Essential Fire Alarm System Components and Applications for Your Customers

Installing suitable fire alarm system components is essential for Life Safety. This article provides information to help your customers understand the basics of fire alarm systems. By choosing the appropriate detectors, notification devices, and pull stations for each application, you contribute to ensuring Life Safety for building occupants and emergency response notification in case of a fire emergency.

Detectors are integral to a fire alarm system, designed to identify fires, facilitate building evacuation, and alert emergency responders. Typically, detectors are categorized into two types:

• Smoke detectors identify smoke particles to indicate the presence of a fire early. This allows occupants additional time to evacuate, enhancing life safety.
• Heat detectors identify unusually high temperatures caused by a fire. Fixed temperature detectors trigger a signal when a specific temperature is reached, while rate-of-rise detectors identify a rapid increase in temperature. Heat detectors are utilized where smoke detectors may produce false alarms due to airborne particles such as dust, humidity, and cooking grease.

These detectors activate Notification Devices to alert building occupants to take action, such as evacuating the building. Common notification devices include horns, sirens, and strobe lights. Combining different types of devices aids individuals with varying sensory abilities.

Pull Stations are manual activation devices used to activate the building alarm system. These initiating devices are installed near exits and accessible locations. Dual-action pull stations require two actions to activate the device, which helps to prevent unwanted alarms.

The Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP) processes signals from system detectors, pull stations, and suppression systems. The FACP activates audible and visual alarms and alerts first responders in response to these signals.

The selection and installation of appropriate fire alarm system components are essential for ensuring fire safety. Communicating your expertise on these components with building owners and occupants contributes to a safer environment in all buildings under your care.