Fire Alarm zones

Fire Alarm zones are only required in buildings where operation of the
fire alarms needs to be different in certain parts of the buildings. If the
only requirement is to activate all the fire alarm sounders to provide a
single common evacuate signal once a fire is detected, then alarm
zones are not needed, the whole building is one complete zone.

For more larger complex buildings where it is necessary to operate fire alarm detection devices differently in parts of the building, then the building should be divided into alarm zones such that all of the fire detection devices in one alarm zone operate in the same way.
BS5839-1 contains some recommendations for alarm zones:
- The bounders of all alarm zones should comprise fire-resisting
construction
- Signal overlap between alarm zones should not cause
confusion
- The same alarm and alert signals should be used throughout a
building
- A smoke detection zone must not contain multiple alarm zones, alarm and detection zone boundaries should coincide. An alarm zone
may contain multiple detection zones

However, there is a advantage to designing a fire alarm installer, installing a alarm zone using a wireless fire alarm as apposed to a wired fire alarm system, as you do not have to worry about the configuration of the wiring.

Fire alarm testing of the fire zones is important and should be carried out on a weekly basis.