With this increased role have come a number of design challenges for fire alarm design professionals. The major model codes divide correctional occupancies into five separate use conditions. The purpose of the use conditions is to coordinate the different levels of security with an intended level of safety. Free movement is allowed from sleeping areas and other smoke compartments to one or more other smoke compartments. Free movement is allowed within smoke compartment, with egress impeded by remote-controlled release of means of egress from such smoke compartment to another smoke compartment.
Free movement is restricted from an occupied space.
Remote release is provided to permit movement from occupied areas within a smoke compartment to another smoke compartment. Free movement is restricted from an occupied space. Staff-controlled manual release at each door is provided from each occupied space within a smoke compartment to another smoke compartment. Smoke compartmentalization is critical in that it allows for the relocation of inmates to an area of safe refuge from a fire condition prior to movement outside the secure envelope. As you can see by the above descriptions, the design of a fire alarm system can be adversely affected by the different use conditions.