Fire Services Check list!
Getting started
1. Placing a fire alarm panel (FAP)






In plan view (looking down) Locate a main fire entrance door Hard stand outside, preferably
into fire compartment / fire protected lobby etc.
Place the FAP in a highly visible place as close as possible inside but close to the defined fire
accessible door
N.B. the FAP this will need a dedicated spur fused (No switch) from the general services
supply.
Place an external strobe beacon outside this door to draw fire crew attention to that
entrance
Place a means of isolation to the building at that entrance (preferably) or at the very least at
the external door for the main switch room.
N.B. this will need a dedicated spur fused only from the general services supply.
2. Placing a repeater panel (if required)
Large buildings may require more than one fire entrance. A repeater panel should be accessible at
every defined fire entrance. Alternatively it can be the start of every zone (large buildings this could
be 1 per floor from the fire stairwell).
3. Select Define type of system

Select Cover type and be able to justify for the use within the building

Decide whether your FAP is conventional or addressable this makes a difference to how you
wire the circuit(s)
4. General rules for placing smoke detectors

Use correct detector for a given location. Watch out for places where there are smoke,
steam or large heat sources are present. Below is a simplified diagram.

Detectors need to be placed so as to provide adequate cover.

N.B. point source smoke detectors don’t work great over heights of 8m
5. Placing Manual call points (RED)






In straight forward buildings the maximum distance to inspect a zone is 30m. i.e. you can
never be more than 30m from a breakglass unit.
For complex buildings / through rooms / large rooms with multiple exits this value is halved
to 15m
In general all final exits should have a breakglass beside them (there are exceptions)
In general all changes in floor level exits should have a breakglass beside them (there are
exceptions)
Break glasses should be placed on exit routes within a building and clearly visible (red on a
yellow background etc.
A good place to always have a breakglass is in anywhere where there is a large heat / energy
source is present. Plant rooms / boiler rooms / commercial kitchens /distribution rooms /
transformer rooms / generator rooms.
6. Placing Sounders





Sounders should be so arranged so as to maintain the required dB level
65dB is the normal requirement but it depends on type of building and its use but more
importantly the level of noise in the building.
75dB where sleeping is present
Care must be taken to not install too many sounders 118dB maximum for anyones hearing
Sound attenuates (decreases) over distance and materials. 1 x 4 inch wall plus 8m is a
general rule of thumb for most 120dB sounders to reduce to 65dB.

Sounders should not be placed too close to FAP’s “The signals described above should not
be so loud as to interfere with voice communication to the fire services (see 6.5.3) or safe use
of the CIE controls (i.e. fire sounders should not be mounted too close to the CIE).” Strobe
and small internal alarm in the fire alarm panel is preferable here.
7.

Other units
N.B. any output units for interfacing must be done from a sounder circuit (or a dedicated I/O
unit in an addressable system) this means that all automatic door closers / all slam shuts for
fuel supplies / all lift controls / generator controls need to know when there is a fire alarm
activation. Either use a dedicated I/O or a sounder activated relay.
8. Wiring Considerations








Use an adequately rated cable FP120 means it is tested for 120 minutes etc
Never run cables along with other cable routes they should be separate.
Fire rated p clips and cable ties required to hold up cable.
Ring circuits forming loops of detectors or sounders shall employ a separate and distinct
route for the feed and return paths, i.e. four-core or multi-core cable shall not be employed
to carry both the feed and return cable cores.
Loop cables shall be dedicated to the purpose of providing interconnection of the loop
devices and additional cores shall not be included for any other purpose.
Sounder circuits should be overlapped and distributed evenly in the building e.g. if a sounder
circuit fails the second sounder circuit should provide effective alarm notification to all the
building.
Use line isolation units if not built into breakglasses a failure in the detection loop can then
be isolated and it does not effect the rest of the circuitry.
Gas/Fuel Services Check list!





In the same way that we detect fire we also need to detect gas by means of sniffers (gas
detectors)
They are only placed where there is gas using appliances in commercial buildings. E.g.
Kitchens / boiler houses / generator rooms.
They are also complimented with their own breakglass units coloured Yellow.
They are fed back to a gas detection panel that turns off the fuel supply at source via a slam
shut valve.
This system is not intended to work under fire compromised conditions. It must be
automatically turned off if the fire alarm operates via dedicated I/O or sounder relay
interface.