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    What Is Fire Alarm System

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    Fire alarm systems are used to detect fires early and protect life and property by alerting occupants, notifying personnel, and guiding firefighters. They work by detecting fires via sensors and warning people through visual and audio appliances. A typical system has smoke detectors, manual pull stations, a control panel, indicating devices, and it monitors the system for faults.

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    What Is Fire Alarm System

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    Christian
    61 views17 pages
    Fire alarm systems are used to detect fires early and protect life and property by alerting occupants, notifying personnel, and guiding firefighters. They work by detecting fires via sensors and warning people through visual and audio appliances. A typical system has smoke detectors, manual pull stations, a control panel, indicating devices, and it monitors the system for faults.

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    What is Fire Alarm System

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    Fire alarm systems are used to detect fires early and protect life and property by alerting occupants, notifying personnel, and guiding firefighters. They work by detecting fires via sensors and warning people through visual and audio appliances. A typical system has smoke detectors, manual pull stations, a control panel, indicating devices, and it monitors the system for faults.

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    Download as pdf or txt
    61 views17 pages

    What Is Fire Alarm System

    Uploaded by

    Christian
    Fire alarm systems are used to detect fires early and protect life and property by alerting occupants, notifying personnel, and guiding firefighters. They work by detecting fires via sensors and warning people through visual and audio appliances. A typical system has smoke detectors, manual pull stations, a control panel, indicating devices, and it monitors the system for faults.

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    What is Fire Alarm System?


    by

    A fire alarm system has a number of devices working together to detect


    and warn people through visual and audio appliances when smoke, fire,
    carbon monoxide or other emergencies are present.

    These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors, and


    heat detectors or may also be activated via manual fire alarm activation
    devices such as manual call points or pull stations.

    Alarms can be either motorized bells or wall mountable sounders or horns.


    They can also be speaker strobes which sound an alarm, followed by a voice
    evacuation message which warns people inside the building not to use the
    elevators.

    Fire alarm sounders can be set to certain frequencies and different tones
    including low, medium and high, depending on the country and
    manufacturer of the device.

    Fire Alarm System


    $   a d k h J y %
    X X
    What is Manual Call Point ﴾MCP﴿ ? Rate of Rise Thermal Detectors Working
    F IR E & G AS S YS T EM
    Principle FI RE & G A S S YST E M
    A heat detector is a fire alarm device designed to
    Manual Call Point is a device for the manual initiation of
    respond when the convected thermal energy of a fire
    an alarm. Manual fire alarm activation is typically
    increases the temperature of a heat sensitive e…
    achieved through the use of a pull stat…

    Why use a Fire Alarm System?

    A fire alarm system is intended to enable a fire to be detected at a


    sufficiently early stage so that people who are at risk can be made safe
    either by escaping from the fire, or by the fire being extinguished ﴾also to
    prevent extensive property damage﴿. Neither of these measures can be used
    until people are made aware of fire.

    The effectiveness of the fire detection and alarm system depends on the
    stage of the fire at which it is operated. In order for all the occupants to
    escape without too much difficulty, an early alarm should operate before the
    escape routes becomes smoke‐logged to such an extent as will cause
    occupants to have difficulty finding their way out of the building.

    Fire Alarm Systems are used to protect life and property.

    It protects by :

    detecting a fire at an early stage


    alerting and evacuating occupants
    notifying the relevant personnel
    activating auxiliary functions e.g. smoke controls, lift homing etc
    identifying and guiding fire fighters

    Typically, a fire alarm system is made up of the following


    components:

    Initiating devices, capable of placing the system in the alarm state.


    These can be photoelectric smoke and heat detectors, ionization
    smoke detectors, heat detectors, in‐duct smoke detectors, manually
    operated pull stations and sprinkler water flow sensors.
    Indicating appliances, whose purpose is to announce building
    occupants or at a remote location when the system enters the alarm
    state, such as horns, strobe lights, chimes, bells, or combination units.
    They are also available in weatherproof and hazardous location
    versions.
    A control panel, containing programming and operating electronics
    and user interface, is fed by standard branch‐circuit wiring and
    contains replaceable circuit cards – one for each zone. This includes
    an alphanumeric display, showing the state of the system and
    providing troubleshooting information, and a touchpad so that onsite
    personnel can silence an alarm or trouble signal, reset the system
    following an event, and reprogram if necessary
    Sealed batteries similar to emergency light batteries, but listed for fire
    alarm systems. These are usually 6V batteries wired in series to make
    up 24VDC for a power‐limited system. The batteries can be contained
    in the control panel or in a separate enclosure. When AC power fails,
    the batteries take over with no interruption in fire protection. Of
    course, there is also a charger.
    Auxiliary devices, including remote annunciators with LEDs showing
    the state of the system, an alarm silence switch, and visual LED
    indication of the zone from which a fire alarm is initiated.
    Electromagnetic door holders ﴾floor‐ or wall‐mounted﴿ are available.
    In case of alarm, the magnet is de‐energized, allowing the door to
    swing shut. Later, it is reopened manually.
    Initiating devices are connected to the control panel by a 2‐ or 4‐wire
    initiating device circuit. In the case of a power‐limited system, 24VDC
    is applied to two wires going to a string of initiating devices, which
    are wired in parallel. Neither wire is grounded, and they are isolated
    from EMT or other raceways, which are grounded through the
    connector at the control panel. Polarity is also critical. This voltage is
    used to power the solid‐state circuitry within each detector. It’s also
    used by the control panel to monitor the state ﴾alarm or no alarm﴿ of
    the initiating devices and zone wiring.

    A typical fire alarm system has numerous initiating devices divided among
    separate zones – each connected via an initiating device circuit to a central
    control panel.

    The control panel performs supervisory functions over the initiating devices,
    indicating appliances, all associated field wiring, telephone ties, and its own
    internal wiring and circuit cards.

    Why use a Fire Alarm System?

    Fire Alarm Systems are used to protect life and property.

    It protects by:

    a. detecting a fire at an early stage


    b. alerting and evacuating occupants
    c. notifying the relevant personnel
    d. activating auxiliary functions e.g. smoke controls, lift homing etc
    e. identifying and guiding fire fighters

    How does a fire alarm system operate ?

    A fire alarm system operates in one of three ﴾or more﴿ states: normal, alarm,
    and trouble. The state is reported at all times on the alphanumeric display.

    If the system goes into alarm, the indicating appliances throughout the
    building go off. These could be very loud horns for some occupancies, or
    softer chimes in others, such as a nursing home.

    The control panel monitors the initiating device circuits at all times for shorts
    and open wiring by means of the applied DC voltage. The initiating devices
    are normally open.

    In the event of a fire they become conductive at close to zero ohms. How,
    then, is it possible for the control panel to differentiate between a non‐alarm
    state and an open wiring fault? This is accomplished by means of an end‐of‐
    line resistor.

    The control panel also monitors the functionality of its own wiring and zone
    cards, and trouble is reported in the display.

    Another capability of the fire alarm system is to call out in case of alarm. Two
    dedicated phone lines are connected, and the system performs test calls
    periodically in accordance with programmed instructions. If either phone line
    won’t connect, the system goes into the trouble state, so repairs can be
    made.
    The essence of a fire alarm system, as opposed to individual smoke
    detectors, even if they are wired to indicate in concert, is that it is supervised
    from a central location. The whole notion of supervision is critical.

    It does not mean that a person sits at the console and watches it at all times.
    What it means is that a supervisory voltage is applied to all circuitry, and
    current flow is monitored electronically to verify that equipment and wiring
    are intact.

    If the system goes into alarm and won’t silence due to touchpad
    malfunction, for example, it can be disarmed after the zone is checked for
    fire by cutting off the power.

    First, unhook one side of the battery array, then unhook the black‐white‐
    green incoming power connector. If a fire alarm system is disabled,
    maintenance and security personnel should initiate fire patrols throughout
    the building.

    The telephone monitoring agency should be informed, and the insurance


    company contacted to verify that coverage is not voided.

    Fire Alarm System Questions & Answers

    What is the difference between a real and false


    alarm?
    None. All alarms are real and are caused by a break in the electrical current
    passing through the alarm system. Alarms can be sounded by someone
    activating a pull station, by something as simple as toast burning near a
    smoke detector, or by an actual fire.

    If an alarm sounds, something caused it. It might not be a fire, but don’t bet
    your life on it. All alarms should be treated as though they were caused by
    fire until it can be determined otherwise by a competent authority, such as
    the responding Fire Department. Over the years we have developed a
    dangerous complacency in response to fire alarms due to the overuse of the
    term “false alarm” to characterize an alarm not caused by actual fire.

    What should you do if I hear a fire alarm?


    Evacuate your building immediately and go to the area your supervisor has
    designated as a meeting point. For safety reasons, you should evacuate if
    you hear any alarm, even if it is not in your zone.

    Why do we need NFPA 72 compliance?


    NFPA 72 is a prescriptive standard that applies to Fire Alarm Systems. While
    the NFPA 72 standard makes no mention of gas detection, many clients are
    applying NFPA 72 standards and requirements to both fire and gas detection
    systems.

    There are several advantages to NFPA 72 certified systems that include:

    Allows for the combining of both fire alarm and gas detection
    functions into a single safety system
    Ensures that local “authorities having jurisdiction” like fire marshals or
    fire authorities have the assurance that the system complies with the
    applicable codes and standards
    Allows the end‐user to lower their insurance costs because they are
    using a certified system
    A NFPA 72 certified solution ensures that you are complying with the
    best practices in the industry as drafted by the NFPA

    When should we use a PLC vs. a Controller‐based


    solution for F&G ?
    The choice between a PLC and Controller‐based system is primarily driven by
    the size of the application.

    PLCs are best suited for medium to large size gas detection systems ﴾25+
    points of gas detection﴿. For very large systems, PLCs have the advantage of
    scaling fairly inexpensively to accommodate large point counts. PLCs offer
    the added benefit of extensive connectivity options for communicating with
    other DCS or ESD systems.

    Controller‐based gas detection lends itself to small to medium sized systems


    very effectively. A controller‐based gas detection system is relatively easy to
    implement, and does not require software programming tools. The
    hardwired nature of a controller‐based solution makes it inherently simple to
    troubleshoot and support.

    What is the difference between fail‐safe operation


    and the supervision requirements of the fire codes
    and NFPA 72?
    The underlying principle of fail‐safe design assumes that a process or item of
    equipment can be designed to take the process to a safe status on
    equipment failure or power interruption. This approach requires that the
    switch to “safe state” be possible without power and that the “normal
    operating state” of the equipment utilize energized control circuits.

    Almost all detection, extinguishing and notification circuits of a Fire Alarm


    system are not normally energized and are not “fail‐safe”. In order to be sure
    these fire circuits are intact and ready for use when needed these circuits are
    “supervised”.

    Supervision is normally done using a small current or voltage passed


    through a field circuit device called an “end of line device”. This small current
    or voltage is continuously monitored to verify that the circuit is intact and
    ready for operation.

    Fire Alarm systems in many cases need to activate suppression or


    notification equipment in the event of a hazardous condition and these
    systems require power be available to do so. This is the primary arguments
    behind the NFPA 72 requirements associated with backup power systems
    and batteries.

    Should we take addressable fire alarm


    communications in to process areas?
    Addressable fire alarm communication devices can be used in process areas
    when the operating specifications of the devices are compatible with the
    electrical and environmental conditions found in these process areas.

    Most commercial addressable fire alarm equipment are normally rated for
    operation in general purpose environments with ambient temperatures
    between 0 and 50°C. Most process area environments have operating
    temperature ranges outside the 0‐50°C range. Many process area
    environments require devices suitable for Division 1 or Division 2 areas.

    When using commercial addressable fire alarm equipment we normally


    recommend that the addressable equipment be located only in
    environmentally controlled areas such as crew quarters, control rooms, office
    areas. If devices to be connected to the addressable fire alarm system are to
    be located outside these environmentally controlled areas, we recommend
    the use of an addressable to conventional circuit converter to be installed
    inside the environmentally controlled area with a conventional circuit
    interface to the process area located device.

    Read Next:

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    Types of Fire Detectors
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    3 thoughts on “What is Fire Alarm System?”

    kyaw zeya
    June 5, 2019 at 6:19 pm

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    June 7, 2019 at 12:33 pm

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    Rohit
    June 29, 2019 at 2:56 pm

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