Fire Alarm Systems

There are two generic types of fire alarm system in use, these are the traditional conventional alarm systems and the newer more advanced analogue addressable alarm systems. The two technologies are explained below:

Conventional systems are essentially simple switches that are either "on" or "off". They cannot distinguish between a real fire and the various non-fire phenomena that can trigger an alarm such as smoke, dust and steam. With conventional systems the control panel is only able to indicate the zone or circuit that an activated (or faulty) detector is on, they can not identify the individual device.

Conventional systems are generally the most cost effective option for smaller buildings.

Analogue addressable systems have constant two-way communication between the control panel and the detectors in the field. Each detection device on an analogue addressable system has its own unique address within the system and the control panel is able to identify each device individually in the case of a fire or a fault

The increased intelligence associated with analogue addressable systems allows for them to have greater sensitivity to fire with greater immunity to false alarms.

The key components of the fire alarm system are the control panel, detectors and the alerting devices.

Control (Alarm) Panel
The control panel is the brain of the fire alarm system. The control panel constantly monitors the detectors installed throughout the protected facility for signs of fire. When a fire condition is detected the control panel can carry out a range of activities including:

• Sound the evacuation alarms for the facility.
• Notify the Fire Service.
• Notify the building management.
• Close fire and smoke doors.
• Start up smoke handling and ventilation systems.
• Initiate operation or shutdown of other building services.

Detectors
srisl.com Fire Protection is able to offer a full range of detectors to suit a range of different environments and hazards including:

• Heat detectors
• Linear heat detectors
• Fibre optic linear heat detectors
• Ionization smoke detectors
• Optical smoke detectors
• Intelligent multi-criteria detectors
• Aspirating smoke detectors
• Beam detectors
• Flame detectors

Alerting Devices
srisl.com Fire Protection is able to offer an extensive range of alerting devices to suit your specific environment including speakers, sounders, strobes…