Fire detection guidance by NFire

Alert

In case of an emergency, it is extremely important to alert each and everyone concerned.

The smoke and heat detectors instantly detect the slightest whisk of smoke or temperature difference within fraction of seconds. MCPs and sirens are the best ways to give an alarm from a single point that could be heard throughout the building. It is very important to upgrade the fire warning system in places where the escape routes could be affected. The sound levels should be loud enough to alert everyone, taking into consideration the uncontrollably high background noise where people could be wearing hearing protectors or people with hearing disability (visual alarms or indications could be used). Voice alarms on the other hand are gaining popularity over recent years apart of the siren sound to alert people.

Planning escape routes

For quick evacuation, one needs to plan well. Determining all the routes for emergency escapes in a multi-zoned area in such a manner that no escape is farther than 45 meters. Before evacuation, detection is one of the most crucial steps. It is important to link the fire protection system to an emergency monitoring system for better protection.

Fire Alarms & Evacuation

The fire warning system should be accessible to alert all the possible areas in a building. In majority scenarios, the people who are closest to the fire are more at risk and when the alarm is activated, the ones closest to the evacuation routes would be evacuated first. This is called phased evacuation. Another way could be to send an initial alarm to those concerned or responsible to safely evacuate everyone (a trained staff). This requires a different ‘alert signal’ and ‘evacuate signal’.

Fire Detection

Automatic fire detection is important for many reasons. Some of them are as follows:

False Alarms

The initial minutes of the ignition are responsible for life safety. If the detection is done on real time, there will be no casualties or injuries. False alarms on detection are very misleading. Guidance on reducing false alarms has been published by ODPM/CFOA/BFPSA. If there are frequent false alarms, people are more likely to not respond correctly to a real warning. All false alarms must be investigated properly and necessary actions must be taken to prevent it. To help reducing the number of false alarms, the design of the system, time of detection, location of detection and activating the devices, all these things need to be reconsidered and reviewed.

Staged alarms

In majority of the cases, sounding a fire warning should trigger an immediate and total evacuation of the building. However, it is not necessary and alternative arrangements could be made for the same. These alternatives could be: Evacuate the people who are closest to where the alarm was activated. So, the alert will only be sent to the places where it becomes necessary. Another alternative could be to give an initial alert to certain staff, who then prearranges the evacuation process with ease. It requires a well-trained staff to be available all the time for any emergencies. Where staged alarms are being used, disabled people need to be alerted first as they can get maximum time to escape. Both these arrangements need fire warning systems that is capable of sending staged alarms, different for alert and evacuation

Testing and Maintenance

After installing a fire warning or detection system, it is very important to maintain and frequently test the systems. This will check if the control equipment is capable of receiving the signal and activating the warning alarms. Also, occasional mock drills of evacuation on alert of fire alarms. Timely servicing and frequent system tests should be prioritized. Guaranteed power supply or a backup power supply with upgradation to new technologies or adaptability to the future technology is essential.

NFire solution by ATIGO has been aiding several premises throughout the nation and continues to be a true trendsetter in fire safety. The NFire team identifies all the threats and plans a perfect solution for your premise. From identifying the unexpected emergencies to evolving your premise fire proof, NFire caters all your concerns. The solution is highly accurate and reliable. NFire also offers 24×7 live emergency monitoring service. NFire Solution is compatible with various environments as it is flexible for both residential and commercial premises. It conforms to US-NFPA-10th Edition Specifications and is certified with CE, ROHS and ISO 9001-2005