WHAT IS A FIRE ALARM SYSTEM?

-Fire Alarm System is designed to alert us to an emergency so that we can take action to protect
ourselves, staff and the general public.

Fire alarms are found in Offices, Factories, and public buildings, they are a part of our everyday routine
but are often overlooked until there is an emergency at which point, they might just save our lives.

Whatever the method of detection is, if the alarm is triggered, sounders will operate to warn people in
the building that there may be a fire and to evacuate.

The fire alarm system may also incorporate a remote signal system which could then alert the fire
brigade via a central station.

So what is a fire alarm system, or fire detection system? In this article, we will have a look at the
structure and types of the “Fire Alarm Systems”.

Additional Notes:

A fire alarm system is a crucial part of the fire and life safety of a building and its occupants. There are
many functions that are served by the fire alarm system and it all may be a bit confusing to someone
new to fire alarms, so I decided to create a visual guide to fire alarm basics. The objective of this blog is
to share that visual guide and to discuss some of the major components and functions of a fire alarm
system. – NFPA

The video within the featured articles explains the various parts of a fire alarm system, their uses, how
they work, their use-case scenarios, among other things. To summary, it’s the article in video format.

The “Brain” of the fire detector system is the Fire Alarm Control Panel. It is the central hub for all of the
detector signals to be wired to and provides a status indication to the users.
The unit can also be set up to simulate an alarm for use in routine Fire and evacuation drills, so all staff
knows what action to take in the event of a real fire.

Additional Notes:
There are four basic types of panels: coded panels, conventional panels, addressable panels, and
multiplex systems. -Wiki

Different Types of Fire Alarm Detectors

At the core of a fire alarm system are the detection devices, from sophisticated intelligent smoke
detectors to simple manually operated break glass units, there are a wide array of different types, but
we can divide them into groups including:

 Heat detectors
o Heat detector can either work on a fixed temperature basis, where it will trigger an
alarm if the temperature exceeds a pre-set value or they can work on the rate of
change in temperature.
 Smoke detectors
o There are three basic types of smoke detectors including:
o Ionization
 Ionization Smoke detector generally contains two chambers. The first is
used as a reference to compensate for changes in ambient temperature,
humidity or pressure.
o Light Scattering
  The light scattering smoke detector operates on the Tyndall effect; a
photocell and light source are separated from each other by a darkened
chamber such that the light source does not fall on the photocell.
o Light Obscuring
 In the Light obscuring smoke detector, smoke interferes with a light beam
between a light source and photocell. The photocell measures the amount
of light it receives.
 Carbon Monoxide detectors
o Carbon monoxide detectors are known also as CO fire detectors are electronic
detectors used to indicate the outbreak of fire by sensing the level of carbon
monoxide in the air.
o Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced by combustion.
o In this instance, these detectors are not the same as Carbon monoxide detectors
used in the home for protecting residents against carbon monoxide produced by
incomplete combustion in appliances such as gas fires or boilers.
 Multi-sensor detectors
o The Multi-sensor detectors combine inputs from both optical and heat sensors and
process them using a sophisticated algorithm built into the detector circuitry.
o When polled by the control panel the detector returns a value based on the
combined responses from both the optical and heat sensors. They are designed to
be sensitive to a wide range of fires.
 Manual Call Points
o A Manual Call Point or Break Glass Call Point is a device which enables personnel to
raise the alarm by breaking the frangible element on the fascia; this then triggers
the alarm.

Different Types of Fire Alarm Systems

Fire Alarm Systems can be broken down into four main types;

 Conventional
o In a Conventional Fire Alarm System, physical cabling is used to interconnect several call points
and detectors, the signals from which are wired back to the main control unit.
o Call points and detectors are arranged in “Zones” to simplify locating the cause of the alarm, this is
important for both the fire brigade and general building management.
o Each zone is indicated at the Fire Alarm Control Panel either with an indicator lamp, a text display
or in some cases both.
o It makes sense that the more we can divide a building into zones, the more accurate locating the
alarm trigger will be.
o The Control Panel is wired to a minimum of two sounder circuits which could contain bells,
electronic sounders or other audible fire alarm devices.
o It is these devices which sound the alarm when triggered.
 
 Addressable
o The detection principle of an Addressable System is the same as a Conventional System except
that each detector is given a set Address (usually by means of a dip-switch) and the Control Panel
can then determine exactly which detector or call point has initiated the alarm.
o The detection circuit is wired as a loop and up to 99 devices may be connected to each loop.
o It is common for the loop to be fitted with Loop Isolation Modules so that the loop is sectioned in
order to ensure that a short circuit or single fault will only cause the loss of a small part of the
system; allowing the rest of the system to function normally.
o In the previous two systems, the “Conventional Fire Alarm System” and the “Addressable Fire
Alarm System” the detectors are not considered “intelligent” as they can only give output signals
representing the value of detected phenomena.
o It is left up to the Control Unit to decide whether there is a fire, fault, pre-alarm or other.

 Intelligent
o However, in our next type of System, which is an Intelligent Fire Alarm system, each detector
effectively incorporates its own computer which evaluates the environment around it and
communicates to the Control Panel whether there is a fire, fault or the detector head needs
cleaning.
o Essentially Intelligent Systems are far more complex and incorporate far more facilities than
Conventional or Addressable Systems. Their primary purpose is to help prevent the occurrence of
false alarms.
 o
 Wireless
o The final type of system we will consider is the Wireless Fire Alarm System.
o These are an effective alternative to traditional wired fire alarm systems for all applications. They
utilize secure, license-free radio communications to interconnect the sensors and devices with the
controllers.
o It is a simple concept, which provides many unique benefits and is a full intelligent fire detection
system without the need for cabling.
o In this article, we have learned that Fire Alarm systems are fitted in many buildings we encounter
every day and that they are used to warn people within the building of an emergency fire-related
situation.

o
Addressable Fire Alarm System Wiring Diagram
https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/Blogs-Landing-Page/NFPA-Today/
Blog-Posts/2021/03/03/A-Guide-to-Fire-Alarm-Basics

https://www.asenware.com/mobile/infodetail.php?InfoId=247#:~:text=Fire%20Alarm%20Initiating
%20Devices&text=Initiating%20devices%20includes%20smoke%20detectors,fire%20sprinkler%20water
%20flow%20switch.

How to wire up the Simplex 4010 addressable fire alarm control panel.
The tools needed:

 Philipps Screwdriver
 Flathead Screwdriver
 Wires
 Key to the control panel

Parts:

 Notification Panel
 Pull down panel
 Smoke detector
The Steps:

1. Hook up the regular AC power wire with their corresponding colors. (Make sure to put cover
back up

a.
2. Connect the Pull Station to the motherboard.

a.
3. Wire up and connect the smoke detector thru the pull station.

a.

b.
4. Set the address of each device for the panel to recognize the added devices. For this example,
the pull is address 1 and then the smoke detector is address 2. This is for the initiating devices.
 a.

b.

c.
5. Wire up the notification appliances. First thru the speaker notification device and then through
the next device. Put the resistor in when it’s the last device.
a.

b.

c.

d.
 e.
6. Put in the battery back-up. Connect to the battery terminals.Connect the negative of one battery
to the positive of the other battery.

a.

b.
7. All done, after connecting all the wires. The number of the devices depends on how many is
necessary but there’s a limit depending on the device which is usually more than 200.