One day, a fire alarm could save your life. They are the most important fire safety feature which every business owner must have in their facility as a matter of priority. In essence, fire alarm systems detect fires using smoke sensors or heat sensors and then sound an alarm to alert everyone inside a building of a possible fire. However, there are several things you need to know about fire alarms if you are to use them safely and successfully. This article will show you the basics.
Smoke And Heat Detectors
The simplest type of fire alarm are smoke and heat detectors. These can be optical smoke detectors or ionization detectors. Optical smoke detectors use a laser to detect smoke particles while ionization detectors can pick up charged smoke particles which disrupt the airflow between two electrodes, which triggers them. Both these types are common, even if you’re buying a fire alarm in Louisville, KY, you should be able to find one for your needs.
These fire alarms need to be placed carefully, far enough away from any machines that might stir up dust or smoke but close enough around your facility to detect actual fires.
Heat detectors are another simple type of fire alarm. These work by detecting a rise in temperature or a fixed temperature. If the temperature rises really quickly, that potentially indicates a dangerous situation even if there is no fire. That is enough to trigger some types of heat detectors. Other types will only trigger if the detect a certain temperature. These types can be used in the kitchen because they won’t be affected by smoke, but rather the overall temperature of a room.
Where To Place Detectors
Where you place fire alarms and detectors is crucial. There should be one at least on every storey of a building. Remember that smoke detectors have a range of 7.5m radius while heat detectors tend to have a range of 5.3m. Keep this in mind when installing detectors so that you cover the full range of your house or building.
Installing detectors in hallways is also a good idea because if one alarm goes off, then several rooms can be alerted.
Fire Alarm Maintenance
You should test your fire alarm. Test the battery simply by pushing the test button, at least once a week. You should also test the smoke detectors by holding a flame underneath them. This should be done every month.
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