The fire alarm system in your building is one of the most important and life saving components. Without this device, you're endangering everyone in the building, including yourself. Not to mention, fire damage could result in costly repairs that could have been reduced with a well designed fire alarm system.
In this blog, we will discuss what you should look for in a fire alarm system to ensure it's properly designed and fully functional. This is because it's important to invest in the critical elements of an alarm system that will help you save lives and prevent the spread of a fire.
Fire Alarm System Parts
Fire Alarm Control Panel
Your fire alarm system always includes a fire alarm control panel. The panel is the center of operations and has control over your entire system. This crucial piece of equipment works to monitor the building for fires, manage outputs, and relay information when there's an issue or hazardous situation.
Primary & Secondary Power Supply
It's important that your alarm system and its components have access to a primary and secondary power supply. This will ensure you're covered even during a power outage.
The primary power supply is usually a non-switched 120 or 240-volt AC source provided by the power company. The secondary power supply is usually lead-acid storage batteries or another emergency source, such as a generator.
Initiating Devices
Initiating devices act as inputs to the fire alarm panel and trigger the fire alarm to go off. There are both manual and automatic initiating devices used to alert the system there's a fire.
Manual initiating devices include:
- Fire alarm boxes
- Manual pull stations
- Break glass stations
Automatic initiating devices include:
- Heat detectors
- Smoke detectors
- Flame detectors
Notification Appliances
Notification devices are used to alert the building occupants when there's an emergency. This type of device can include audible and/or visual alarms such as flashing lights, strobes, horns, bells, chimes, or other noises.
This could also include emergency voice alarm communications systems (EVACS), which are voice alerts used to help the occupants safely evacuate the building. This application will ease the pressure of the situation and securely guide people out of the building.
Building Safety Interfaces
The building safety interfaces are used so that the fire alarm system can prepare the building for a fire by adjusting certain elements in a building. This system can reduce the spread of smoke and toxic fumes by adjusting the air movement, lighting, process control, human transport, and more.
Get a Fire Alarm System Today!
Frontier Fire is Colorado's leader in fire safety and fire protection. If you're ready to invest in a life saving fire alarm system, then we're here to help. Head to our website or contact us today for fire protection installation, repair, or maintenance services throughout the Denver Metro and Western Slope of Colorado.
