POTS IN A BOX® Earns Cal Fire Marshal Listing

POTS IN A BOX® achieves CSFM listing

DataRemote has expanded its California State Fire Marshal (CSFM) compliance portfolio to include the latest POTS IN A BOX® models — 90X1, 90X2, and VAB-1. Together with our existing CSFM listings for the CDS-9090 and CDS-9010, that accounts for every POTS IN A BOX® model currently sold — the CDS-9070 and DRI-9080 were discontinued in 2018, and the 90X5 will not be released to customers until the credentials currently recorded as attested are verified against the issuers’ own records.

DataRemote products now CSFM listed

• Listing #7305-2384:0002: 90X1, 90X2, and VAB-1
• Listing #7305-2384:0001: CDS-9090 and CDS-9010

Acquiring this CSFM listing complements our existing UL-864 certification for fire alarm system compatibility. While UL-864 certification is not required for POTS line replacement devices, we voluntarily pursued and obtained this certification to provide maximum flexibility and confidence when installing our devices to provide telecom communications for fire alarm control panels.

Key benefits of California State Fire Marshal (CSFM) listing

• Streamlined approvals. CSFM certification significantly reduces misunderstandings from local Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) throughout California and often carries weight in other states that recognize California’s rigorous standards.
• Two independent instruments, per model. Each currently-sold model carries both a CSFM listing and UL 864 certification, evidenced model by model with an identifier you can look up in the issuer’s own record. Most POTS replacement vendors carry one instrument, or assert a standard without naming the models and numbers behind it — which is the difference between a claim you can verify during procurement and one you cannot. What the credentials establish is that the products were evaluated; whether a given installation satisfies NFPA 72 still depends on configuration, supervision, backup power, the adopted code edition and the AHJ.
• Documentation built for submittals. Both the CSFM listing and the UL 864 certification come with records you can attach to a submittal package — issuer, models covered, identifier and current status — rather than a datasheet assertion a reviewer has to take on trust.

“The shutdown of copper networks presents a challenge for businesses. In the case of fire codes, violations can accumulate on a day-by-day basis for non-compliance. Our solutions provide a seamless, reliable, and compliant landline alternative, ensuring critical communications remain uninterrupted. DataRemote understands that navigating local compliance requirements can be challenging, and this CSFM listing is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting our customers’ success.”

— Timor Brik, Chief Operating Officer at DataRemote, Inc.

What does the California State Fire Marshal do?

The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) protects life and property through the development and application of fire prevention, engineering, training and education, and enforcement. The State Fire Marshal’s Building Materials Listing Program was initially established to mandate approval and listing of fire alarm systems and devices before their sale or marketing in the state.

Product approval involves rigorous testing, and companies must utilize accredited laboratories for testing to list products in California.

What does DataRemote do?

Since 1991, DataRemote has led the way as a pioneer in the industrial Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Cellular Technology sectors. We specialize in cellular routers and modems, providing direct cellular replacements for outdated TDM wireline circuits.

DataRemote understands that navigating local compliance requirements can be challenging, and this CSFM listing is part of its ongoing commitment to supporting its customers’ success. See our full compliance and certifications for the complete list of listings across the product line.

What a CSFM listing establishes — and what it does not

Listings get cited in submittals as though they settle every question, so it is worth being precise about the boundaries.

A listing establishes that named models were evaluated under California’s Building Materials Listing Program, by an accredited laboratory, against the criteria that program applies. It is evidence about products.

It does not establish that a particular installation complies with anything. Compliance depends on how the device is applied — what it connects to, how the communication path is supervised and at what interval, how much backup power is provided and for how long, the code edition the jurisdiction has actually adopted, and the judgment of the authority having jurisdiction. Two sites using identical listed hardware can reach different outcomes at inspection, and both results can be correct.

It also does not extend automatically to models that are not named. Listings attach to specific models and configurations; a newer model in the same family requires its own entry rather than inheriting one. When reviewing any certification or listing claim, the model list is the part worth reading first.

Verifying a listing yourself

Every listing claim on this site is meant to be checkable, and checking one takes a few minutes.

Ask for three things: the listing number, the models it names, and the issuing body. Then look the number up in the issuer’s own record rather than relying on a datasheet or a sales document. For CSFM listings that record is maintained by the Office of the State Fire Marshal under the Building Materials Listing Program.

Read the current status, not just the existence of an entry. Listings are renewed, amended in scope, superseded, or allowed to lapse, and none of that is visible from a document a vendor sent you last year. The issuer’s database is the only place that reflects the present state.

Capture what you found — the record consulted, the date you consulted it, and what it showed — and keep it with the project file. Reviewers ask, and a dated verification is far easier to produce during a project than to reconstruct after it.

CSFM, UL 864 and NFPA 72 are three different things

These three get used interchangeably in procurement conversations, and conflating them is the most common source of confusion in this area. They answer different questions, issued by different parties.

Instrument	What it is	Who issues it	What it speaks to
CSFM listing	A listing under California’s Building Materials Listing Program	Office of the California State Fire Marshal	Named models, evaluated for use in fire and life-safety systems
UL 864	A product certification against a published standard	A testing laboratory, against a standard published by UL Standards & Engagement	Named models and configurations
NFPA 72	A code governing the installed system	Adopted and enforced by the jurisdiction	The installation, not the product

The practical consequence: a device can be listed and certified, and an installation using it can still fail inspection because of how it was applied. Conversely, satisfying NFPA 72 is not something a product can do on its own — it is something a design does, using products.

A complete claim names the instrument, the issuer, the models and the identifier. A claim that names only a standard number is an invitation to ask which of the three is meant.

Using the listing in a project submittal

Reviewers work faster when the package answers their questions before they ask. For a POTS replacement on a fire alarm circuit, a submittal that lands cleanly usually contains:

• The models proposed, per site, matched against the listing and certification records that name them.
• The identifiers and issuers, with the date each record was verified.
• The configuration — which endpoint connects to which port, what supervises the path, at what interval, and how a failure is reported.
• Backup power, stated as a measured runtime from a load test with the real endpoint connected, rather than a datasheet rating.
• The acceptance test plan, including who will confirm receipt at the supervising station.

Then ask the reviewer what else they want, in writing, before installation. A determination obtained early costs one conversation; the same determination obtained at final inspection can cost a second mobilization.

For the full set of listings and certifications across the product line, with per-model coverage and issuer records, see the Trust Center.

What changes at renewal

Listings are point-in-time instruments, which means a project specified against a listing has a maintenance obligation as well as an approval one.

Two things move. Scope can be amended — models added, or occasionally narrowed — so the listing that covered a bill of materials last year may describe a different set today. And status changes on the issuer’s schedule rather than yours: renewals lapse, records are superseded, and identifiers are reissued.

For long-running multi-site programs, that argues for re-verifying before each procurement round rather than once at the start. Record the verification date alongside the identifier in the project file, so the next reviewer can see how current the check was rather than having to repeat it blind.

Where a model’s coverage is confirmed by DataRemote’s own records but not yet verifiable against the issuer’s published record, this site names the credential without publishing an identifier or date. That distinction is deliberate: on life-safety hardware, a missing claim is better than an unsupported one.

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