from 14/2 through 18/4, with 12 AWG on the heavier notification circuits.
This is one of the cleaner categories in a surplus program. The rating is printed repeatedly along the jacket, the color identifies the use, and most of what arrives comes from a project that finished with material left over rather than from a building being torn apart.
FPL, FPLR and FPLP in plain terms
FPL is the base rating for fire alarm cable. FPLR adds a riser rating for vertical runs between floors. FPLP adds a plenum rating for runs in a return air space. The letters are printed on the jacket, so a reel identifies itself without any paperwork.
The rating is what a buyer reads first, because a plenum job cannot use riser cable. We list each box or reel with its rating, gauge and conductor count. A mixed pallet is sorted by rating before anything else is considered.
Red jacket, notification circuits and shielding
Fire alarm cable is usually red, which makes it easy to separate from security and data cable in the same pile. Notification circuits, the ones that drive horns and strobes, run on heavier gauge than the initiating loops, so 14 and 12 AWG show up alongside 18 and 16.
Shielded versions appear where a run passes near equipment that would otherwise induce noise. The shield is read at the cut end, and a drain wire that has been pulled back is noted. Unshielded cable is simpler and moves faster, but both are bought.
Small lots from service companies
A fire alarm contractor's truck carries part boxes, not pallets. A service company clearing a shelf may hand over six boxes with a few hundred feet in each, in three different ratings. That is a normal lot here, and it is worth sending rather than storing.
Box the material by rating and gauge and write the footage on each box. Where a box is sealed, leave it sealed. The label is the best record you can give, and a photograph of the end label answers most of the questions before the review starts.
What this page covers
The rows a buyer would fill in when reviewing this kind of lot. If your cable matches most of them, the submission is ready.
| Ratings | FPL, FPLR, FPLP |
|---|---|
| Configurations | 2 to 6 conductor, shielded and unshielded |
| Sizes reviewed | 12 AWG to 18 AWG |
| Condition accepted | New surplus, partial box |
| Site type | Schools, hospitals, commercial fit-outs |
School, hospital and office work around Austin
Institutional work drives this category. School districts across Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties renovate and add campuses on a bond cycle, and each project leaves part boxes behind. Hospitals and clinics in the central city and the north metro do the same on a slower rhythm.
Commercial fit-outs downtown and in the Domain area produce smaller lots, usually from a tenant improvement that changed the alarm layout after the cable was bought. Service companies in Round Rock and Cedar Park hold the rest, boxed by rating on a shelf.
Sellers ask
Does the cable have to be red?
Red is the convention for fire alarm and it makes sorting easy, but the rating printed on the jacket is what identifies the cable. If a reel is another color and marked FPLR or FPLP, it is read on the print rather than on the jacket color.
Can mixed ratings go in one box?
They can be sent together, but they will be sorted before review. Keeping FPLP apart from FPLR is worth the effort, since the plenum rating is what many jobs need. Write the rating on each box and the sorting is quick.
Are part boxes from a service truck acceptable?
Yes, and they are the common case. A box with a hundred feet in it is worth listing. Write the estimated footage on the box, keep the end label visible, and send them together rather than one at a time.
Send the reel list
Six details are enough to start: what the cable is, how much there is, where it is and what condition it is in. Photos can follow by text or email.
Prefer to talk 954-740-1983