Having a fire alarm system is a good place to start if you are looking to enhance the safety of the occupants of a building. The system comprises heat, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors that activate audio and visual signals to warn all occupants about a fire breakout. When using these systems, false alarms can sometimes occur if the sensors are triggered by something other than a fire. Frequent false alarms create complacency and become a safety hazard. Occupants can develop a numbness to the fire alarm and fail to respond in good time when a real crisis occurs. Thankfully, you can alienate this false alarm problem with the flowing tips:
Cleaning Your Detectors
Over time, dust and dirt accumulate on your fire alarm system's internal chamber and detectors. This build-up of dust can trigger a false alarm considering that the internal chamber and detectors are not exposed to the right set of conditions where they can read temperature and atmospheric conditions appropriately. Therefore, you should clean the external detectors and reachable parts of the internal chamber regularly using a dusting brush for optimal performance. Alternatively, you can use a soft brush attachment to vacuum the detectors.
When carrying out major repairs or construction and other activities that generate lots of dust, make sure that the exposed parts of the fire alarm system have dust covers to keep them clean and efficient.
Invest in Systems with Intelligent Technology
False alarms can also be caused by a faulty system. Often, this occurs when you fail to keep track of the system's maintenance schedule. When choosing alarms, an ideal fire alarm system should have intelligent technology such that it can pinpoint any smoke and heat detectors that are faulty or in need of cleaning. In this way, they will save the cost and time you'd have spent digging through the system to find where the fault is. They will also cut down on false alarms with better ability to deal with causes of false alarm such as steam.
Keep Fire Alarms Away from Regular Heat
Heat sources like ovens and furnaces can easily make your fire alarm misinterpret the state of affairs in the building, triggering false warning signals. When installing your system do not fit it too close to sources of heat like furnaces and ovens. Moreover, avoid a system design where sensors are directly in front of exhaust systems for equipment like computer and copiers.