Douglas Krantz - Technical Writer - Describing How It Works
What's the Difference Between Class A and Class B? -- The Fire Alarm System is a Life Safety System - so the occupants of a building can escape quickly, the idea behind a Fire Alarm System is that it will provide a warning that there is a fire. The trouble is, if something is wrong with the system, like a wire is broken somewhere in the building, the Fire Alarm System... Read More

What's the Difference Between Class A and Class B? -- The Fire Alarm System is a Life Safety System - so the occupants of a building can escape quickly, the idea behind a Fire Alarm System is that it will provide a warning that there is a fire. The trouble is, if something is wrong with the system, like a wire is broken somewhere in the building, the Fire Alarm System... Read More

What is the Difference Between Class A and Class B NAC Circuits? -- The short explanation is that coming into the panel for Class A, there are a total of 4 wires, and for Class B, there are a total of 2 wires. However, to understand that short explanation, one needs to know the difference between Class B and Class A from a life-safety point of view. Electricity has to get to the horns and strobes in order for the horns and strobes to warn people of a fire. For electricity to flow, however, the electrons require a complete electrical path. Electrons cannot flow through a wire, unless there is somewhere to go...Read More

How Does Class A Fire Alarm Wiring Work?-- Fire alarm systems save lives and protect property. Fire alarm systems also break down because... Read More

What Makes the End of Line Resistor So Important? -- To allow the panel's internal ohmmeter to check the continuity of the wires (supervise the wires), the end-of-line resistor is at the end of the loop: the last device.Read More

What Is a Conventional Notification Appliance Circuit or NAC?-- NAC is the acronym for Notification Appliance Circuit. Notification: Tells people of a Fire or other Life... Read More

What is a Stair Pressurization Fan (SPF)? -- In case of fire in a high rise building, an SPF uses clean outside air to pressurize the air in stairwells. The pressurized air helps people escape... Read More

How are the IDC, the NAC, and the SLC Supervised? -- The intent of supervising a fire alarm system was never to just turn on a light and a buzzer - the intent of supervising a fire alarm system is to keep the fire alarm system working to detect fires, and, by sounding the alarm, to warn people. If it wasn't important to always be able to detect fires and warn people, there would be no need for supervision...Read More

What are those Lights and Buttons on the Fire Alarm System For? -- You're now in charge of the building, be it an apartment building, office building, business complex, or industrial complex and now you have to deal... Read More

What is Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC) Supervision? -- In the Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC), conventional fire horns, bells, strobes, chimes, and speakers, all have the... Read More

Are Smoke Detectors Needed Above False Ceilings? -- Occupancy, and the type of fire alarm system that should be installed, is determined by the NFPA 101 or the International Building Code. These books show that one type of occupancy, for instance a gas or petrol station, requires a totally different type of fire alarm system than an apartment building. The books also indicate that for some types of occupancy, total coverage by smoke detectors is required, and pull stations are required at all exits... except if the building has total coverage by a... Read More

What do Alarm Output Modules do on the SLC? -- The Signaling Line Circuit -SLC- for the building wiring for a fire alarm system is the communication and power circuit that is connected between the fire alarm panel and the Addressable Input Modules -AIM- and devices, and the Addressable Output Modules -AOM-...Read More

What is a Booster Power Supply or Signal Power Expander? -- A fire alarm system consists of input devices to detect a fire (automatic detectors and manual pull stations), output devices to notify occupants of... Read More

How are Addressable Speaker NACs Supervised? -- One method to supervise the wiring is to use an -end of line device-. There has to be constant or regular intermittent audio sent down the line in order to sense that audio is getting to the end of the line. If not, a trouble is sent to the panel. Another method to supervise the wiring is to put this same end of line device...Read More

What are those Lights and Buttons on the Fire Alarm System For? -- You're now in charge of the building, be it an apartment building, office building, business complex, or industrial complex and now you have to deal... Read More

Are Smoke Detectors Needed Above False Ceilings? -- Occupancy, and the type of fire alarm system that should be installed, is determined by the NFPA 101 or the International Building Code. These books show that one type of occupancy, for instance a gas or petrol station, requires a totally different type of fire alarm system than an apartment building. The books also indicate that for some types of occupancy, total coverage by smoke detectors is required, and pull stations are required at all exits... except if the building has total coverage by a... Read More

What is a Four Wire Smoke Detector? -- A 4-wire smoke detector is just like a 2-wire smoke detector, except that it receives its power from an auxiliary power supply rather than the conventional Initiating Device Circuit. Both the 4-wire and the 2-wire smoke detector sense particles in the air and call the particles smoke... Read More

What is a Firefighter's Telephone System? -- In a large building, so they can talk to each other while battling fires, firefighters use their two-way radios. But when the radios just don't work, the firefighter's... Read More

How do You Program Fire Alarm Systems? -- To start with, all models of fire alarm system are programmed differently. I don't know of a single source of information that will cover all of them. Mostly the programming manuals for each model has to be consulted. The software is usually user friendly and self-explanatory... Read More

Are We Required to Use Conduit for All Fire Alarms? -- Starting out with the NFPA 70 Code, most of the wiring requirements for conduit are with Class III wiring. With Class III wiring, being power limited wiring, it's allowed to be the rules shown in NFPA 70, which is the National Electrical Code, and also in the NFPA 72, which is specifically fire alarm systems...Read More

How do You Calculate Charging Current? -- Whenever the batteries are discharged, however, the NFPA Code essentially says that within 48 hours, the power supply that they are in has to fully charge the batteries. Read More

What is the Interfacing Equipment in a Fire Alarm System? -- Much of the interface equipment is installed by others, like the elevators, the sprinkler system, the kitchen's range hood suppression and gas shunt, the HVAC air handlers and smoke dampers, etc. It isn't directly installed, maintained, or serviced by the fire alarm company, but the bottom line is that someone has to take some responsibility for the entire Fire Detection and Alarm System...Read More

Should the HVAC System be Shut Down on Alarm? -- The idea behind the fire alarm system shutting down the HAVC in case of fire is that the fire alarm shutting-down the fans will save lives. When a fire is detected, rather than allowing the whole building to fill smoke, the fire alarm system closes the fire doors, closes the fire dampers in the ductwork, and shuts down the air circulating fans...Read More

What do You Think About Double Tie-Wrapping Fire Alarm Cables? -- Your idea of using one tie-wrap to secure the fire alarm cable itself, and another tie-wrap to secure the first tie-wrap to the building is a good one. When looking at it closely, that method provides two layers of hard plastic insulation -two tie-wraps- between the power limited cable and the building structure...Read More

How do I Connect the Fire Alarm System to an Outside Building? -- Before connecting anything to the current building's circuits, you need to obtain an Installation Manual for the current fire alarm system. Obtain from the web an Installation Manual for the fire alarm system. This is your reference. All models of all fire alarm systems are...Read More

Are they Telephone Wires or Data Wires? -- To answer your question, the copper wires are telephone wires. The wires are part of a Class C pathway...Read More

Can I T-Tap a Class A Circuit? -- Addressable Class A circuits cannot have signal path T-taps. Class A circuits provide an alternate signal pathway. It's the alternate route to all the devices that upgrades the SLC circuit from a Class B circuit to a Class A circuit...Read More

Can I Use Conventional Initiation Devices with Class A Circuits? -- With a conventional building circuit, the difference between a Class B building circuit and a Class A building circuit is the location of the end of line resistor. If the resistor is somewhere else than the fire alarm panel, it's a Class B building circuit -- if the resistor is in the circuitry of the fire alarm panel, it's a Class A building circuit...Read More

Why do the Strobes Continue to Flash after Silencing the Panel? -- Sometimes, leaving the strobes on while the horns are silenced is one of the differences in fire alarm systems... Read More

Why do we Need an EOL Resistor in an Addressable System? -- Even though the wires are short when wiring in a waterflow switch, there are still connections that need to be monitored -supervised- by the panel. The end of line resistor makes sure the wires don't come loose from the connections...Read More

Can I Trip one NAC Panel Using Another NAC PS? -- If it's the output of the SNAC panel that is being used to trigger another SNAC panel, the first SNAC panel cannot already send out a synchronized power signal. If it does, the second panel might actually work, the second panel might not work reliably, or the second panel might not work at all...Read More

Even when the Batteries Fail, should the NAC Circuits Still All Work? -- What you have noticed in the NFPA Code appears to address a very important issue--- the issue is that in some fire alarm systems, the primary power supply isn't adequate. Apparently, when there was a real fire, some occupants of a building weren't notified because the batteries failed...Read More

Even when the Batteries Fail, should the NAC Circuits Still All Work? -- What you have noticed in the NFPA Code appears to address a very important issue--- the issue is that in some fire alarm systems, the primary power supply isn't adequate. Apparently, when there was a real fire, some occupants of a building weren't notified because the batteries failed...Read More

How do I Set Up a Fire Alarm System? -- A fire alarm system is a Detect Fire and Alarm System. It detects that there's a fire, and warns people of the fire. The reason that fire alarm systems even exist in the first place is to prevent people from dying fires, and prevent buildings from burning down because of fires...Read More

Is There a Single Type of Ground Fault Tester? -- There isn't a single test tool or test instrument that can be used to find all ground faults because there isn't a single type of ground fault. Ground faults can be categorized three ways - Hard Ground Fault, Soft Ground Fault, Induced Ground Fault...Read More

I Need an Electromagnetic Release System to Close a Fire-Door -- A fire-door also contains smoke so it doesn't travel from one part of a building to another part. Smoke progresses much faster than fire does. Smoke inside any building is also poisonous. Just a few breaths of the smoke can easily disable a person, and if that person isn't helped really soon, that person can easily die...Read More

Can One NAC Power Supply Trigger Another NAC Power Supply? -- Use the diagrams supplied in the Installation Manuals that come with the SNAC, and the Installation Sheets that come with the Addressable Module. Make sure that the word -Installation- is in the title of the manual or sheet...Read More

What do You Think About Double Tie-Wrapping Fire Alarm Cables? -- Your idea of using one tie-wrap to secure the fire alarm cable itself, and another tie-wrap to secure the first tie-wrap to the building is a good one. When looking at it closely, that method provides two layers of hard plastic insulation -two tie-wraps- between the power limited cable and the building structure...Read More

Can I Connect the End of Line Resistor Inside the Panel? -- The only place to connect end-of-line resistor is at the end of the building's circuit...Read More

How do I Use Class A to Connect the O2 Sensor? -- A Class A path system will include a redundant signal path - If the path is interrupted, the system feeds both ends of the paths so there are now two paths; the original outgoing path which is now cut shorter, and the return path which is now being used as an outgoing path...Read More

Can I T-tap Using Junction Boxes? -- If the manufacturer allows T-tapping, then for technical purposes, T-tapping will function correctly. To find out if the manufacturer allows T-tapping, you will have to look up the wiring diagrams in the manufacturer's installation sheets and installation manuals. These are the methods that have been tested and listed...Read More

Can I Perform a Capacitive Reactance Test of the SLC? -- The maximum capacitance value was designed into the fire alarm system by the engineers at the manufacturer. The engineers have made sure the system will work as long as the capacitance of the wires on the SLC is lower than...Read More

How do you Program a Fire Alarm Panel? -- When starting to work on fire alarm systems, read and follow the installation instructions that come with the panel and with each device. The diagrams show exactly how the system was tested to work, any other way...Read More

Is Class A Required if the System is Addressable? -- When trying to understand why Class A or Class B is used, and before getting into how the fire alarm engineers design a system, first is a brief explanation of the overall design of a fire alarm system...Read More

Why does a Fuse Blow when the Batteries are Backward Wired? -- Because the charger and the batteries are wired in series, the battery charger pushes the current, and the batteries also push the current. Since both the charger and the batteries are wired in series, the voltages add up, and there's...Read More

Will a Signaling Device Work if It is Wired Backward? -- A Signaling Device in this context is engineering-speak for a fire alarm device that is used to Signal the occupants that a fire has been detected. The most common devices would be horns and strobes. Included in the signaling device category would be...Read More

Can I Capture the Elevator Using Another Building's System? -- The elevators are captured by the smoke detectors in the elevator lobbies, the elevator machine room, and sometimes even the hoistways. No other fire alarm device in the building can be used for the capture of the elevators...Read More

What are Different Types of Relays? -- Just like a light switch on the wall, all a relay does is connect two wires together, or disconnect the two wires. The wires are connected to the contacts, and the coil is an electromagnet. The electromagnet moves the common contact from the normally closed contact to the normally open contact...Read More

Why Design 25-Volt Systems when There's 70-Volt Systems? -- 25-Volt systems use almost three times the current to carry the same power of 70-Volt systems. Compared to 70-Volt systems, 25-Volt systems have to use larger wires, and won't go as great of a distance before loosing too much power into the wires...Read More

Can We Change from 25-Volt Audio to 70-Volt Audio? -- We have installed many systems in High Rise buildings using 25-volt wiring and field selectable speakers and speaker strobes. We have a job where distances would dictate using 70 volts. The speakers and amps are field selectable for either 25 or 70 Volts...Read More

What is the Proper Method of Wiring an RJ-31X Jack? -- An RJ-31X phone jack is based on the POTS telephone system. POTS stands for -plain Old Telephone System-. This is the two-wire telephone system that has been in use for nearly a century...Read More

What Size Wire Should be Used in a NAC Circuit? -- It's not the wire size that's important - it's getting enough power to all the horn or strobe devices that's important. The biggest problem, though, is even though the thinnest wire in a cable is...Read More

What does Power Limited Mean? -- Power limited means that the maximum possible voltage is low enough that it won't electrocute anyone, and the maximum possible current is low enough that even when the wires shorted, they won't heat up and burn down buildings...Read More

When is Class A or Class X Required? -- The NFPA specifies that the fire marshal, the electrical inspector, the insurance representative, and even the building owner can require more than the NFPA requires. Whereas the NFPA and IBC are, in reality...Read More

Do the Heat Detectors Need to be Interlocked to Elevator Shunt? -- Yes, if there're sprinkler heads in the elevator shaft or in the elevator machine room, there has to be heat detectors interlocked to turn off the Shunt-Trip Circuit Breaker...Read More

Why do We Map an EST3? -- A map is created by fire alarm system each time a detector is removed or replaced, or when the system is first installed. A map isn't a blueprint of the building, it is an electrical map showing the location along the wires of the loop for each detector and module. The wires...Read More

What is a Riser Diagram? -- Whoever is asking for the wiring details for the NAC and SLC circuits is looking for the Riser Diagram, and looking for the worksheets. It's a confidence thing. If the Riser Diagram and the worksheets are filled out correctly, there is confidence that the system is designed correctly, and probably will work. Providing this paperwork for others will help you as you figure out what needs to be done...Read More

How do You Wire a Four Wire Smoke Detection System? -- Whether it's a two-wire smoke detector circuit, or a four-wire smoke detector circuit, the panels and their input zones are the same. What makes a four-wire circuit different from the common two-wire circuit is the addition of a second Power circuit added to the zone input circuit...Read More

Is There a Detailed Description of the SLC? -- One of the major concerns is the ability of a device to send signals to the panel and receive signals from the panel. If a wire comes loose from a connection, if a fiber optic cable breaks, if a radio transmitter or radio receiver fails, the pathway is broken... Read More

Is There a Detailed Description of the SLC? -- A Signaling Line Circuit (SLC) is more of a concept than a specific wiring method / power source / signal protocol. Each manufacturer uses different methods for their circuits. Some manufacturers have used...Read More

How is Class B Converted to Class A? -- To be used for controlling a Class A building circuit, the control panel requires separate Class B Output terminals and Class A Input terminals. The exact labeling may be different for each manufacturer, but for an input zone, there has to be 4 screw terminals -- for a NAC output zone, there has to be 4 screw terminals -- for each SLC, there has to be 4 terminals...Read More

How are the IDC, the NAC, and the SLC Supervised? -- The intent of supervising a fire alarm system was never to just turn on a light and a buzzer - the intent of supervising a fire alarm system is to keep the fire alarm system working to detect fires, and, by sounding the alarm, to warn people. If it wasn't important to always be able to detect fires and warn people, there would be no need for supervision...Read More

What do I use for a Multiplication Factor? -- I assume from your question that you are calculating the size of needed power backup of the fire alarm system during a 24-hour power blackout, and at the end of 24 hours, either 5 minutes or 15 minutes of sounding the alarm...Read More

How are Addressable Speaker NACs Supervised? -- One method to supervise the wiring is to use an -end of line device-. There has to be constant or regular intermittent audio sent down the line in order to sense that audio is getting to the end of the line. If not, a trouble is sent to the panel. Another method to supervise the wiring is to put this same end of line device...Read More

Is it Amplifier Currents and not Speaker Currents for Battery Calcs? -- The quick answer is yes, the amplifier, and not the speakers, would be part of the battery calculations. The problem with audio devices is that, unless the measurements are based on calibrated audio sources, and laboratory equipment is being used, audio voltages and current are impossible to measure accurately. Rather than looking at the speaker's electrical current use, the best that can be done is to base the amplifier's maximum standby current and alarm current on the actual use, under full load and full sound condition... Read More

Conventional Four Wire Air Duct Smoke Detectors -- Conventional Air Duct Smoke Detectors are assemblies that include a smoke detector, support electronics, and an internal power supply. The minimum requirements... Read More

What is an Area of Refuge? -- You hear the message "Use the Stairs, "you see the sign "In case of fire, don't take the elevator." To get out of the building from the higher floors, when the building is on fire, the stairs ... Read More

What is a Fire Alarm System? -- Long ago, as earliest method of spreading the word of fire danger, people shouted "Fire!" Depending on the circumstances, people would run... Read More

What Should One Look For in a Fire Alarm Panel? -- The question has been asked, "Which is the best fire alarm panel?" A fire alarm system isn't: installed for the manufacturer or... Read More

How Does Class A Fire Alarm Wiring Work?-- Fire alarm systems save lives and protect property. Fire alarm systems also break down because... Read More

What is Fire Alarm Class B Wiring? -- Fire alarm people are paranoid. They're afraid everything is working against them. They're in fear that that if anything goes wrong... Read More

Should the Detector be Photo, Ion, or Both? -- In a smoke alarm, the smoke detector senses particles in the air from a fire and then the alarm sounds. Hearing the... Read More

Why does Fire Alarm Strobe Current Go Up as Voltage Goes Down? -- In a fire alarm system, strobes are notification appliances; the flashing strobes get people's attention. They're constant... Read More

What Makes a False Alarm so Dangerous? -- Each false fire alarm increases the severity of a real fire. The increased severity from false alarms comes from the greater chance of loss of life or a greater chance of injury. This is a progression - with no false... Read More

How is a Buffer Relay Wired Into a Door Holder Circuit? -- Like a door stop, a door holder keeps a fire door open. When smoke is detected, the door holder releases, allowing the door to shut. The door holder looks simple and innocuous enough... Read More

Why Does a Smoke Detector Stop the Elevator? -- Back in the early '70s, the disaster movie "Towering Inferno" depicted a fire in a high rise office building. Trapping partygoers... Read More

What are those Lights and Buttons on the Fire Alarm System For? -- You're now in charge of the building, be it an apartment building, office building, business complex, or industrial complex and now you have to deal... Read More

Why do Fire Alarm Pull Stations Break? -- Ever wonder why a manual pull station tends to break when someone attempts to push it back after setting off the alarms ? I, too, have been wondering... Read More

How Are Fire Alarm Loops Supervised to Make Sure They Continue to Work? -- Because the fire alarm system is a Life Safety System (people's lives depend on the fire alarm system working in an emergency), using supervision, the panel makes sure the field devices are always... Read More

What is Mass Notification? -- When a disaster or emergency strikes, and everyone in the area is to take action now, a Mass Notification... Read More

Can One Company Really Keep the Other Company In Line? -- I'd like to tell you a story about dishonesty. Not the kind where a vendor knows he is doing wrong, and... Read More

I Can't Fix Fire Alarm Systems that are Reset -- Help! I service fire alarm systems. When I'm on call, I have to respond on a 24/7 basis to fix fire alarm systems . This includes those systems that... Read More

What is a Firefighter's Telephone System? -- In a large building, so they can talk to each other while battling fires, firefighters use their two-way radios. But when the radios just don't work, the firefighter's... Read More

Why is the Voltage on the Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC) so Weird? -- Normally, when the Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC) isn't in trouble, the NAC is in one of two states or conditions: Alarm (making noise and... Read More

What is an RTU (Roof Top Unit)? -- "Help! I have an alarm on my fire alarm panel saying something about RTU, but it won't reset," so goes the cry... Read More

What is an RTU (Roof Top Unit)? -- "Help! I have an alarm on my fire alarm panel saying something about RTU, but it won't reset," so goes the cry... Read More

How good are those Call 911 signs above pull stations? -- The Fire Marshal didn't have the authority to require the owner to upgrade the fire alarm system to use off-site monitoring. Because... Read More

What is a Stair Pressurization Fan (SPF)? -- In case of fire in a high rise building, an SPF uses clean outside air to pressurize the air in stairwells. The pressurized air helps people escape... Read More

What is a Stair Pressurization Fan (SPF)? -- In case of fire in a high rise building, an SPF uses clean outside air to pressurize the air in stairwells. The pressurized air helps people escape... Read More

What is Total, Staged, and Defend-in-Place Evacuation? -- For their own safety, when the fire alarm sounds, people want to get out of a burning building. Sometimes, though, there's a hitch ... Read More

How does Audio Supervision Work on a NAC? -- Speakers, like almost any other device on a conventional fire alarm system, are not supervised; only the wires going to and from the speakers are being supervised. If something goes wrong with a speaker, a horn, a strobe, a pull station, smoke detector, a waterflow switch, or any other conventional device, a trouble will not show up on the panel. No one will know that there's even a problem. The devices have to be actually tested by humans; during a fire when the device doesn't work isn't the time to figure out the device should have been replaced.While the wires are being supervised by the panel, the reason why the devices are not supervised is to...Read More

Can I use Conventional Detectors on Addressable Systems? -- The NFPA is not against mixing conventional devices and addressable devices, so long as the mixing is in the prescribed acceptance process. The prescribed acceptance process is a procedure using a series of steps for manufacturing, testing, listing for use, labeling, and finally acceptance. Having gone through the steps, the manufacturer shows you in their installation sheets how to connect the parts into the system...Read More

How do I Address the Pull Stations? -- The numbers that you dial into the devices are address numbers. They're shortcut addresses. Instead of saying -Pull Station, 2nd Floor, North Stair- you dial in the 2 digit number. It's much easier for the electronics to use a 2 digit number instead of the long description; the short number takes a lot less time to send than the long description...Read More

What do Alarm Output Modules do on the SLC? -- The Signaling Line Circuit -SLC- for the building wiring for a fire alarm system is the communication and power circuit that is connected between the fire alarm panel and the Addressable Input Modules -AIM- and devices, and the Addressable Output Modules -AOM-...Read More

Can Fire Alarm Software Automatically Assign Addresses? -- With the manufacturer I'm most used to, they can automatically assign the devices to addresses, and the leave it up to the programmer to label the devices. I have found problems with this automatic addressing by fire alarm control panels. The issues that occur become much greater as the fire alarm system becomes larger than the very smallest ones. The issue is in the assigning of location labels. Because each...Read More

How is the Standby Power Calculated? -- In case there's a power outage, the fire alarm system still has to detect fire and warn people of fire. It would be nice if the fire alarm system could do this for days, weeks, or even years, until eventually the power can be restored, but the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) is reasonable. In most cases, the NFPA is happy if the system can continue to work without power for 24 hours. This is the standby period. If there is a fire detected at the end of that 24 hours, the system still has to sound the alarm. Usually sounding the alarm takes up a much higher level of current than when the alarm system is standing by, so sounding the alarm has to be calculated separately. This is...Read More

How do You Calculate Charging Current? -- Whenever the batteries are discharged, however, the NFPA Code essentially says that within 48 hours, the power supply that they are in has to fully charge the batteries. Read More

Can the Input and Output Wires on a Speaker be Reversed? -- Should there be a power blackout, the calculations are designed to show what size of battery is needed to supply enough energy -in the form of electrical current- to make sure the fire alarm system able to detect fire and, once a fire is detected, warn people of the danger...Read More

Is it Even Legal to Show a Trouble for a Closed Valve? -- What was common to all of the really old panels was that they were three-condition systems. They were either green-light normal, amber-light trouble, or they were in a red-light fire alarm condition. They did not have the relays or the circuitry to be capable of having a dual-alarm system: in addition to the red-light general alarm, they did have an amber-light supervisory alarm... Read More

Are Breaker Locks Required if There's No Control Panel? -- A Fire Detection and Alarm System is a system that detects fire and warns people of danger. As such, it should never be turned off; it's a life-safety system. If it's 120-volt detectors and pull stations connected to relays that sound bells throughout a building, it's still a life-safety fire alarm system. If it ever was turned off, people occupying a building would not be warned of a fire...Read More

Can Class A the Feed and Return be in the Same Conduit? -- One way of thinking about a Class A circuit or pathway is to consider that a Circuit is a Circle. The Class A pathway, like a pair of wires, starts out at the panel on the Class B output, goes to the first horn or strobe, to the next, and the next, and finally back to the panel. It then connects to the Class A input. This is a complete circle...Read More

What are Some of the Technical Issues for CO Detectors? -- An issue with carbon monoxide detectors is they have an Expiration Date. It's not the date that is etched in the law, it's the date that it just won't work anymore. Usually, when the carbon monoxide detector has reached the time it won't work anymore, it will somehow indicate trouble... Read More

Are We Required to Use Conduit for All Fire Alarms? -- Starting out with the NFPA 70 Code, most of the wiring requirements for conduit are with Class III wiring. With Class III wiring, being power limited wiring, it's allowed to be the rules shown in NFPA 70, which is the National Electrical Code, and also in the NFPA 72, which is specifically fire alarm systems...Read More

What is Required for Different Types of Detector? -- The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) talks about smoke detectors in terms of the sensitivity of a smoke detector. The smoke detector has to go into alarm if the smoke reaches a certain level of -Obscuration-. Obscuration is how much smoke it takes to block, or obscure, enough light to... Read More

Can You Put Initiating Devices on a NAC Panel? -- The letters -NAC- don't stand for the panel-on-the-wall, the letters -NAC- actually stand for the electrical circuit that's outside of the panel. The Notification Appliance Circuit, or NAC is the electrical -Circuit- that carries power to the Notification Appliances like horns and strobes...Read More

What is the Difference Between Class A and Class B NAC Circuits? -- The short explanation is that coming into the panel for Class A, there are a total of 4 wires, and for Class B, there are a total of 2 wires. However, to understand that short explanation, one needs to know the difference between Class B and Class A from a life-safety point of view. Electricity has to get to the horns and strobes in order for the horns and strobes to warn people of a fire. For electricity to flow, however, the electrons require a complete electrical path. Electrons cannot flow through a wire, unless there is somewhere to go...Read More

Do We Need an EOL Resistor on a Beam Detector? -- Usually, the Beam Detector comes as a conventional device, meaning that it uses relay contact closures to send a trouble and to send an alarm. When it is not in trouble or alarm, the connections for both the trouble and alarm relays are made to their common and open contacts on the beam detector. That way, if there is trouble...Read More

What is the Best Way to Test Duct Detectors? -- To find out what happens when a magnet or key is used on a smoke detector or a duct smoke detector, use a magnet or a key. Fires do not carry magnets or keys around with them, so to find out if a duct smoke detector senses smoke, test using canned smoke... Read More

How are the Horns and Strobes Activated? -- A fire alarm system is a Detect Fire and Warm People about the Fire system. It has automatic detection devices like smoke detectors, heat detectors, and waterflow switches -- it has manually operated input devices like pull stations and MCPs -Manual Call Points-. The detection devices send their alarms to a Fire Alarm Control Panel or FACP. Automatically deciding what to do when there are alarms, the control the control panel has circuitry to sound the alarm. Providing electrical power to...Read More

How do You Program Fire Alarm Systems? -- To start with, all models of fire alarm system are programmed differently. I don't know of a single source of information that will cover all of them. Mostly the programming manuals for each model has to be consulted. The software is usually user friendly and self-explanatory... Read More

Are Speaker Circuits Required to be Classified? -- Classification isn't really the exact method of installing wires, classification is knowing how the system deals with failures. When something goes wrong with the system, does the fire alarm system warn the building owner that there's a problem? Is there a method to get around the problem so the system will detect-and-warn even if there's a problem?...Read More

How is a Ground Fault Different from a Pull Station? -- When the fire alarm system is green light normal, there are no alarms and all wires from the panel to the devices are complete. At this time, the panel is checking continuity of the wires to make sure all devices are connected. It's supervising the wires. The panel is causing a small amount of current to flow out of the panel on one of the screw terminals of the circuit, pushing this current all the way to... Read More

Why does the horn strobe circuit prevent current in case of no alarm? -- Horns and strobes are On-Off devices. When they are on, they are making lots of noise and flashing lights, they are using lots of current. When they are off, they aren't using any current... Read More

How Does a Fire Alarm System Work? -- The basic fire alarm system is if a smoke detector goes into alarm, if a pull station is activated, if a waterflow switch is activated, the horns and strobes warn people to take action. Sometimes, other automatic measures...Read More

How does an SLC Module get Power to Send Signals? -- The power being referred to as being interrupted is generated by the SLC power supply. This is a low current power supply and its output is designed to be regularly shorted out. The panel, though, is looking at the SLC terminals. A lot of the signal sending and receiving is dependent on what the panel is seeing. To see the signals, the Signaling Line Circuit terminals are constantly...Read More

Can the Fire Alarm Zones be for Multiple Floors? -- A zone on a fire alarm panel display is shown either with labeled lights -like "Basement", "1st Floor", "2nd Floor", "3rd Floor", Etc.- or with words on a graphic display. -- A zone is where you are going to send the fire department when there's a fire -- A zone is where you are going to send the building owners when there's a false alarm -- A zone is where you are going to send the fire alarm technician when the system needs fixing -- If the fire alarm system is an addressable system that uses words on the display, all the devices are shown as separate devices, each device is actually ...Read More

How Do I Find this Intermittent Ground Fault?-- The ground fault may be there all the time, just not bad enough to always turn on the ground fault light. Sometimes the ground fault is worse, turning on the ground fault light- sometimes the ground fault is better, turning off the ground fault light. Check with technical support for the panel to find out what this threshold for...Read More

Should the HVAC System be Shut Down on Alarm? -- The idea behind the fire alarm system shutting down the HAVC in case of fire is that the fire alarm shutting-down the fans will save lives. When a fire is detected, rather than allowing the whole building to fill smoke, the fire alarm system closes the fire doors, closes the fire dampers in the ductwork, and shuts down the air circulating fans...Read More

What do We Include in Battery Calculations? -- When deciding what to include in the battery calculations, we look at the reasons for making these calculations in the first place. A fire alarm system is a life safety system; if the system doesn't work, people can get hurt - or worse. The times that the fire alarm system is supposed to work are -Always-, including the time during a power outage...Read More

What is the Interfacing Equipment in a Fire Alarm System? -- Much of the interface equipment is installed by others, like the elevators, the sprinkler system, the kitchen's range hood suppression and gas shunt, the HVAC air handlers and smoke dampers, etc. It isn't directly installed, maintained, or serviced by the fire alarm company, but the bottom line is that someone has to take some responsibility for the entire Fire Detection and Alarm System...Read More

How are Lamps Tested on Fire Alarm Panels? -- The purpose of the lamp test is to catch problems with the lamps before there is a fire. In the olden days, before there were LED lamps, there were incandescent lamps. Incandescent lamps used a small wire -the filament- that got hot enough to produce light. It may take many years, but eventually all incandescent lamps burn out; their filaments burn out. Some will burn out sooner than others...Read More

Do I Have to Use a PVC Pipe That's Listed? -- The NFPA 72 Code in their definitions say that an Air Sampling-Type Detector consists of the pipe or tubing network connected to the detector where the air is then analyzed. That means that in order to be listed as an air sampling-type smoke detector, the manufacturer's PVC pipe is listed to be used with the specific air sampling system...Read More

What is the Maximum Number of Zones Permitted? -- The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) doesn't decide how many inputs or outputs can be on a fire alarm panel, and they don't decide how many zones we can attach to a fire alarm control panel. These decisions are left up to the manufacturer of the panel. The NFPA, however, does indirectly control how well the panel is going to work. Once the panel is designed and ready, the manufacturer has to get the panel tested by a...Read More

Can the Fire Alarm Control Panel Trip a Remote NAC Panel? -- The panel's output to the NAC Circuit (Notification Appliance Circuit) has two conditions. When the panel is not in alarm, the panel is supervising the wiring in the circuit by checking the continuity of the Conventional Class A or Class B wires. A small current is run through one of the wires, the end of line resistor, and back through the other wire. If the current stops because the wire breaks or comes loose, the panel's trouble light and buzzer are turned on... Read More

Is it Mandatory to use 20.4 Volts for NAC Calculations? -- To understand the requirements in the code, the question isn't -Is it mandatory to follow the code?-, the question is -Why?-. To understand the -Why- of the requirements, we have to backwards-engineer the requirements. When performing the voltage drop calculations for the Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC), there are two concerns that have to be dealt with before even determining what voltage to use. One is Life-Safety and Reasonableness, and the other is... Read More

Can There be Too Many T-Taps on an SLC? -- As a technician trying to follow wires through a building, trying to fix a problem with the wiring can be made more difficult because of the number of T-Taps. If there aren't enough T-taps, sometimes trying to follow the wire past all of the devices...Read More

What Happens when One Battery is Hooked In Backwards? -- Sealed Lead Acid batteries have very little internal resistance, so a forward 12-volt battery and a reversed 12-volt battery connected in series constitute a dead short. This, though, is when they are first connected to a charger. If there's an internal fuse on the charger, the fuse will probably burn out. If there isn't a fuse, probably the charger has some sort of current limiting. This part is mostly a design issue for the charger circuit, and the design will be different for each model of Fire Alarm Control Panel or NAC Power Supply...Read More

What Causes an Open NAC? -- I am going to a job site where on the service call ticket states that a NAC is reading open circuit. What can cause an open circuit on the NAC line? Read More

How do I Fix this Comm Fail Light? -- Listen to the Phone Lines. The only way to tell what is happening on the telephone lines is to listen to them. Use your butt set as a test tool to hear exactly what is happening. Just listening to what is happening can help you understand what is wrong. The sequence is...Read More

Does Anyone Make a Generator/Tester for SLC Circuits? -- There are no actual test generators designed for fire alarm system Signaling Line Circuits -SLCs-. The real reason has a root cause in attitude. All manufacturers are extremely proprietary. The attitude is because they are afraid that if anyone can connect another manufacturer's equipment to their Type Accepted Fire Alarm System, and something bad happens...Read More

Are Smoke Detectors Needed Above False Ceilings? -- Occupancy, and the type of fire alarm system that should be installed, is determined by the NFPA 101 or the International Building Code. These books show that one type of occupancy, for instance a gas or petrol station, requires a totally different type of fire alarm system than an apartment building. The books also indicate that for some types of occupancy, total coverage by smoke detectors is required, and pull stations are required at all exits... except if the building has total coverage by a... Read More

Can I Use a NAC Circuit for a Sounder Base? -- When the horns and strobes in the hallways of the building are not sounding the alarm -the alarm is silent-, the sounder base circuit is still providing full power to the sounder base. That is so the smoke detector can turn on the sounder base when the rest of the building is silent. Think of the sounder base and the attached smoke detector as a residential smoke alarm...Read More

Why Doesn't the SPF Turn-On with Smoke in the Stairway? -- There's a problem with smoke in the stairwell. More people die in a fire because they breathed smoke than people die because they were burned. Because of that, so that people can escape both fire and smoke, they use the narrow stairwell as an escape route. The stairwell has to be free of smoke...Read More

What is the Trigger Voltage for a Booster Power Supply? -- Most fire alarm control panels can provide a limited amount of power for the horns and strobes, but extra power for the horns and strobes can be provided by a Booster Power Supply -BPS-. The term -Trigger Voltage- for the BPS is a shorthand term for -Whatever voltage is necessary to turn on the Booster Power Supply-. Depending on...Read More

Can There be More than One EOL Resistor? -- From an electrical point of view, there is a problem with adding extra End of Line Resistors. From a life-safety point of view, there is a problem with more than one End of Line Resistor. From a legal point of view, there is a problem with installing the system differently than what is shown in the installation manual...Read More

Do I Have to Use a PVC Pipe That's Listed? -- The word Listed means that a nationally known, third-party testing laboratory like UL, ULC, CE, FM, etc. has tested the pipe for use in Aspiration Systems for Air Sampling. Once the testing laboratory knows that the pipe is going to be adequate for this purpose, they say that it is adequate by...Read More

What is a Repeater Panel in a Fire Alarm System? -- A Repeater panel is used in a remote location, away from the control panel. It passively displays the condition of the fire alarm panel. If there are control buttons on the Repeater panel, it can also actively control the fire alarm system. A LCD display is an expanded version of the Repeater panel...Read More

What is a Fire Alarm System? -- The idea behind fire alarm systems is to save lives and protect property. A fire alarm system does this by detecting fire -either automatically or when someone sees a fire- and then warning everyone in the building about the fire. A person, having seen a fire, could run down the halls shouting...Read More

When Should I use Shielded Cable in a Fire Alarm System? -- All fire alarm systems are package-deals. They are all fire alarm systems tested and certified as being reliable by third-party testing laboratories like UL, FM, ULC, CE, CCC, etc. This testing included the type of wire being used between the control panel and the devices...Read More

Where Should I Install the Fire Control Panel? -- If all the horns and strobes in the entire building sound off so everyone in the building leaves in less than five minutes, then any fire protection of the fire alarm system only has to be good enough for everyone to leave. If only some of the people are told to leave, and some people wait their turn to leave, then once a fire starts, any fire alarm equipment including...Read More

How Important is it to Label Wires? -- Good options for the labels come in two varieties --- Labeling Machines - The labels look good, but care must be taken in choosing the machine type. --- Cloth Tape - The labels looks ugly, and care must be taken in choosing the tape type. However, the writing put on the tape using sharpie pens NEVER rubs off... Read More

Why Have Wire that Lasts 2 Hours in a Fire? -- The fire alarm system is used to tell people when it's their turn to evacuate a burning building. Evacuation sometimes takes time... Read More

What is a 4 Wire Smoke Detector? -- Even though it uses an internal protection resistor and internal alarm relay contacts, a 4 wire smoke detector is basically a 2 wire smoke detector; it detects smoke and sends an alarm ... Read More

Why Can't a 70 Volt Speaker be Used With a Fire Alarm System? -- When the fire alarm system is active and is being used for EVAC or voice, there is no difference between the speaker audio used... Read More

Why Doesn't a Smoke Detector Always Detect? -- The NFPA wants smoke detectors tested in place to make sure smoke enters the smoke chamber. Keep in mind that a smoke detector can't detect smoke that doesn't get to the detector. When a smoke detector doesn't... Read More

What's the Difference Between Class A and Class B? -- The Fire Alarm System is a Life Safety System - so the occupants of a building can escape quickly, the idea behind a Fire Alarm System is that it will provide a warning that there is a fire. The trouble is, if something is wrong with the system, like a wire is broken somewhere in the building, the Fire Alarm System... Read More

What Is the Difference Between Conventional and Addressable? -- The word conventional doesn't mean Old and Obsolete, the word conventional means Sanctioned by General Custom. The conventional fire alarm system is the standard way, or ordinary way of making a fire alarm system. The Addressable portion of a fire alarm system isn't a replacement for a conventional fire alarm system, the Addressable portion is ...Read More

Firefighter Don't Reset the False Alarm -- When the alarm sounds and the firefighter arrives, even for a false alarm, the firefighter is on site for property protection and life safety. So when leaving, from the point of view of the firefighter, the ... Read More

What Makes the End of Line Resistor So Important? -- To allow the panel's internal ohmmeter to check the continuity of the wires (supervise the wires), the end-of-line resistor is at the end of the loop: the last device.Read More

What is the Difference Between an End of Line Resistor and a Terminating Resistor? -- In electronics, at the end of the communication line, there's often a Terminating Resistor. In fire alarm and security systems ... Read More

NFPA's 7 Classes of Fire Alarm Paths -- The NFPA has divided the signal paths in a fire alarm system into 7 classifications: Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class N, Class X. These classifications don't show how to wire up anything, these classifications show what happens when things go wrong... Read More

Is the Fire Alarm Control Panel Necessary? -- Having detected a fire, a fire alarm system sounds the alarm. Other than the building wires that carry the signal from the fire detector to the fire horn, everything else in a fire alarm system ... Read More

If It's There -- It Has To Work -- Whether its smoke detectors on the ceiling or the firefighter's telephone system, people think that if it's there, it's real and it works. Sometimes, people even stake their lives on that device or system ... Read More

What is a Fire Alarm Klaxon? -- Before there were DC fire horns, and as an alternative to clanging bells, klaxons were used to notify... Read More

What Is a Conventional Notification Appliance Circuit or NAC?-- NAC is the acronym for Notification Appliance Circuit. Notification: Tells people of a Fire or other Life... Read More

What is Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC) Supervision? -- In the Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC), conventional fire horns, bells, strobes, chimes, and speakers, all have the... Read More

Why Use Class A to Network Fire Alarm Panels Together? -- In a tall building, should the network connecting the fire alarm panels together be Class B, or Class A? Read More

Is the NFPA Code the Law or a Recommendation? -- In the United States, the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) fire codes are strange. They aren't codes; they're... Read More

What is Class N Power Over Internet (PoE)? -- Powering detectors and modules, Class N communication paths using Power over Ethernet (PoE) is coming to a fire alarm system near you. Probably not all of the systems or devices will use Class N PoE paths, but enough...Read More

What will a Shorted Fire Strobe Do? -- Some time ago, at a high rise business and condominium building, I inspected a fire alarm system. On arrival, the fire alarm control panel showed...Read More

What Is Fire Alarm Trouble Power? -- In the "Old School" type of fire alarm system, before the smoke detector was invented, even though the fire alarm systems used AC, all voltages were in a steady state: either on or off. Until someone ... Read More

What is Smoke Detector Verification?-- Because smoke comes in so many varieties, smoke detectors have to be sensitive... Read More

What is a Four Wire Smoke Detector? -- A 4-wire smoke detector is just like a 2-wire smoke detector, except that it receives its power from an auxiliary power supply rather than the conventional Initiating Device Circuit. Both the 4-wire and the 2-wire smoke detector sense particles in the air and call the particles smoke... Read More

Why Have a Written Fire Evacuation Plan? -- One time, I had a fire inspector tell me that he requires a written evacuation plan for all buildings. The reason... Read More

What is a Fire Alarm Zone? -- Building zones aren't determined by where the wires are run for the fire alarm system, building zones are determined by the building's fire-control -- fire-fighting divisions and by the building's smoke-control divisions... Read More

Index
Residential
Life Safety
Descriptions
Electronics
Maintenance
Suppression
This website uses cookies. See Privacy for details.
Make It Work Series of Books by Douglas Krantz
Want Regular Updates on Articles Like These?



No Charge - Unsubscribe Anytime