Fire alarm systems

AMD 1 Portable fire extinguishers. Provisions for the attestation of conformity of portable fire extinguishers m accordance with EN 3 Parts 1 to 5 (AMD 10494) dated September 1999. With BS EN 3-1 to 5 and BS 7863 1996, superseded BS 5423 1987 Eire detection and fire alarm systems. Introduction, supersedes BS 5445 Part 1 1977... 

Fire detection and fire alarm systems. Control and indicating equipment. With BS EN 54-4 1997, superseded BS 5839 Part 4 1998 which remains cuiTcnt... 

Wet or dry chemical fixed suppression systems are typically provided over the kitchen cooking appliances and in exhaust plenums and ducts. Activation means is afforded by fusible links located in the exhaust ducts/plenums usually rated at 232°C (450°F). Manual activation means should not be provided near the cooking area, but in the exit routes from the facility. The facility fire alarm should sound upon activation of the fixed suppression system and power or gas to the cooking appliances should be automatically shut off. The ventilation system should also be shut down by the activation of the fire alarm system. Protective caps should be provided on the suppression nozzles to prevent plugging from grease or cooking particulates. 

Fire detection/fire alarm systems consist of different types of fire detection devices and fire alarm systems. These systems may detect fire, heat, smoke, or a combination of any of these. For example, a typical fire alarm system might consist of heat sensors, which are located throughout a facility and which detect high temperatures or a... 

Remote manual starting is initiated from a remote point rather than from the fire alarm system or a pressure switch. The remote point should be at a constantly attended area. Pump running and trouble indicators should be provided at the remote start point. 

The type of fire alarm system should be chosen based on personnel resources available at the facility. For continuously staffed facilities, proprietary supervised systems are preferred. For facilities staffed less than continuously, remote supervised station or central station fire alarms system are usually considered. In these systems, alarms are monitored by an outside firm responsible for alerting appropriate personnel or by the local fire department. 

Emergency alarm system design and installation should be in accordance with NFPA 72. Electrical aspects of the fire alarm systems should be designed and installed in accordance with NEPA 70. When devices are located in hazardous areas, they should meet the electrical requirements suitable for that hazardous area. 

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. 

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. 

Class A and Class B laboratory units should have a manual fire alarm system installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code. The fire alarm system, where provided, should be designed so that all personnel endangered by the fire event should be alerted. The fire alarm system should also alarm to an attended location to alert emergency responders or the public fire department. 

There must be a master control valve or switch accessible to and within 15 feet of the instructor s station for emergency cut-off of all gas cocks, compressed air valves, water, or electrical services accessible to students. Valves must completely shut-off with a one-quarter turn. This master control is in addition to the regular main gas supply cut-off, and the main supply cut-off must be shut down upon activation of the fire alarm system. 

Wires and cables used for fire-alarm systems and smoke alarms must comply with the above and one of the following ... 

Chapter 7 is the chapter dealing with Special Conditions and it addresses most of the cables with highly improved fire performance. Thus, Articles 725 (Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 Remote-Control, Signaling, and Power-Limited Circuits), 760 (Fire Alarm Systems), and 770 (Optical Fiber Cables and Raceways) all use the same two schemes for fire performance of cables, as shown in Figures 21.4 and 21.5. The figures show that the best is NFPA 262,65 a cable fire test for flame spread and smoke, conducted in a modified Steiner tunnel (86 kW or 294,000 BTU/h), for which the requirements in the NEC are that the maximum peak optical density should not exceed 0.5, the maximum average optical density should not exceed 0.15, and the maximum allowable flame travel distance should not exceed 1.52m (5 ft). The next test, in the order of decreasing severity is UL 1666,64 known... 

Carbon monoxide is highly toxic because it has a higher affinity for hemoglobin than does oxygen. CO sensors are therefore of utmost importance for combustion control, fire-alarm systems, and detection of hazardous concentrations of the gas in private and industrial facilities such as tunnels, coal mines, and underground garages. The sensors in current use, in which CO is anodically oxidized or adsorbed onto coated piezoelectrodes, are relatively nonspecific, since H2S, N2O, and NO2 interfere. 

NFPA 72 consolidates the ten fire safety standards into one document The code covers installation, maintenance, and use of fire alarm systems. 

The various types of fire alarm systems can include those that are local, proprietary, or those connected to a remote or central station. 

A local fire alarm system is installed within the building it protects. The alarm signals are not transmitted to a remote location. These systems usually have bells, horns and strobe lights to notify the occupants. The fire department is dependent upon the occupants for notification of a fire. 

A proprietary fire alarm system can protect one or more buildings under one ownership. The fire alarm systems are monitored 24 hours a day at a central monitoring location which comes under the same ownership as the building(s) being protected. The central monitoring station... 

Remote and central station fire alarm systems are those monitored by a local government agency or private alarm company respectively. 

Employees should be instructed and drilled on when and how to evacuate and where to assemble after leaving the warehouse. An evacuation plan should include a person or persons assigned to ensure that all employees have vacated the warehouse and have been accounted for. Employee notification that an emergency condition exists could be done through the use of a public address system or the warehouse fire alarm system. 

Fire Evacuation Drills - All building occupants must be familiar with what they should do during an evacuation. The most effective method of familiarizing them is to hold a fire drill at least annually. Holding a fire drill has other advantages, as well. It will provide you with an opportunity to evaluate your notification and evacuation procedures, and it will give you an opportunity to test your fire alarm system and make occupants aware of the sound. 

Fire alarm system in a combustion test facility. 

Provide safety and alarm devices, such as fire-alarm systems, combustible-vapor detectors, flame arresters, pressure-relief venting of equipment, flame-failure controls for oil- and gas-fired equipment. 

NFPA 45, 4.1-4.6 4.3.3 All laboratory units shall be provided with fire protection appropriate to the fire hazard, including automatic fire extinguishing systems, standpipe and hose systems, portable fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems, fire prevention programs, and emergency plans. 

Only in exceptionally hazardous locations can an automatic fire alarm system be justified, but a manual system with break-glass buttons would be appropriate for all but the smallest installations and, since solvent fires can spread very rapidly, the manual system should be connected directly to the fire station. Standing orders should make it obligatory for the fire brigade to be called as soon as all but the most trivial fire is found in the solvent area. 

The philosophy of fire protection is based fundamentally on the prevention of fire by choice of materials and by minimization of inventory of incendiary material. Once a fire occurs (going on in the scenario), the second measure is to prevent the spread of fire by the design of fire sectors and the use of fire-resistant barriers. Thirdly, one has to detect the fire, usually by means of a fire alarm system. Finally, no doubt, one needs organization, staff, and equipment for fire extinguishing by installed and mobile means. 

A number of relatively small power-accumulator systems are included as parts of the equipment to which they provide power. Equipment having these systems includes the automatic dial and conference telephone system, the security and fire-alarm system, radio installations, and engine-starting systems. 

The initial training should be an introduction to basic hazards and plant procedures. Topics such as the flammable, toxic and corrosive properties of chemicals, use of personal protective equipment, fire alarm systems and works safety procedures should be discussed. 

Certain equipment and operational items common to the entire organization (e.g., fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, deluge showers, eyewash stations, and fire alarm systems) and maintenance of these items should be just as much an institutional responsibility as provision of utilities. 

The laboratory shall be equipped with a fire alarm system coimected so as to sound throughout the building (and in a central facility maimed 24 hours per day), an appropriate fire suppression sy stem, and be provided with one or more class 12 BC, or larger, fire extinguishers, or class D units... 

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