The recent publication of EN54-23, the new product standard for visual indication on fire alarms, presents a challenge to the way in which these devices are made and installed. Will Mason of Fire Systems Ltd explains.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes service providers and employers responsible for ensuring that disabled people do not receive less favourable treatment than the able bodied. Since its introduction, the fire alarm industry has responded by providing fire alarm systems that generate both audible and visual warnings when a fire is detected.
A Fire alarm company, now has to take the above into consideration, whether it be a wired or a wireless fire alarm.
Normally, a visual alarm is only used in a fire alarm system to reinforce a warning from the primary audible warning device such as a bell, siren or voice alarm but it is never the primary method of raising the alarm. However, in a building in which deaf and hard of hearing people are present, a risk assessment may indicate that a visual alarm will have to become as important as the normal audible alarm in attracting their attention. In such cases, the strobe units or beacons must produce a sufficiently high light output to achieve the objective.
A typical beacon installation in a factory
By definition, as a life safety industry, anything that improves the effectiveness of an automatic fire alarm system is an advance to be welcomed, particularly if it provides enhanced protection for all occupants of the protected building. Until now, however, there has been no product standard specifying the performance requirements of visual alarm devices..
For further information you can contact a London based fire alarm company Fire Systems Ltd, who also specialise in wireless fire alarms.
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