How to Choose the Right Fire Alarm

When it comes to your business’s safety, a fire alarm system is one of the best ways to ensure safety for your building, employees, and customers. Are you ready to replace your fire alarm system or purchase a new one? Surprisingly, choosing the right fire alarm for your building can be tricky. There are numerous fire alarms to choose from, all of which provide a similar level of protection, but operate slightly differently from one another.

If you live in New Jersey, Delaware, of Philadelphia and need fire alarm services, call Confires at 888-228-0917 today!

Types of Fire Alarms

Automatic vs. Manual Fire Alarms

Automatic fire alarms detect heat or smoke and, upon sensing them, trigger audio-visual devices to alert building occupants to the danger. Fire alarms with manual pull stations activate the same devices, but must be operated by a person. Manual pull stations come in a number of different designs and colors, offering a variety of cosmetic options while providing the same basic functionality.

Addressable Fire Alarms

Also called “intelligent systems”, addressable fire alarm systems allow every initiating device (pulls, detectors, etc.) to have its own address, making it easy to see which devices are working and which are failing. Addressable fire alarms tend to be more expensive, but in large buildings with multiple fire alarm devices, they can be invaluable time and labor savers.

Conventional Fire Alarms

Conventional fire alarm systems include a number of “zones” hardwired to a central control panel. They are less expensive than addressable systems, but can be perfect in small buildings with a limited number of devices. However, if a conventional fire alarm system is installed in a bigger building and one alarm fails, it can be much more time consuming to find the faulty device in the entire zone.

Hybrid Fire Alarms

Hybrid fire alarm systems combine the hardwired zone set up with addressable loops on a single control panel. The combination of technologies fits some settings better than either the conventional or the addressable alone.

Special Fire Alarm Considerations

ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all manual fire alarm devices are accessible to people with disabilities. This affects:

• The height of fire alarm pull stations and control panels. They have to be within reach of a person in a wheelchair.
• The amount of force necessary to operate the device. It must be possible for people of all abilities to use the system.
• The audio-visual elements of the fire alarm system. That way, the system can be effective for the blind or hearing impaired.

Install a Fire Alarm in Your NJ, DE, or Philadelphia Building

Confires has over 30 years of experience providing fire protection system services for businesses, organizations, government buildings, and restaurants in New Jersey, Delaware, and Philadelphia. Our fire alarm services include:

• Fire alarm installation
• Fire alarm inspection & testing

Make your building safer today by calling the fire protection professionals at Confires at 888-228-0917 today—or fill out a contact form.