Recommendations as to suitable types of wiring and cables are included in the British Standard together with minimum conductor sizes, It also indicates suitable cable types for monitored or non monitored circuits according to the type of installation. The Institution of Electrical Engineers Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings Regulations refers to the necessary segregation of fire alarm circuit wiring. Provision should be made for end line devices to be fitted, where necessary, for line fault monitoring. Points to consider In addition to government legislation, byelaws and local policy documents exist, created by local authorities at both district and county level, demanding the installation of fire alarm systems. These vary from area to area and advice must be sought from the appropriate local authority on any regulations in force. British Standards Relating to Fire Alarms Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in dwellings If you notice a fire in a building before the fire alarm system has been activated you should trigger the alarm manually by using the nearest red manual call point.

As a general rule, you must have a call point within 30 metres of any location within a building and there should be at least one on each storey. High-risk areas may need additional call points installed. When you activate the manual call point, it sends a signal to the fire system’s control panel, notifying it that there is a fire in the area closest to the call point. As a minimum, this will sound the fire alarm throughout the building. It should also start the fire emergency protocols, including calling the fire brigade. A policy has been devised by the Department of Communities and Local Government for Fire and Rescue Services which is Policies for Dealing with Unwanted Fire Signals from Automatic Fire Alarms. Statutory Regulations

Statutory Regulations

Signals from the optical smoke chamber and temperature sensor are independent, and represent the smoke level and air temperature respectively in the vicinity of the detector; the detector’s micro controller processes both signals. The temperature signal processing extracts only rate of rise information for combination with the smoke signal. The detector will not respond to slow increases in temperature but a large sudden change can cause an alarm without presence of smoke, if sustained for 20 seconds. The processing algorithms in the multi-sensor incorporate drift compensation. Points to consider A manual fire call point allows anyone to trigger the fire detection system in a building by pressing a button or pulling a lever. Another interesting fact about manual call points is that they should always be installed on the floor side of an exit door leading to a staircase so that when the alarm is triggered, the alarm system can correctly identify which floor the fire has occurred on.

Note: Ensure that the individuals who create the accounts are not the ones reviewing the audit trails since this can be a source of abuse. CO fire detectors are electronic detectors used to indicate the outbreak of fire by sensing the level of carbon monoxide in the air. Carbon monoxide, usually known by its chemical formula CO, is a poisonous gas produced by combustion. They are not the same as CO detectors used for home safety which are used to protect residents against carbon monoxide produced by incomplete combustion in appliances such as gas fires or boilers. Each use of an emergency account should be reviewed. The use of an emergency account may be valid, or it might indicate a malicious act. Unacceptable use needs to be recorded and acted upon. Frequent use may indicate problems with the normal user authentication mechanism. This regular monitoring of pre–staged emergency accounts should also include exercising some of them to ensure that they do work, and that their use can be detected. This is similar to testing fire alarms, to be sure that they will work in a real emergency. Cleaning Up After Account UsageThis guidance contains brief descriptions of the major components which go to make up a fire alarm system. The points to be considered are intended to highlight the variables which can exist and need to be considered whilst designing and compiling a specification for component parts. Sirens ranging widely in size from 0.17kw to 11kW generally operating in the frequency range of 400 – 800 Hz.

The period between visits to undertake inspection and service should he based upon a risk assessment but the maximum period between visits should not exceed six months. The glass works to protect the fire alarm from accidental activations. However, these alarms are activated by a pressure switch, which is why glass is incorporated into the trigger. When the glass fails or breaks, the switch will be triggered, the signal will be sent to the alarm panel, and the sound will go off. Auditing should be enabled if available, to log details of the account usage and details of the work carried out while using the account. Some systems may recognize emergency accounts and raise the system auditing level or increase audit logging of only the emergency accounts. Any automatically started generator used for the fire detection and fire alarm system should be tested

Voice alarm systems should be tested weekly in accordance with BS5839 Part 8. If the system is connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) for calling the fire brigade, it is very important that the ARC is notified before testing commences and when it is complete The arrangements in the above section, inspection and servicing are intended to maintain the system in operation under normal circumstances. However, from time to time, the fire alarm system is likely to require non-routine attention, including special maintenance. Non-routine maintenance includes: Today KAC are still the industrys leader in call point technology, exporting to more than 70 countries from their purpose-built research, design and manufacturing facility. Our commitment to continuous innovation and to meeting customers needs makes our range the most advanced, the most adaptable and the easiest to install on the market. Key Benifits of KAC Call Points: Test a manual call point during working hours to cheek that the control panel and alarm sounders operate satisfactorily

As this is labour-intensive servicing, it is recommended that the work can be spread over two or more service visits during each twelve-month period Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of voice alarm systems Automatic monitoring and control of circuits external to the equipment, such as fire detection and fire alarm device circuits and supply of power to these circuits Rate of rise detectors located in positions where abnormal increase in temperature is likely, e.g. space heating equipment, industrial processesAn emergency access solution should be used only when normal processes are insufficient (e.g. the helpdesk or system administrator is unavailable). Examples of situations when ‘break glass’ emergency access might be necessary: