Fire alarm systems come to us in two different types, and these are known as either manual or automatic. Both fire alarm systems may be set up to either protect only people’s lives or to protect both lives and your property. Modern automatic fire alarm systems can be managed by either a conventional or computer addressable method.
Manual or Automatic – Which one is for me?
- The manual fire alarm system will greatly depend on somebody being present in a building and who locates the fire and then activates the alarm. Call points are the devices which you must have seen installed near doors and stairwells to set off the alarm system. This sort of fire alarm is usually utilised in commercial or industrial properties where people don’t normally live.
- The automatic type of fire alarm uses a linked network of sensing devices that detect any presence of smoke and then gives off an alarm. Also, along with the sounding off of the alarm, both manual and automatic security systems in Andover can be used and set to turn on sprinkler systems and contact the local fire brigade.
Containment and Saving Lives
Over the years, diverse kinds of fire alarms have been created mostly to protect the lives of people in homes or buildings. This type of fire alarm goes off and rings an alarm when any fire has been detected, but may not switch on a sprinkler system or notify the fire brigade. This more intricate kind of system will also close off any ventilation systems to prohibit smoke and toxic fumes from being able to spread around other areas of a building.
Automatic fire alarms are linked to a central control board. The wiring system for these automatic fire alarms is either conventional or hooked up to a computer network. In a conventional configuration set up, a building is split up into two or more zones and each zone has a number of different sensing devices which are connected to a control panel via electrical wiring. This wiring goes away from the control panel to the last sensing device in each zone, and with this kind of conventional fire alarm system, when one single sensor is activated, it will then set off all alarms and sprinklers in the whole area.
Address Appointment
Different to traditional set-ups, an addressable fire alarm system makes use of an electrical cable that starts at the control panel and then reaches out to all sensors until a complete circuit is fulfilled and back to the panel. In this type of set up, every sensing device is given an address. If one sensor is activated, the control panel will then activate alarms and sprinklers for only that sector based on the sensor’s address. This kind of alarm system arrangement removes any necessity for an entire area to be activated and assists firemen or women in knowing exactly where a fire is located.
Fire alarms – such a basic but essential solution to what might otherwise be a major cause of mayhem and destruction and who in their right mind wants that?
