a minimum of 75dB to awake any sleeping
occupants. Door absorption should also be consid-
ered when affixing sounders; about a loss of 30dB
should be taken into account. Installers should
also take into consideration that the selected
sounders should all sound similar, in a bid to avoid
any confusion when hearing each different
sounder.
With an ever growing emphasis on just how
important fire safety is has meant that we have
seen several Codes, Practices, Standards and
pieces of Legislation come into force over the
years, with each new one covering specks of grey
area that their predecessors have missed. Some of
the most essential Acts and Orders include the Fire
Precautions Act which deals with general fire
precautions such as fire safety training for staff,
means of detecting and alerting to a fire, ways to
escape and means of fire fighting. Although this
Legislation came about in 1971 it lays the entire
major and important ground work for fire safety
so remains a well documented Act.
BS5839, an Act which is commonly referred to
and quoted, was established in 1988 specifying
system guidelines, it was then updated in 2002 to
show testing and maintenance requirements of a
fire safety system to ensure it provides the best
possible performance.
2005 saw the Fire Safety Order published, it
then became law on 1st October 2006. The FSO
calls for the obligation of risk assessments to fall
on individuals within certain categories of premises
and for them to report their findings back to their
local fire authority. When purchasing a sounder it
is also advisable to check that it is EN54 approved
and RoSH and Weee compliant.
Fire testing within any facility is an absolute
essential to make sure that your fire safety system
is performing to its optimal level and meeting
applicable legislation. If you do not carry out
regular checks a problem could go undetected
and, in the case of a fire, it could end up putting
people's lives at risk. Once any problems or
concerns have been highlighted it is down to the
building owner to ensure that the issues are seen
to and promptly fixed.
Fire safety is such an important issue that
should be well thought out and accounted for
in every building. With such a vast range of
products on the market, suitable for all types
of facilities and extensive documentation on
requirements it is now so easy and essential to
ensure that all persons within a building are in a
safe atmosphere and protected to the building
owners best extent.
For further information on the products
mentioned in this article and information on
additional products to help fully equip your fire
safety system please contact Cranford Controls on
01420 592 444. IFP
26 INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION
SOUNDER WARNINGS
SOUNDER ALERTS
With such a vast range of products on the market,
suitable for all types of facilities and extensive
documentation on requirements it is now so easy and
essential to ensure that all persons within a building
are in a safe atmosphere and protected to the
building owners best extent.

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