In principle, we must be well aware that this system is one of the most important systems that must be taken into account in any facility or building, because of its great importance in Securing people’s lives, and we will learn later in detail how fire alarm system do this.

Before we get to know the fire alarm system and its role, we must first know what a fire is and how it arises

The definition of fire is simply an oxidation process between oxygen O2 and a flammable substance in the presence of heat and we can represent it by the fire triangle as shown in the following figure

What is a fire alarm system and what is its role

Simply put, it is a system that we install it inside buildings to perform the following operations in the event of a fire

1- Early detection of fire and its location inside the building, which is a very important point, as the designer of this system must be take in his consideration the early and rapid detection of the presence of a fire …

Sometimes we find that a fire occurred inside a specific building, and the fire alarm system did not detect the fire until After the fire aggravated inside the building, and this is a result of the wrong design of this system, and we will learn later about how to design this system correctly.

2- Alerting people those present in the place of the presence of a fire inside the building through audio and visual bells, which we will learn about later…

This process is one of the important operations, so the system must warn all people those present in the building of the existence of a fire… One of the problems that I experienced myself also in some buildings I found that the design of the bells was not done properly, and that in the event of a fire occurring and it was detected by the fire alarm system, the sirens do not perform their required role and their sound does not reach all those present in the place, and this is a big mistake, so what is the benefit of having an alarm system if … it must The sounds of bells are very appropriate to warn all people those present in the building, and this also we will learn about later through the principles of designing bells.

important fire alarm role

3- Fire alarm system should Carrying out some operations in the building to ensure the safety of people leaving the building in the event of a fire… This is one of the pivotal roles… Imagine with me that there is already a case of fire that occurred inside a building and the fire alarm system detected the fire and the sirens played their role, but There is no safe escape plan for the people in from the building… What will happen??? Of course, great randomness, jostling between people, and suffocation in some cases, which will cause the loss of many lives… But what is the role of the fire alarm system at this stage… It has a very big role….

Main roles of fire alarm System

As we previously agreed that as soon as a fire occurs and is detected, the system sounds alarms inside the building to warn people those present to evacuate immediately and at the same moment, and by linking the fire alarm system to some other systems inside the building (we will learn about them later) The system performs some operations, which are:

• Controlling the elevator inside the building, where it will give it an order to go down to the ground floor and open its doors
• Operating smoke exhaust fans on the escape stairs to remove any smoke resulting from the fire and not to suffocate the people present in the place.

• Opening all the access control doors to allow a quick escape from them.
• Contacting the fire department, police, and security located in the place and any number registered therein. (through a unit called autodailer)
• Launching warning messages and evacuation messages through the internal Public address system automatically.
• Turning off some electrical panels and pumps, in order to prevent the fire from worsening if the fire reaches these rooms that contain pumps or panels.

And I will explain later about

how to link in detail between the fire alarm system and other systems in the building.

After we discuss the important roles of the fire alarm system inside buildings, let me now explain to you what are the components of this system in general.

Components of a fire alarm system

This system consists of

1- Inputs or fire detectors of various types (heat – smoke – flame) and there is another type that people the fire operate manually called manual call point or manual break glass.

2- Outputs or bells, i can divide into audio, audio-visual, or visual bells only

3- I/O modules for linking and controlling other systems.

4- The FACP main control unit and its ancillary units.

5- Accessories and peripherals for the system such as batteries, autodailer and printer.

6- The network of cables and pipes for the system.

The picture shows most of the components of the system, which i will explain in detail in separate topics

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