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Posted By John Belcher
The company I work for is a large warehouse with a complex mechanical handling system that, following any evacuation requires at least a 2 hours to resetthe system e.g. opening the hoist fire doors, resetting the computer driven system etc. before work can resume. As we currently operate a total evacuation strategy any activation of the fire detection devices due to persons burning the toast etc. causes severe disruption and loss of revenue.
Following a fire audit from the Local Authorities (we passed) they suggested we could adopt a zoned evacuation procedure. Our FM contractor has told us that to convert the fire system to this strategy would be expensive and we should consider a delay (seek and find) strategy. This I am told is an inbuilt delay in the system (this would be dependent on the building size) which after a fire detection device is activated would allow time for a trained staff member to visually check the cause of the activation and turn the alarm off if no fire was present.
Is anyone familiar with this type of strategy views welcome.
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Posted By Stephen R. Brown
Hi, I am part of the Health and Safety team in a large manufacturing food factory and I do empathise with you on the subject of false alarms. Any interruption to the production process can have critical outcomes for the business by way of fresh product which has been left out and continuity of temperature lost. As a result the product which was left out is then destroyed. With this in mind we have used a fire alarm verifier role which in our case is our Engineers. They all have a site wide radio telephone (ASCOM talkers, there is a slight variation in the handsets but they all have the same basic function).
When the fire alarm is activated the main sounders do not sound. Security will tell the Engineers on an open channel the location of the suspected fire and the Fire Verifier team will respond, they have a maximum of 3 minutes to report back, if nothing is heard, then we go to full alarm and evacuation and immediately call the fire service.
Brief Outline:
1) Security will attend fire indicator panel and assume fire incident control role (FIC).
2) Identify the reported location of the fire.
3) Dispatch nearest Engineering team to carry out a physical check of the location to ascertain if we have a real fire situation or a false alarm.
4) Immediately communicate this info to the FIC.
This simple system has worked well for us in the past and has saved time and money. Hope this was of assistance to you.
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Posted By WTaylor
I've used time-delays to great effect in shopping malls and airports. On larger sites we allowed up to 5 minutes between the detection and the alarm.
It can be tricky though. You will need someone monitoring the fire alarm during all business hours. You will also need someone who is available at all times to investigate. A reliable radio system is a must, along with industrial fire training (i.e. not your basic fire warden/marshall training).
You should also discuss this with the fire authority and your insurers to check they are comfortable. You will probably find they will want some input on the length of the delay.
Regards,
Will
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