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Technical Specifications
For
Fire Alarm system

A) Fire Detection Cum Alarm System

The Work shall be carried out as per CPWD specifications for Electrical works Part- I
(Internal 2007), Part –II(External 2007), Part –VI(Fire Alarm System 1988), Code of
Practice for Fire Alarm System 1988 and as per relevant India Standards and
Additional Specifications.

1.0 System Description

1.1 The work under this system shall consist of supplying all materials, equipments and
appliances and labour necessary and required to install automatic Fire Detection and
alarm system complete with Main Control Panel, Hooter, Manual Push Button etc.
Any openings/chasing in the wall/ceiling required to be made for the installation shall
be made good in manner to the satisfaction of the Engineer-in-charge.

1.2 The scope of the work includes a suitable output from the Main control panel to feed
the package unit control panel (to be provided by the AC Contractor) to automatically
switch off the blowers, Only control wiring from the Main control panel to the relay
to be installed in AHU room is included in the scope of this work.

1.3 The design, supply and installation and testing of the entire fire alarm system shall
conform to BS:5839. The detectors shall conform to BS:5445 for smoke detectors and
BS:5446 for heat detectors. The control panel shall conform to IS: 2189.

1.4 All detectors shall have approvals from LPCB, FM or UL

2.0 Rate of Rise Cum Fixed Temperature Heat Detector.

2.1 The rate of rise in temperature cum fixed temperature heat detector shall have the rate
of rise element as a thermistor whose change in resistance value due to temperature
rise shall determine an alarm signal, It shall be calibrated to ignore and normal
fluctuation in temperature, but to respond quickly when the temperature rise is 9
degrees centigrade or more per minute. The fixed temperature feature should be
entirely independent of the rate of rise element and should be bimetallic type.
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2.2 The operating temperature of fixed temperature should be factory set at 68degC. The
detector shall incorporate response indicator facility also. The detector shall be on the
approved list of Loss Prevention Council, U.K or Underwriter’s Laboratory. U.S.A.

2.3 The base of the detector shall be of same makes of detector.

2.4 All detectors shall have protective covers, which shall be removed before occupancy
of the buildings.

3.0 Ionization Type Smoke Detector

3.1 Smoke detectors shall be working on ionization principle and shall be of dual
chamber type. They shall be completely solid state with LED indication at the base.

3.2 The detector shall be able to sense incipient fire by detecting the presence of visible
and invisible products of combustion. The detector shall be suitable for low voltage
(24 volts DC). The detector shall be provided with response indicator and the
sensitivity of the detector shall not vary with change in ambient temperature,
humidity, pressure or voltage variation.

3.3 The detector shall be suitably protected against dust accumulation/ingress and it shall
be free from maintenance and functional test at intervals. All detectors shall be
identical in construction design and characteristic to facilitate easy replacement. The
detector housing shall be damage resistant made of polycarbonate or aluminum with
plug-in housing base of universal type suitable for either surface or recessed
mounting.

3.4 It shall be possible to connect Smoke Detector with Heat detector or Manual Push
Buttons in the same circuit. The detector shall be listed by Loss Prevention Council,
UK or Underwriters Laboratory, U.S.A. The detector also must have facility for
remote indication.

3.5 The base or the detector shall be of same make as of detector.

3.6 All detectors shall have protective covers, which shall be removed before occupancy
of the building.

4.0 Fire Alarm System.

4.1 The fire alarm system shall conform to BS: 5839 in respect of design and installation
and it shall give Audio/Visual signals when the temperature in case of Heat detector
and smoke density in case of ionization detector exceeds the pre-set limit. The system
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shall give zone wise location of fire operate hooters and give signal to the Packaged
AC unit in the fire zone for switching off the blowers and closing the fire dampers
(where-ever applicable.

4.2 The system shall work on 24 volts DC. The design shall be modular so that additional
zones can be added to cater for future expansion.

4.3 The system shall be fully supervised for all fault conditions with distinctive alarms
operated for fault and fire conditions. All audible alarms either for fire or fault
conditions shall have push button cancellation arrangement with re-set feature, to
ensure that no alarm is inadvertently switched off. The fire or fault lamp shall
however continue to glow until the fault condition has been corrected. Test push
buttons shall be provided to test the electronic circuits in each zone. These Test Push
Buttons are to be provided on the Main Control Panel.

5.0 Hooter.

5.1 Hooter shall be of electronic type with a piezo sounder and shall give discontinuous /
intermittent audible alarm automatically whenever any detector has operated.

6.0 Manual Push Button.

6.1 Manual Push Button shall be of Break Glass Type units, completely enclosed in a cast
Aluminium with provision for cable or conduit coupling as per the CPWD
Specification for Electrical Works (Fire Alarm System). The manual, push button
shall have the word prescribed in clear bold letters on facial window “In case of Fire
Break Glass”. Installation of manual push button shall be as per IS: 2189. The manual
push button shall be wall-mounting type.

6.2 The box shall be spray printed in Post Office red indicate fire signal. The
constructional requirement shall be as per CPWD specifications Part-VI.

7.0 Response Indicator.

7.1 Response indicator plate shall be of stainless steel and shall be fixed on existing
recessed MS boxes. The response indicator shall glow clearly in case the detector to
which it is connected gives an alarm signal, The word “FIRE” shall be clearly written
on the visible face of the box. The response indicator shall be got fabricated to suit the
existing box.
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8.0 Control Panel.

8.1 Various indicator and indicating panel shall be totally enclosed, dust and vermin proof
and shall be suitable for environment condition at the site of their installation.

8.2 The C&I panel shall be designed such that the equipment for power supply, battery
charging and PA system for FAS are housed in independent compartments. Sealed
maintenance free batteries shall however not be accommodated inside the panel.

8.3 Suitable knockout shall be provided for the entry of cables and writing in the panels.

8.4 The panels after fabrication shall be checked to remove any dust/dirt/rust and
phosphated. After two coats of antirust primer, the panel shall be finished with two
coats of synthetic enamel paint in approved shade.
8.5 All components and their wiring shall be arranged so as to be conveniently attended to
form the front of the panel.

8.6 All indicating lamps, control switches, buttons and fuses shall be suitably located in
the front and properly labeled.

8.7 The indicating lamps shall be LED type of following colours. The fire conditions shall
be indicated by twin lamps.

8.7.1 Red to indicate fire condition.

8.7.2 Amber to indicate false conditions.

8.7.3 Green to indicate healthy condition.

8.8 Testing buttons to test the indicate lamps shall be provided.

8.9 All control and indicating panels should be of electronic type.

8.10 Printed circuit boards used in the panels shall be plug in type. The PCB’s shall be
protected against atmospheric corrosion.

8.11 The panels should meet relevant CPWD specifications according to General
Specifications for Electrical works (part –VI-fire Alarm System 1988) and Code of
Practice for Fire Alarm System 1988 including the following:-
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8.11.1 The primary function of control panel shall be to respond automatically to the
operation of one or more detector to give fire alarm and to indicate area/areas where
the device has shall result in simultaneous alarm given by the following:-

8.11.2 The external alarm hooter at area of actuation, which shall be after 15 seconds of
alarm at control panel.

8.11.3 A visible indication on control panel including sounding of the piezo sounder.

8.11.4 Audible alarm on control-panel itself (common for all zone, through a piezo sounder).

8.11.5 The secondary function on the control panel shall be to indicate the faults within the
system. An immediate fault warning shall be given by an audible and visual signal on
the control panel. A fault warning shall be given in case of any of the following
occurring.
8.11.5.1 Failure or disconnection of leads to all zones of detectors.
8.11.5.2 Failure of disconnections of main normal supply or battery or low voltage
battery voltage beyond 5%.
8.11.5.3 Short circuit or open circuit fault
8.11.5.4 Failure of any fuse/protective device.

8.11.6 The system shall be supervised for the following conditions.

8.11.6.1 Open circuit in detector wiring.

8.11.6.2 Short circuit in detector wiring.

8.11.6.3 Normal conditions.

8.11.6.4 Fire conditions.

8.11.6.5 AC Mains failure.

8.11.6.6 Battery low voltage alarm.

8.12 The internal electrical wiring shall be marked by ferrules with soldered/clip type
connections wherever required. Wire jackets shall also be provided.

8.13 A common indication showing fault shall be provided in addition to respective LED
for each of the above faults except normal condition and fire condition.
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8.14 Dual lamps shall be provided to indicate fire conditions and to ensure against lamp
failure both lamps shall be connected in parallel. A common electronic audible alarm
shall be provided but the fire signal shall be different from the fault signal by
providing different tones for fire and fault conditions.

8.15 There shall be one indicator for fire and one for fault in the control panel
corresponding to each zone. Each zone shall have two illumination units of fire fault
indication. Each indicator shall be clearly labeled with zone number and inscribed
with the “Code Name” i.e. words “fire” or “Fault” or “Silence”. Separate indicator
must be provided for system on standby on etc.

8.16 The panel shall have top conduit knock outs for cable entry. There shall be an internal
terminal box for receiving all cables entries and the outlet shall have factory wired
cables upto the LED.

8.17 The Main control panel, which shall also be provided with output relay for shutting
off of AHU (packaged) fan blowers for that area. The change over contact will trip the
fan blower contractor in the AHU (packaged). distribution Board. This relay shall be
suitable for transmitting output to not less than 4 Nos. of AHU’s (packaged) at a time
for shutting off their blowers.

8.18 While the Air Conditioning contractor will provide the necessary contractors
terminals in his distribution panel, it will be the responsibility and within the scope of
work of the contractor to provide change over contacts/relay in his panel, cabling etc
to connect with the Packaged unit control panel and commission the system.

8.19 The local panel shall be complete with build in mimic diagram for the area/rooms
covered by different zones. The layout of mimic shall be got approved from Engineer-
in-charge before its installation in respect of each local control panel.

8.20 All the wiring terminating in various control panels including main panel, junction
boxes shall be suitably numbered with PVC sleeve according to the directions of
Engineer-in-charge.

9.0 Power Supply.

9.1 The control panel shall derive 230 volts power from main supply. Standby power
supply through SMF batteries shall be immediately available in the event of failure of
normal supply and shall automatically be connected so as to maintain the equipment
in condition such that fire alarm originating from the operation of detector in separate
zone can be subsequently given. The standby battery of secondary supply shall be
rechargeable and batteries should not be less than 48 AH capacity.
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9.2 Suitable arrangements shall be incorporated to prevent secondary batteries from

discharging through the charging equipment in the event of its breakdown or a failure
in the supply.

9.3 Necessary automatic changeover from normal to standby DC supply in case of main
supply failure shall be provided by the contractor.

9.4 In addition to sealed maintenance free batteries, a battery charger shall be supplied.
The capacity of the charger shall be such that the same can boost charge the battery
(within 8hrs) while supplying the rated load of the fire side of the charger fails the
battery shall supply the complete fire detection and alarm system.

9.5 Visible and audible annunciation for troubles or failure in the power supply system
like “charger Failure”. “Battery Low voltage.”, etc shall be provided.

10.0 System Testing.

10.1 Soon after the work is awarded, the contractor shall submit 3 sets of drawings of fire
Alarm System, wiring diagram of Fire Alarm Control panel, control wiring diagram to
Engineer-in-charge.

10.2 The contractor shall cause interim/stage inspection during execution of the works as
and when so called for and shall carry out any rectification/modification as may be
suggested by the Engineer-in-charge or his authorized representative.

10.3 Soon after the work is completed the contractor shall inform in writing to the
Engineer-in-charge of the work for getting the complete system including all sub-
systems and instrumentation control panels etc thoroughly inspected and tested for
satisfactory performance stating time and date of inspection. Following tests shall be
conducted in a completed FAS installation in the presence of engineer-in-charge or
his authorized representative and test certificate shall be prepared and furnished by the
contractor with the record of test results.
10.3.1 Continuity Test.

10.3.2 Test for insulation resistance of the wiring system and the control and indication
panel.

10.3.3 Test for system operation as per section-8 CPWD specifications Part-VI for FA
systems.
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10.4 Type test certificate to prove conformity to relevant contract specifications shall be
furnished with supply of Detectors & Control panel.

10.5 Any defects noticed during these tests shall be speedily rectified by the contractor.

11.0 Fire Alarm Testing.

11.1 The fire alarm system shall be tested as per the following schedule. Additional testing
as decided by the Engineer-in-charge shall also be carried out by the contractor.

11.2 Ionization type smoke detector.

11.3 An identified detector will be subjected to smoke aspiration from burning paper or
cigarette puffs held at 0.3 M distance from the detector. The panel should indicate
through piezo sounder and hooter that the alarm signal has been transmitted
throughout the system.

11.3.1 The response indicator within the detector should light up as the panel shall also
indicate the zone of the detector.

11.4 Heat Detector

11.4.1 The same tests in the same sequence shall be carried out for this detector but with the
application of heat from a hair dryer held at approximately 60cm distance.

11.4.2 Repeat testing of the same detector shall be carried out at 24 hours intervals for a
period of 4 days.

11.5 Combined Test

11.5.1 The next test will be in combination of ionization/Heat detectors simultaneously with
time lapse between application of smoke or heat or as required by the Engineer-in-
charge.

11.5.2 Additionally, some of the detectors of all types that have been already been tested
shall be retested for checking up its resistibility.

11.6 Panel Test

11.6.1 The panel shall be checked for basic tests such as visually checking input voltage and
amperage. All zones one by one shall be checked for fault signal indication in the
panel.
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11.6.2 Subsequently from every zone a detector shall be subjected to smoke or heat test and
signals shall be checked on the main panel.

11.6.3 The hooter shall sound automatically, the piezo sounders in the panel shall also sound.

11.6.4 The power source shall be cut off and checked for standby supply from the batteries.
After six hours the power source shall be switch on to check for auto switch over to
mains mode. The trickle charger shall take over the charging of the battery to its
maximum cut off level with auto cut off. A set of exhausted batteries shall be
connected to the panel in place of the new batteries and through the Tickle/Boost
switch checked for charging of the batteries.

11.6.5 Tests shall be conducted for AC fail, charger fail, DC fail, battery Disconnect or
battery fail. In all such cases the relevant LED should glow and the piezo sound shall
also give sound output.

11.6.6 The system test switch shall also be checked by locking onto any specified zone and
checking for fire indication on the panel piezo sounder activating.

11.6.7 The Accept and Reset buttons shall also be tested by depressing Accept button after a
fire signal. The sounder should stop and the flasher signal shall also close down.
However, the LED’s in the respective zone shall keep glowing. After depressing the
Reset button the zone LEDs shall switch off.

11.6.8 Any detector line shall be shorted which should be reflected in the respective panel.

11.7 Manual Call Box

11.7.1 The Manual Call Box glass shall be removed by unscrewing the cover. The Micro
Switch shall instantaneously project out and acknowledged in the Panel as a fire
signal.

12.0 Copper Conductor Cables.

12.1 The copper conductor cables shall be conforming to IS: 694 (Part-I) as amended upto
date. Only standard conductor shall be used.
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13.0 Public Address System.

13.1 System description :

The system is to cover all floors for making announcement in individual area/Zone/all
area for voice evacuation cum PA system press to talk back unit with 6 W speaker
shall be provided on each floor to communicate with control room.

13.2 PA system shall be provided to enable transmission of announcements and

instructions to the occupants in each zone in the event of a fire.

13.3 Fire Alarm sounders in the premises shall be designed to function as loud speakers for
the purpose. The microphone, necessary amplification equipment and control
switches shall be provided as a part of the C & I panel.

13.4 The power rating and frequency response shall be to suit the requirements of the
individual installations.

13.5 Console :
The control console shall be fabricated out of 1.6 mm CRCA check steel duty powder
coated to match with FA panel. The console shall house (complete with) goose neck
microphone with detector switch/switches for making zonal/ all area announcement,
the preamplifier shall have the bass, trouble and pressure control for better speech
quality. All electronic modules based shall be providing in type.

13.6 Amplifier Rack.

The amplifier rack shall be complete with stand by amplifier with selected electronic
zoning, automatic changeover from working to stand by, along with plug in type
electronic circuit boards with mains panel terminals and connectors etc. The
amplifier/main frame shall be fabricated out of 2.5mm and doors with 1.6 mm thick
CRCA sheet duly painted with powder could to match with FA panel.

13.7 Public Address Control Rack shall have the following.

a) Test tone signal.
b) Selection switch with circuiting for alarm/evacuation/Speech.
c) Rooting/switching matrix tone/speech signals to required zone automatically.
d) Preamplifiers and line amplifiers as reqired.
e) Power Amplifier.
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LIST OF ACCEPTABLE MAKES

S.No. Description Makes

1. Heat Detectors Appllo/Edward/System Sensor

2. Optical Smoke Detector Appllo/Edward/System Sensor

3. Microprocessor based main fire Appllo/Edward/Agni instruments

alarm panel and local control panel.
4. Manual Call Box Appllo/Edward/Agni instruments

5. Response indicators. Appllo/Edward/Agni instruments

6. Medium intensity hooter Appllo/Edward/Agni instruments

7. PVC insulated (FRLS) copper Polycab/L&T/Havells

conductor wire`
8. Signages Glowlite/Du-lite/Agni