Fire Market Report: Emphasizing Fire Detection in the Home

[IMAGE]12113[/IMAGE]Deploying the Right Technology

Utilizing the right detection technology in every application encountered by a fire alarm company is paramount to timely, effective fire detection and the prevention of false and unwanted fire alarm signals. Nowhere is this more critical than in the selection and application of automatic smoke detectors.

One of the most common examples involves smoke detectors adjacent to kitchen areas, which can be a huge liability from a false alarm standpoint. This fact was addressed in a report by the Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario, Canada, on the two major smoke detector technologies in use today – ionization and photoelectric:

“Nuisance alarms in homes from typical cooking activities are affected by the properties of the aerosol produced and its concentration, the location of an alarm relative to the source, and the airflow that transports smoke to an alarm. You need to know that there are a variety of options available.” (Read the full report.)

What the fire marshal found is ionization-type automatic smoke detectors are capable of detecting a smaller smoke particulate more quickly than its photoelectric counterpart. This apparently suggests that ionization-type smoke detectors can detect flash, fast-burning fires more quickly than photoelectric-type smoke detectors.

“Ionization smoke detection is generally more responsive to flaming fires,” says the authors of a NFPA report titled Ionization vs. Photoelectric. “Photoelectric smoke detection is generally more responsive to fires that begin with a long period of smoldering (called smoldering fires).” (The full report is available at www.nfpa.org.)

It also was found that photoelectric smoke detectors will detect a larger smoke molecule than ionization sensors. This is more typical of home environments where slow-burning, low-energy fires are common.

Reducing False Fire Alarms

There are other false/unwanted alarm tools that fire professionals can use to combat this frequent problem. Alarm verification, while not new to the fire alarm industry, aids the home and business owner in minimizing the likelihood of false alarms.

Section 3.3.12, NFPA 72, 2010, defines alarm verification as, “A feature of automatic fire detection and alarm systems to reduce unwanted alarms wherein smoke detectors report alarm conditions for a minimum period of time, or confirm alarm conditions within a given time period after being reset, in order to be accepted as a valid alarm initiation signal.”

Another way to avoid false trips and unwanted fire alarms is to use multiple-criteria smoke detectors that have the ability to process common fire signatures and then determine whether there’s a fire in the building or home.

Section 3.3.59.12, NFPA 72, 2010, says a multisensor detector is one “that contains multiple sensors that separately respond to physical stimulus such as heat, smoke, or fire gases, or employs more than one sensor to sense the same stimulus. A device capable of generating multiple alarm signals from any one of the sensors employed in the design, independently or in combination. The sensor output signals are mathematically evaluated to determine when an alarm signal is warranted. The evaluation can be performed either at the detector or at the control unit. This device has listings for each sensing method employed.”

It is also important that security and fire/life-safety prof
essionals use the right heat detector for the various areas of a home. Temperature ratings are important because having the wrong heat sensor in place can cause the homeowner false alarms or even a delay in an alarm event.

For example, in high-traffic areas inside the home it’s common to use heat sensors rated for “ordinary” temperatures (135° to 174° F.) Attic spaces require heat sensors that carry a higher temperature rating, such as the “intermediate” range (175° to 249° F).

Not only are heat sensors grouped together in temperature ranges, but you can readily identify the rating of a specific unit by color code. For example, ordinary heat sensors usually are uncolored, whereas an intermediate range unit can be identified by the color white.

For a complete list of temperature classifications, refer to Table 17.6.2.1, NFPA 72, 2010 Edition (pages 72-90).

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