How to Design Fire Alarm Systems

The overriding goal in designing a fire alarm system is to make sure it is easy to operate. Before designing your system, check with your local fire department. Ask them about the fire prevention codes your system must follow. Also ask them about electrical and building codes that apply to fire alarm systems. Some states require that your system and its parts be manufactured by only one company. The federal government, under the National Fire Alarm Code, regulates the manufacture and installation of fire alarm system hardware.

Instructions

• 1

  Get background information on the basics of fire alarm systems. For example, gather information on disarming control panels, troubleshooting pull stations, and knowing the role that zone wiring plays in allowing the system to get back online.

• 2

  Design components that will initiate the alarm mode. Consider using heat or smoke detectors, pull stations or sensors that monitor the building’s sprinkler system.

• 3

  Decide how the system should alert people when it goes into alarm mode. You can choose appliances such as bells, chimes, strobe lights or horns.

• 4

  Describe the manual pull station. Specify how it is activated and which indicators are set in motion once the pull station becomes operational.

• 5

  Set up the alarm system’s control panel. You must program this differently for separate areas of the building. The control panel should have the following components: displays with letters and numbers; displays that identify whether the system is in normal or alarm mode; buttons to silence the appliance indicators; buttons to stop and reset the system; and buttons allowing users to access a help menu.

• 6

  Include a section that holds the batteries in case the AC power does not work. The outside of this compartment must clearly identify that it contains batteries and the size batteries the system uses.

• 7

  Finish the system by specifying the location of smoke detectors. They must be near doors and at elevator landings, in machine rooms, elevator shafts and near stair cases. Also specify how the heat detectors are activated.