Fire Alarms in Manchester and the UK

Fire Alarms Are Crucial in Defending People From Fire

Do you need a competent team to look after your fire alarms in Manchester and the United Kingdom?

If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place. Aarhus Fire has almost 20 years of experience in the fire protection industry. In addition, we have the most responsible, experienced and qualified team, and we offer the best quality fire alarms in Manchester.
During this long journey of 20 years, we have worked tirelessly to prove to our customers that we are one of the best companies in providing, designing and maintaining fire alarms in Manchester.
Besides, we have delivered fire protection to large companies in the UK such as ITV, Peel Holdings, Bruntwood and many other significant operations. Similarly, we made many small individual companies and multi-occupied buildings fire safe.

Page Content:

1. Why is fire alarm vitally important?

2. Useful Questions and Their Answers

3. Design of Fire Alarm Systems

4. Types of Fire Alarm Systems

5. Types of Detectors

6. Fire Alarm System Maintenance

The British Law Requires Fire Alarms in Almost Every Building

Fire alarms are crucial in defending people from fire. According to the rules and laws, we must use fire alarms in almost every building. Therefore, all existing buildings, including multi-occupied ones, must follow the rules of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order of 2005. The only exceptions are residential premises that are not multi-occupied.

Why is fire alarm vitally important?

When thinking about installing security mechanisms on our premises, we must never forget that fire alarms are one of the vitally essential devices.
Although everyone is aware that the fire alarm can be our saviour in the event of a fire, many of us ignore this. Indeed, some people only understand and remember the importance of fire alarm systems when facing the red enemy. Therefore, we strongly recommend you equip your premises with a fire alarm system before this bad thing happens.

It would be best to consider some specialities when choosing a fire alarm. Incredibly, things such as if the company installing your fire alarms system provides a guarantee. Absolutely important is the monitoring service to be permanent. Without a doubt, you should select a reliable and experienced fire alarms company.

Choose the right alarm that will protect you, not the cheap one

Price is indeed essential, but we must keep in mind that installing a fire alarm system guarantees the well-being of your employees or family members. Firstly, you may need to make a small investment, but you will be grateful and peaceful because you will have a system that will give an early sign.

In addition, there are many fire alarms on the market. Absolutely, you can choose the best one that suits your budget and needs. Luckily, we can help you select, design, and install the right, most appropriate, and most affordable fire alarm system that will enable you to protect your premises.
We offer different fire alarms in Manchester and throughout the United Kingdom as specialists.

We provide the following services related to fire alarms in Manchester and the UK:

Here Are Some Useful Questions and Their Answers Related to Fire Alarms

What are the primary British Standards related to fire alarm systems?

The primary appropriate British standards we follow are:

BS 5839-1:2017, which is related to installing fire alarms in non-domestic premises.
BS 5839-6:2013, which is relevant to the design, installation and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in dwellings.

Do we install alarms in a private home?

No. We mainly work on commercial and multi-occupied residential and high-rise buildings where British law requires having a Fire alarm system.

Will I get a good quality alarm?

Yes, you will get the best high-quality alarm from the leading manufacturers and the most modern technology.
However, we never offer our clients low-quality tools and equipment because we believe the cheap comes out expensive.

Can I choose my Fire alarm system?

If you want the best and the right fire alarm system that will alert you during a fire, it is advisable to consult a competent person who will give you the correct information following British law.

Will I get support if something happens with my Fire alarm system at night?

Yes. We see our customers as part of our family. So, we support our clients 24 hours (emergency response).

Design of Fire Alarm Systems

We design, supply, and install fire alarm systems following all government requirements, appropriate British standards, and of course, the needs of your building:

Delivering full accredited service of fire alarm systems following a risk assessment report is also one of the services we provide.

When designing fire alarms, we obey specific standards required by British law. Following these rules, our caring staff design and install the most suitable fire alarm system for your building. Therefore, each client receives an individual, unique, and correct project for their premises.

To make a correct design for your building, we consider things like the type of system you need, the rooms suitable for the system, how many zones your premises must be divided into, how the fire department will be called, and when it will arrive to help, etc. Besides, we consider putting the control panel in a safe place.

The primary purpose of the projects is to notify when there is a fire in the building. Thankfully, with these systems’ quick alerts, we can reduce the risk to peoples’ lives and minimise property damage.

We work on multi-occupied residential, high-rise and commercial buildings, and these are some of the facilities that our highly qualified team has equipped with our quality fire alarms.

Types of Fire Alarm Systems

Fire alarm systems usually have detectors that detect smoke or heat and the poisonous high level in the air carbon monoxide. In addition, some of the alarms have manual call points. These systems usually can send a signal to different parts of the building in case of fire. Furthermore, some warnings are also designed to send a remote signal directly to the alarm receiving centre.

In the market, there are four types of alarm systems: Conventional, Analog-addressable, Addressable, and Wireless systems.

Conventional fire alarm system

Call points and detectors are connected to fire alarm control panels in zones in a conventional fire alarm system. This means that the building is divided into areas. Thanks to these zones, subsequently, we can quickly determine where exactly is the fire in the building. And thus, take immediate measures to extinguish the flames and evacuate the people from the building.

Addressable system

The addressable system is one step ahead of the conventional one. Here the control panel has a function that detects the accurate detector and call point that triggered the alarm; every sensor has an address; and when it is activated, we can see it on the monitor of the control panel.
This type of alarm is usually used in large and complex buildings such as factories, hospitals, large offices, etc. It is typically challenging to find the place fire started on this kind of premises.

Analogue Addressable Fire Alarm Systems

Although analogue addressable fire alarm systems are intelligent, some are not very clever and can only output signals.
Suppose an intelligent analogue system is genuinely modern and intelligent. In that case, each detector must be able to assess the environment in which it is located. And if there is a fire or damage in the system, it must transfer a signal to the control panel.

Wireless fire alarm systems
As the name implies, wireless fire alarm systems work without cables.
They are analogue addressable systems that operate with unlicensed secure radio communications and thus connect detectors and other devices to the control panel.

Types of Detectors

Detectors used in fire alarm systems are heat detectors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide and multi-sensors detectors.

Heat detectors:

Heat detectors can be heat-sensitive point detectors or linear detectors.

1. Heat-sensitive

Heat-sensitive detectors can be fixed temperature types where you can pre-determine the temperature. If there is an increase, the alarm will turn on; or they can be of the kind that works if the temperature rises suddenly without doing any pre-determination.

2. Linear detectors

In this kind of detector, you can pre-determine the temperature. Therefore, linear sensors are suitable for large and complex places such as warehouses.

Smoke detectors

Smoke detectors usually work on the principle of ionisation, light scattering, and light obscuring.

1. Ionization

The detectors working on the principle of ionisation contain two cameras. One compensates for changes in temperature, humidity, or pressure. The second ionises the air through a radioactive source.

2. Light scattering detectors

The photocell and the light source are separated by a darkened camera to not fall on the photocell in the light scattering detector. However, if the passage of smoke falls into the chamber causes light scattering, which triggers the alarm.

3. Light obscuring detectors

These detectors work with light rays that can sense if there is smoke in the room. By scattering the light, the smoke reduces the intensity of the light falling on the receiver. This causes the alarm to sound. However, light obscuring detectors are not suitable for outdoor use. Therefore, using them outside is pointless.

Carbon monoxide detector

As its name suggests, these detectors can sense and identify when carbon monoxide levels in the air rise. Carbon monoxide is poisonous and generated from a fire.

The electrochemical cell in the CO fire detectors detects the poison in the air very quickly. However, apart from carbon dioxide, they cannot see smoke or other products produced by combustion.

These sensors are suitable for fires producing a rising stream of smoke. However, they are not ideal for blazing fires, which are also very dangerous. Another disadvantage of these tools is that they can respond to car gas and give a false alarm.

Multi-sensor detector

One of the advantages of multi-sensor detectors is that they can reduce false alarms that react to cooking fumes, steam, dust, and aerosol sprays.

These detectors contain more than one type of sensor. For example, they include a combination of smoke, heat, or carbon monoxide sensors.

When operating, this type of detector uses a complex algorithm that processes the combination of inputs from optical and thermal sensors. As a result, they are sensitive to a wide range of fires and, in many cases, are an excellent alternative to the ionizing detector.

Whatever the type of detector, it must have a continuous power supply to sense smoke or heat.

It is also not recommended to place detectors in kitchens or homes close to air ducts and should not install it near fireplaces or smoky areas, which will constantly trigger the alarm for no reason.

Fire Alarm System Maintenance

The user must constantly test the fire protection system to ensure it works smoothly without problems. Unfortunately, like other disasters, we do not know precisely when they occur. Because of this, we must keep our systems and equipment, including our alarms, in working order.

By performing routine tests, we can determine if there is a fault in the system. For example, we must examine whether the system’s connection to the alarm receiving centre is working smoothly, if the various manual call points are in working order, etc.

A competent person with appropriate certification (third party certificated) must inspect and service your fire alarm system. This person needs to check things such as:

Control panel functions
Fire alarm devices
If the alarm signals are reaching the alarm receiving centre
check if the standby power supply capacity is appropriate
if there are outstanding defects in the system or batteries
If there are fault indicators and circuits, the competent person will examine them and give you instructions on how to solve this problem