A fire alarm system is more than a set of detectors on the ceiling of a room. The decisions made at design can make or break the building’s ability to be protected from fire.
Choose Detectors by Room Type
Most office spaces and corridors are protected by smoke detectors. However, kitchens require heat detectors to prevent false alarms from cooking fumes. Plant rooms and areas with high levels of dust are best protected by multi-sensor detectors which take account of both heat and smoke before triggering an alarm.
Map Coverage Carefully
Stairwells, plant rooms, roof spaces and other ‘out of the way’ locations must be detected as well as main areas. All locations need to be covered and areas outside of detector coverage must be kept to a minimum in order to avoid what are often referred to as ‘dead zones’.
Pick the Right Wiring Topology A useful reference for Fire alarms Milton Keynes is https://isefireproducts.co.uk/fire-alarm-systems/milton-keynes.
Conventional wiring within a building is generally split into zones. However, on larger sites or multi occupancy sites an addressable system is generally the preferred option as each device can be individually identified and faults or alarm causes are isolated quickly.
Position Sounders for Full Audibility
Strobes and sounders must be installed so that they are audible throughout all areas of the building. Installers must take account of noisy plant rooms and areas of basement below sounder level (65 dB) and ensure that visual beacons are installed in such areas to protect hearing impaired persons.
Integrate With Other Building Systems
Some examples of how fire alarm system integration within buildings across Milton Keynes are the connection of AOVs (Automatic Opening Vents) to the fire alarm system to open stairwell vents when smoke is detected and to the building’s access control system to release all doors within the building on activation of the fire alarm.
A properly designed fire alarm system will be specific to the individual building it is designed to protect, it will not be a generic installation that has been designed to merely satisfy an inspection.
