Fire alarm systems, smoke detectors and control panels: how are these systems triggered?
Safety at home and in the workplace is of paramount importance. Emergency equipment is constantly being developed in order to better manage the safety of individuals within private, commercial and corporate spaces, no matter the type of building concerned.
It’s important to have systems in place to prevent – and deal with – emergency situations that compromise safety. In terms of potential fires, smoke detectors, alarm systems and control panels placed in strategic locations around the building in question from an integral part of this prevention.
Providing systems to deal with these potential emergency situations improves general safety standards. So, how do these alarm systems, detectors and other devices work in the event of an emergency?
In order to ensure the safety of the individuals living or working in a given building, they need to be made aware if there’s a fire anywhere on the premises. In automated systems, the presence of smoke in the building will be picked up on by designated smoke detectors.
Then, these smoke detectors will, in turn, trigger the fire alarms situated throughout the buildings. When the alarm system sounds, the people living and working in the building will know that they need to evacuate in order to ensure their personal safety.
Many fire alarm systems will also offer control panels/activation points that enable individuals to manually trigger the alarm. So, if an employee or resident becomes aware of an emergency situation, they will be able to activate the alarm system from these control panels/activation points. This could potentially happen even before the automatic smoke detectors spring into action.
This manual activation is also vital for organising safety drills to train employees in the correct procedure in the event of an emergency. A safety officer will manually trigger the alarm system from the control panel/activation point at a designated emergency drill time. That way, individuals will be well versed in the building’s emergency protocol, so that they know what to do to ensure their personal safety if and when the alarm systems sound for real.
Conventional emergency plans for commercial and corporate buildings will involve the strategic placement of “in the event of emergency” instructions around the building.
These will often designate an outside assembly point for emergency situations that is close to the building in question.
Employees will be made aware of these safety plans, often including training on how to operate the relevant emergency equipment and devices, as well as manual control panels/activation points.
This enables employees and individuals to take more control of their own safety, as well as relying on automatic alarm systems, detectors and further safety devices.
There are legal requirements for installing alarm systems within buildings in the UK. Whether it’s a private residential, corporate or commercial building in question, you’ll need to ensure that your fire alarm systems (including smoke detectors, control panels and other devices) comply with the legislation in force. This is vital for ensuring safety and preventing emergencies, both in fire situations and for detecting other dangerous fumes within the building. Smoke detectors are capable of picking up on toxic fumes, such as carbon monoxide, and non-toxic fumes, such as water vapour.
Fire alarm systems: protection levels you should get to know
If you’re browsing fire alarm systems, smoke detectors or other safety devices, there are a couple of protection categories that you’ll need to be familiar with.
L1 Fire Alarm System
This offers the most complete protection for a building, so this category of alarm system is usually used for large commercial or corporate buildings, as well as large residential buildings housing a lot of people. All rooms and areas within the building will be comprehensively covered by the alarm system.
L2 Fire Alarm System
These alarm systems aim to forewarn the people inside a building that there is an emergency situation. The smoke detectors aim to pick up on dangerous fumes, to ensure that the alarm system is triggered in enough time to allow effective evacuation of the buildings and ensure personal safety. These alarm systems are focused on high-risk areas, such as the building’s boiler room, or areas housing major electrical control panels, for example.
L3 Fire Alarm System
Similar to L2, these alarm systems aim to forewarn a building’s occupants in a potential emergency situation. This facilitates improved personal safety and effective evacuation strategies.
L4 Fire Alarm System
These fire alarm systems only detect fires that occur within the escape routes of a building. Fires in these areas would impede effective evacuation, compromising personal safety.
L5 Fire Alarm System
This lowest level of alarm system is usually implemented due to the specific outcome of a fire risk assessment for the building in question.
Wrongly triggered alarm systems: what should you do if it’s just a false alarm?
Better to wrongly trigger the alarm that not to trigger it at all!
Many of the latest alarm systems will allow you to remotely turn off the alarm sound, to give you easy control over the fire alarm system and smoke detectors within the building.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your smoke detectors are fully functional at all times, so do make sure that the batteries are frequently replaced. If you do manually turn off your smoke detectors, many models will automatically re-trigger your alarm system if they continue to detect fumes.