Fire alarm panels

In the event of fire within a building, the controller for each elevator should isolate all manually operated inputs and return automatically to the evacuation level, usually the ground floor. An output from the building fire alarm panel is hard wired to the elevator controller, giving the signal for a fire condition. The elevator remains disabled at the evacuation level and the car doors open. If a fire officer requires control of a elevator a key switch or break-glass unit should be used to re-activate the elevator. 

In addition to the abbreviated LCD display on the fire alarm panel, an annunciator should be provided to graphically display facility conditions in all areas. Often this annunciator is an additional panel provided with the fire alarm system, which contains a graphic display or representation of the plant or area being monitored as well as illumination capabilities which identify the status of all monitored plant areas. 

More and more commonly, fire alarm panel data is transferred to a safety instrumented system (SIS) for graphic annunciation though the SIS human-machine interface (HMI). 

The presence of a trench/pipe system in Option B, used to remove rain accumulations, increases the risk that contaminated fire water might be inadvertently discharged into the sanitary sewer system. In order to reduce this risk, it is necessary to install a motorized valve in the drainage piping. This valve could be arranged to close automatically in the event of a fire through a signal from the fire alarm panel and manually as needed. It may also be desirable to use a valve which will automatically close in the event of loss of power. Alternatively, this valve could be normally closed and opened when needed. 

The main fire alarm panel will be installed in a central location, which may be in an office or a closet where the main power panels are found. The panel will consist of several processors and should only be opened by trained and certified individuals. Panels also consist of a battery backup, which will normally be housed in the main panel itself The battery backup systems follow a twenty-four-hour/five-minute protocol, meaning the battery must provide standby power for at least twenty-four hours and yet still be capable of operating all notification devices for five minutes (Moore, 2008). 

Fire and building codes will reference NFPA 72, The National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, and NFPA 70, The National Electric Code, for installation, inspection, testing, and maintenance requirements for fire alarm panels and their components. Alarm panels undergo specific annual testing, but every time an initiating device is tested, the alarm panel should be reviewed for normal function. 

Fire alarm panels comprise control and indicating equipment and perform three principal functions ... 

Training - in order to be effective in this role it is important that any persons nominated to act as a fire alarm verifier are provided with training and instruction on how to interrogate the fire alarm panel and interpret the information from the panel and any signs of fire at the iocation indicated. 

Raising the alarm, including the location of alarm call points, internal fire alarm telephones and alarm indicator panels... 

Representational layout of control panels. Where the physical location of items is important, for example, area displays in fire control systems, the layout of the displays on a control panel should reflect the geographical layout of the plant. In other cases a functional arrangement of the elements of the process plant will be appropriate, for example, when monitoring the status of the system via an alarm panel. 

CR Yellow Alert Gas leak in MSM Audible alarm, yellow flashing light on fire gas panel Uncertain could be real 1. Accept alarm 2. Cz area technician 3. Make PA announcement 4. Determine which gas detector is in alarm (its location) Suspend current operation. Scan panels for flashing yellow or red light. Turn around to MSM Fire Gas panel. Press "accept" button CCR Layout MSM Fire Gas panel Visual and audible Whatever op is doing when alarm occurs Initially disorientating because MSM does not have its own sound source. Alarm could be missed if second simultaneous alarm occurs on main bank of Fire Gas panels... 

Operation of detectors with their associated alarm panels should be checked and calibrated after installation. Detector performance can be impaired in a hostile environment by blockages to the detector (i.e., ice, salt crystals, wind blown particles, water or even fire fighting foam, or by inhibition of the catalysts by airborne contaminants such as compounds of silicon, phosphorus, chlorine or lead. It is essential that detectors and alarm panels be checked and re-calibrated on a routine basis. 

Stand alone fire or gas detection and alarm panels are normally provided in the main control facility for the installation. Recent trends also incorporate the transmittal of fire and gas alarms through the DCS into the main process alarm real time control panel. When alarm panels are located within a protected building, they should be located for easy access for emergency response personnel and proximity to manual electrical power shut off facilities. 

Red a. Stop buttons or electrical switches used for emergency stopping of machines. b. Emergency stop handles or bars on machines. c. Hazardous operation indicating lights on control, alarm panels, or in the installation. d. Fire protection equipment and systems (e g., fire hydrants, monitors, reels, alarms, etc.). e. Portable flammable liquid containers. f. Stop condition. g. Identification of ESD isolation valves and actuators. 

The colors purple, brown, black, and gray have not been assigned a safety connotation. Specific color codes are also employed in the identification of alarms panel indicators, piping, compressed gas cylinders, electrical wiring, fire sprinkler temperature ratings, etc. Although these sometimes do not correspond with similar meanings. 

The fire alarm and detection control panel is the central point of the fire detection system. This panel should be capable of ... 

A main control and annunciator panel should be installed when the fire alarm system requires more than a single alarm zone. The panel should be installed in the control room or other continuously staffed location. Separate detection zones should be provided for each distinct fire area and identified by a permanent label. A detailed map of the area should also be provided at the annunciator that identifies which zone relates to which annunciator lamp. Systems with more than ten separate zones should be provided with an electric or electroniczone "mimic" panel showingthe location of all alarms on the graphic display of the platform. Basic arrangements of equipment and system design should be in accordance with NFPA 72. A locked main fire panel and control cabinet should be provided. 

At 1 14 p.m., the operator received a radio transmission from the PCC (Process Control Center) informing him that a "low" gas alarm had been received. Immediately, the operator was informed of two more gas alarms. Upon reaching the E l module, the operator noted the sound of gas escaping somewhere inside the production module. At approximately 1 22 p.m. he climbed the stairs to the E l control room and opened the door to check the fire and gas alarm panel which indicated a high gas atmosphere in the production modules. The operator then requested the Emergency Response Team be put on standby and went to inform three contract workers, in the area of the danger. 

Water, gas, electrical and drain lines are contained in chases which run vertically between floors on either side of the hall. Outside each laboratory there is a locked access panel in the chase, the key to which is kept in the laboratory. In an emergency any utilities to a single laboratory may be shut off from this chase. Of course, the building is equipped with the usual array of smoke and heat detectors and fire alarms. 

The B6580/81 automatic sprinkler system also sen/es the HCF. Standard spray automatic sprinklers are provided in occupied areas of the basement, including Rooms 100,104,105,106, 107, 111, 112,113,113Aand114. The HCF is equipped with an independent fire-alarm control panel, located against the south end of the west wall of Room 107 that monitors all areas of the HCF. Water that may be released during fires is captured and routed to holding tanks. This capture system is described in Section 2.9.5. Any sprinkler-water flow will activate the TA-V... 

Hazardous operating indication lights on controls, alarm panels, or in the installation Fire protection equipment and systems (e.g., fire extinguishers, hose reels, alarms, etc.) Stop condition Warning signs... 

A display panel should be installed for both electrical and automatic fire alarms which shows the location of the alarm that has been initiated. Weekly tests should be made of the fire alarm so that people become familiar with the sound and so that any faults in the system can be detected and corrected. The fire alarm installation must be inspected and maintained on a regular and routine basis and a record made of all tests and inspections. This record should also include details of any faults, repairs and replacements. Inspections of the system should be carried out quarterly by a competent person. In high fire risk areas, serious consideration should be given to installing an automatic link from the display panel to the local fire brigade. 

The appropriate fire safety signs should be used to indicate the location of fire-fighting equipment and fire alarm call points which should be on fire escape routes. If equipment and call points are located together they can be mounted on a panel to form a Fire Point. In crowded and irregular shaped work areas high level signs can make the location of fire exit routes and fire-fighting equipment easier to identify. 

Fire point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient flammable vapours to produce a sustainable flame when ignited. The fire point is normally a few degrees higher than the flash point. (Also refers to the panels on which fire alarms and extinguishers are mounted.)... 

Attending the fire alarm indicator panel at the time the alarm sounds... 

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