- Manufacturer: Advanced
AlarmCalm has the solution for common false alarm problems. Fire alarm risks vary based on the type of building and building use. Different false alarm strategies can be put in place depending, for instance, on the length of time that a building, or area of a building, is occupied. Here are some common scenarios.
Apartment blocks
Problem
Steam from showers, smoke from cooking and call point misuse can lead to unnecessary evacuations –annoying residents and deterring
prospective tenants.
Solution
If someone in a flat creates cooking smoke,their verification sounder will activate. If they have an AlarmCalm button installed,they can press it to silence the sounder, extend the verification time and give the smoke chance to clear. During verification, if no other device activates and the smoke dissipates, the system will return to normal, avoiding unnecessary evacuation of other residents. If the problem becomes more serious and smoke persists beyond the verification time, a second device activates or the heat element of a multisensor is triggered, this will verify the alarm and the building or apartment can be evacuated.
Supermarket bakery
Problem
Repeated false activations can be caused by heat, steam and smoke from in-store bakery ovens. When the problem persists, staff sometimes turn off their whole fire system in frustration – with serious potential consequences.
Solution
If smoke from the oven activates a multisensor, a configurable internal timer can be programmed to begin (in line with EN54 Part 2 Section 7.12 – Dependencies on more than one alarm signal) and a verifying message display on the fire panel. The output devices (sounders) will be held off for the period of the timer, or the delay period can be extended further (using the AlarmCalm acknowledgement module) to investigate the root cause. If the smoke clears and no heat is detected, the system will return to normal, avoiding unnecessary evacuation.
Manufacturing plants –shop floor
Problem
High temperatures, dust and chemicals can all increase the chance of unwanted alarms and unnecessary evacuations in manufacturing plants, causing production downtime and potential loss of business. On a shop floor, steam or smoke can occur around the clock.
Solution
Setting up an investigation delay time means that activation of a detector will register on the fire panel and display a fire event with the countdown timer counting down to 0. If no other detector is activated during the
countdown, the system will go into alarm. However, if the alarm is acknowledged, the investigation period can be extended. Operation of a second device within the same area would indicate that the fire has spread. This
will cancel the investigation, set the system in full alarm and trigger a full evacuation.
This meets the requirements of Section 7.11 options with requirements/delay to outputs. Manual call points by default will override the timer delay, but can also be configured to start the investigation. The maximum delay for both stage 1 and stage 2 timers must not exceed 10 minutes.