Fire alarm

A fire alarm system is an electronic computer that looks for a fire in a building. It can see or detect the fire by using smoke detectors, heat detectors, manual pull stations, or other kinds of electronics. When a fire happens, the fire alarm system makes a loud, high-pitched sound to notify people that there is a fire in the building . The sounders can be programmed to make different tones for different kinds of emergencies. Most fire alarms sound like a siren or a continuous ringing sound.

Fire alarm systems have a main control panel which is the brain of the system. When a fire happens, it can call the fire department by itself. The main panel also allows an inspector or janitor to perform fire drills and make sure the system works.

Some examples of companies which make fire alarms are Wheelock, Simplex, Edwards, Gentex, Johnson Controls, Fire-Lite, and Notifier. Sometimes, old-fashioned fire alarms are metal bells. Many fire alarm systems also have flashing lights known as strobes. These are important for deaf people who cannot hear the fire alarm. There are many different types of fire alarm parts which can be used in special cases. For example, a low frequency sounder may be used in an apartment building, or in larger buildings there may be speakers that play a voice message telling people what is happening. The local government usually decides what kind of special parts are needed when a new building is made.

Fire alarms are often used in schools and businesses during fire drills, or in the case of a real fire. If somebody activates a fire alarm for fun or without reason, it is called a false alarm. Setting off a false alarm is against the law in most places.

Fire alarms can be set up in many ways, and may do the following:

 Automatically alert the fire department that there is a fire
 Alert an internal security service who can check if there is a false alarm before alerting the fire department
 Trigger an alarm to clear the building
 Control heat and smoke vents, fire sprinklers, emergency lighting, and similar systems
 Control elevators, as most elevators are not supposed to be used during a fire

Fire alarm systems have to follow laws and building codes when they are installed, and the people who work on them need to be trained. They also usually have to be inspected every year, or maybe more often. An inspection makes sure that every part of the fire alarm system works properly. This is because fire alarms are important for life safety.

References

Category:Fire
Category:Safety