How Do Fire Alarm Systems Work?

For Safety

Fire Alarm Systems are so important to our safety that you can't buy a house without them installed. A code inspector can tell you how many you need and exactly where they are required to be installed. The law came after too many individuals passed away from house fires when they could have been saved if there was an alarm to alert them to the fire. Having fire alarms gives individuals enough time to safely exit any building that may be on fire. That saves lives. There are five parts to a fire alarm system.

Control Unit

Sometimes the control unit is called the control panel. It is the part of the fire alarm system that monitors what is coming in and going out. It can also relay information to emergency vehicles so that they get to the fire in an efficient manner as possible.

Power Supply

The power supply is exactly what you think it would be. It requires a 120 Volt Alternating Current. This part is responsible for keeping the fire alarm in working order because it supplies the electricity or the power to the system. Without power the fire alarm system is useless.

Initiating Device

There are two types of initiating devices: manual or automatic. Automatic is better then manual because they can actually initiate the other functions of letting people know when it is time to evacuate and then begin the process of controlling the fire. That means it would set off the sprinklers. Manual devices must be pulled by a human being before it will set off an alarm.

Notification Appliance

The notification appliance also does exactly what it sounds like. It notifies residents within a building that it is time to get out. It does this by sounding a loud siren or by ringing a loud bell. This sound is loud on purpose so that it wakes up anyone who may be sleeping. When you hear the notification appliance go off you need to take it seriously and evacuate as soon as possible. Fires spread fast.

Building Safety Interfaces

Building safety interfaces do an awesome thing. They actually use magnetism to close doors that are open in order to trap fire and smoke in to one area of the building. They also stop allowing the flow of the smoke through the air ducts and vent systems. The purpose of this part is to keep the fire from spreading or becoming worse before firefighters can get to the scene.