Where to start when choosing
a commercial fire alarm system
Did you know that 11,916 commercial and public buildings in the UK suffered serious fires between April 2020 and March 2021?
Thankfully, fire-related fatalities in the workplace are extremely rare; but the emotional and financial impacts of a fire at your company premises (where the average loss can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds) can be devastating for your business.
That’s why it’s so important to ensure the fire detection and warning system you’ve selected for your business is definitely up for the job.
We’ve collected a few tips on where to start when choosing an alarm system; but first, let’s answer a few common questions on fire safety…
Are fire alarms a legal requirement for businesses?
The law demands that all business premises must have an ‘appropriate fire detection system’ that will warn the building’s occupants in the case of a fire.
In other words, fire alarms aren’t strictly required; but unless you fancy jury-rigging your own custom detection system, a fire alarm system is really the most straightforward way to ensure your legal compliance.
What’s the difference between a fire alarm and a fire alarm system?
A fire alarm is an actual unit which detects a fire via sensors; otherwise known as an automatic fire detector or AFD.
As soon as it detects a fire, the alarm unit activates a bell or siren (known as a sounder) to warn the building’s occupants. (For commercial fire alarms, this sounder is usually a separate unit; as opposed to domestic alarms which combine the detector and siren in one small unit.)
A fire alarm system provides fire detection and warning coverage across an entire building or complex. It usually consists of multiple fire alarms and sounders, as well as manual call points, control panels, power supplies, and possibly other components such as sprinklers and CCTV.
Who’s responsible for ensuring my business has a fire alarm system?
This might be:
- You, the employer
- The landlord, owner or manager of your company premises
- A third-party risk assessor
A single commercial property might have multiple responsible persons; in which case they’ll need to coordinate with each other.
If you’re the sole occupier of your business premises, it’s typically the employer’s responsibility to install and maintain the fire alarm system. If you share your premises with other businesses, it’s often up to the landlord to take care of the fire alarm system.
If in doubt, take a look at your company’s tenancy agreement – or ask your landlord directly.
What type of fire alarm system does my business need?
This depends on a number of factors; including the size of your premises, the number of occupants, the kinds of fire risks that might be present there and your budget.
You should always start by carrying out a fire risk assessment, to identify potential fire risks and select the right fire detection and alarm system for your particular building. For large commercial premises, it’s wise to delegate the assessment work to a qualified fire safety assessor.
At the most basic level, commercial fire alarm systems are available in two types; conventional and addressable. While we’re here, we’ll also talk about wireless systems.
What is a conventional fire alarm system?
Conventional systems are wired as individual ‘zones’ in your building (such as individual floors and stairwells, for example). Each zone might contain several different detectors and call points.
If a fire is detected, the system’s control panel can tell you which zone activated the alarm; so the firefighting authorities can enter that zone to locate and tackle the fire.
Conventional systems are cost-effective to buy but expensive and time-consuming to install.
That’s because each zone has a separate alarm circuit, and each circuit is wired up individually to the control panel; which means a lot more cables.
This also makes them less flexible if you need to modify or scale up your system at a later date, and more prone to reliability issues as a single damaged cable can prevent a zone circuit’s signals from reaching the control panel.
And while zone alerts are useful, they don’t tell you exactly where the fire is located; only that the fire is somewhere within that zone.
What is an addressable fire alarm system?
Addressable systems (also known as intelligent alarm systems) are wired together in one big loop across your building, and each component has its own individual ‘address’.
If a fire is detected, the control panel will tell you which detector or call point was activated; so it’s much easier to pinpoint the location of the fire. In fact, most addressable systems can be programmed so that the name of the room itself will be displayed on the control panel.
Addressable systems require far less wiring, so they’re quicker and cheaper to install. Unfortunately, they’re also more expensive to buy since the technology is more advanced.
You might assume that a single loop would be less reliable. In fact, addressable systems are actually more reliable because both ends of the loop connects up to the control panel.
If one end of the loop is damaged, the signals can still reach the control panel via the other end of the loop.
What is a wireless fire alarm system?
Just like the wireless intruder alarms we discussed in our previous blog, wireless fire alarm systems are… well, wireless.
Each detector and call point is powered via batteries, and they communicate to the control panel via radio signals.
Wireless systems are generally addressable; though it’s possible to retrofit a conventional alarm system with wireless components.
Modern wireless alarm systems are very flexible, very reliable – the system will warn you if any batteries need to be replaced – and very quick and cost-effective to install.
However, they’re not cheap to buy; and the costs of replacing batteries can quickly add up across an entire commercial building or complex.
Talk to a fire risk assessor
These are just the basic types of commercial fire alarm systems.
There are also different categories of alarm systems (which describe the level of fire detection coverage across a site) and different grades (which describe the alarm’s level of technology).
Look out for a follow-up article on these soon; but ultimately, the right alarm type, category and grade will be different for every business.
Again, a fire risk assessment is the only way to identify which system your commercial premises needs; and a qualified fire risk assessor is often the best person to carry out the assessment.
And when you’ve selected the right alarm system specifications for your building, you can rely on JC Electrical UK’s experienced contractors for a complete supply and installation.
Find out more about our fire alarm installation services here or call us on 0208 839 9561 today.
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