A commercial fire alarm system is crucial to saving lives when tragedy strikes or accidents happen. With a system in place, you and your employees are alerted immediately when a fire or smoke is detected, so everyone has an early warning and a chance to reach safety. The main benefit of a commercial fire alarm system is the early warning advantage; however, they are also cost effective for your smoke and fire protection. Even though these systems are necessary and beneficial to have installed, you don’t need to understand their design, but you should have a fundamental idea of their configuration.

Why it’s important to understand your commercial fire alarm system’s fundamental configuration

A commercial fire alarm system installed in your building is connected to a remote monitoring station, so help is called immediately. You are aware of the danger right away and are able to evacuate your premises quickly before the fire spreads. The system will also ensure medical help is notified in case of emergency and notify the fire department, so they are able to reach your business and hopefully reduce your loss. These systems are life-savers, and you should be aware of their fundamental operation in case you need to perform emergency work.

Basics to understand for your commercial fire alarm system

The basics for you to learn include knowing how to disarm the control panel, troubleshoot the horns and pull stations so your system goes back online as quickly as possible. Problems with these areas can occur, and you want to understand how to restore them, so fire protection is back in place right away.

How detection occurs

The commercial fire alarm system works through a control panel that connects devices such as your smoke detector and heat detector. The panel’s function is to notify of impending danger posed by a fire and to create an alarm. There are different types of systems with elements varying on how they work together. Understanding those systems will help you understand their fundamental operation.

Conventional systems

The Conventional System only has two states, alarm and normal. This method is able to provide information to the necessary personnel alerting them to the fire’s location and what type of device started the fire.

Intelligent systems

An Intelligent System has the alerting devices using a two-way communication method to send messages to the control panel and provides more detailed information than the conventional method. Not only does it provide exact location and device responsible, but it can also determine the sensitivity of the detector and if it’s dirty.

Other systems

There are other systems available that do not rely on software and some that use microprocessors to control the outputs of the system including notification appliances.

Control panel

The control panel is the heart of the system. Understanding how the panel contains the power supplying your entire system and the circuits for the initiating devices will enable you to make sure your commercial fire alarm system is functioning properly and able to keep you protected.

You are not required to understand the fire alarm design or how to install a system, but fundamental information is needed to keep your system functioning properly. Learn the basics of your system before tragedy strikes and make sure you and your business stay protected.

Contact the professionals at 1st Alarm

The team at 1st Alarm understands that you will have many burning questions on your mind when it comes time to choose the right commercial fire alarm system to protect your property. We invite you to contact us to learn more about the alarms we recommend and the monitoring services we offer that can cover your business beneath a blanket of protection.

1st Alarm is one of the biggest and best security companies in the region that specializes in both residential and commercial alarm systems as well as commercial fire alarm systems. Serving Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland / Odessa, El Paso, Abilene and San Angelo, we pride ourselves on buying local and hiring local whenever possible. We are committed to offering high quality, professional service with the utmost level of integrity. 1st Alarm is the best commercial fire alarm system company in our region as well.  We have personnel trained and certified to meet your fire alarm system needs.  To learn more about how our commercial fire alarm systems may be a great fit for your company, Request a Quote online or give us a call at 800-276-5559.  You can even visit our office near you.