Fire Alarm Systems: Advances in fire alarms will help save lives and prevent business losses

Before fire alarms, smoke detectors were primarily the primary indicator to alert building occupants of a fire. Prior to that, just one person calling the fire department could have resulted in minimal loss of property and life. Today, fire alarm systems have become complicated networks. With more recent advances, fire alarms have improved diagnostics that only help in the reliability of the alarm system.

Although current smoke detectors and heads are more sensitive to fire and heat detection than 2005 systems, improvements are constantly being made from the development of addressable heads to touch screens or touch panels. These advances have given homeowners, monitoring agencies, and fire departments a greater ability to respond to true alarms rather than false alarms.

An addressable head is a recent development in fire detection and location. Before addressable heads, fire alarm panels would simply display the general location of the fire by identifying a generic zone. For small business owners with only a couple thousand feet of space this may be satisfactory, however for a larger space such as a storage facility, school, assisted living or hospital this may be literally a lifesaver.

There are several other components available for a commercial installation. Indicator devices, part of many fire alarm systems, help identify whether a building is occupied. Many times this particular feature would come in handy, especially in a school or assisted living facility. Electromagnetic door stays can be very effective in securing or isolating sections of a building, slowing the spread of a fire. The way an electromagnetic door holder works is when an alarm is activated, the electromagnetic contact that is holding the door open is deactivated, which in turn causes the door to close freely. Many alarm panels are available with touch panels or touch screens. By simplifying the user interface in this way, it enables companies to train their employees on the use and understanding of fire safety and alarm systems quickly and efficiently.

Every business or commercial institution could benefit from investing in a new fire alarm control system or upgrading the existing alarm system. At a minimum, an inspection should be performed annually. In many cases, particular industries, such as restaurants or food-related facilities, hospitals, and schools, are generally required by law to conduct inspections more frequently. Along with an inspection, fire suppression systems are also required to be inspected. Although the components and accessories of a fire suppression system may not have been activated, the parts wear under certain conditions and must be adjusted periodically.