According to the National Fire Protection Association, a structural fire occurs in the United States every 60 seconds. In 2004, these structural fires resulted in over $8 billion in property damage. Much worse, they were responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries. Recognizing this threat to both people and facilities, more and more organizations are adding fire alarm systems to their security and life safety infrastructure.

Components and Technology

A modern, well-designed fire alarm system includes a number of important elements to maximize protection and overall effectiveness.

First, an audible alarm should notify occupants of a fire as quickly as possible. Strobe lights provide a visual indicator for those who may be hearing-impaired or working in high-noise areas. “The key here is to facilitate an orderly mass evacuation,” says CC Biggs, Fire Division Manager at RFI. “During an evacuation event, every second counts. The audible and visual warning signals must work quickly and flawlessly.”

Beyond audible alarms and visual indicators, today’s modern alarm systems go much farther. For instance, networked/addressable fire-alarm systems quickly pinpoint the location of the fire and provide a map showing responders the fire’s exact location. This can greatly improve the speed and effectiveness of the response team members.

Addressable fire-alarm systems also incorporate “intelligent” sensing devices, which are more accurate than ever before. Today’s modern technological advances have been applied to smoke detectors. They are now more accurate when sensing the particles of combustion during the early stages of of a fire. At the same time, they also distinguish between smoke and other particles such as dust and steam, so false alarms are greatly reduced.

A networked fire alarm system can not only warn of the fire, it can even slow its progression. “Today’s integrated approach provides connection between the fire alarm, BMS and access control systems that can allow for quicker shutdown of critical systems that can potentially increase the spread of fire,” Biggs explains.

The benefits of an addressable system are communication speed, pinpoint accuracy and enhanced response time, all of which have the potential to save lives and reduce property damage. Other benefits include early warning that allows more time to get your most valued assets — your people — out of the building.

Components, Technology and Expertise

From concept to installation, integration, monitoring and maintenance, RFI has the experience and expertise to adeptly handle all aspects of a fire alarm system implementation. “We take care of everything, from soup to nuts,” says Biggs. “The customer doesn’t even have to worry about getting permits because we handle that process, too.”

RFI’s fire/life safety technicians are highly trained and experienced, meeting the new certification standards required by the California Department of Apprenticeship Standards as of January 6, 2006. And annual testing by RFI personnel ensures that the system will be in top condition if and when it is needed.

An Easy Call

Assessing the nature of the risk and advances in technology, it’s easy to see why more and more organizations are installing fire alarm systems. Says Marc DeNola, Safety and Security Manager at Yahoo: “No question about it, a fire could be catastrophic to our business. We put a high value on our physical assets, but its even more important to us to keep our people safe and secure. Given how easy RFI makes the process, installing a fire alarm system really was a very easy call to make.”