Fire Alarm Project

[DuyPh]

Hi everyone, I'm working on the fire alarm project. There are two main panels, the first one is main panel and another is mimic panel. On those , they have three push buttons (Isolated button, Emergency button, Reset/Silent button). Does anyone know what do we use Isolated button for in reality? When do we need to push it?

 

[Reloadron]

The panel should have a set of user instructions and guidelines. Pretty sure all user accessible controls would be defined in the user manual. Someone installed it and there is user support somewhere? There is no way to answer your very vague question.

Ron

 

[DuyPh]

You’re right, but I think every single fire alarm in reality has those standard buttons. I do not know why and how do we use isolate state?

 

[JimB]

Hi everyone, I'm working on the fire alarm project.

What fire alarm project?
Is this a real system, or just some school learning exercise?

A bit more information would be helpful.

JimB

 

[rfranzk]

Maybe isolated would set of audible alarm on the property but not notify fire department or authorities.

rfranzk.

 

[DuyPh]

That’s from Embeded system module what I am studying in university

 

[Reloadron]

Would have been nice to know that.

Does the button label say Isolate or Zone Isolate? Been years and was actually facilities engineering than my area of test engineering but our panel I recall had a Zone Isolate. The building was divided into zones. Zone isolate afforded the ability to isolate a single or multiple zones within the system to perform for example maintenance. The panel was critical for safety and any alarm resulted in the fire department automatically responding. Maybe we had a zone where a sprikler head was to be replaced or added. WE could isolate that zone so when the supply was turned off the resultant pressure drop on that line would not trigger an alarm condition.

That's my best guess and when I used Zone Isolate I had options on the touchj panel as to what I wanted to do with the isolated zone. Again, this was Facilities Engineering and not actually my area of Test Engineering.

Ron

 

[DuyPh]

For example, a sensor in Zone 1 senses a fire, a signal will instantly sent to the main control penal. Now we know where the fire is happening, so we can isolate that Zone by turning off its sensor to prevent electrical explosions. Can we?

 

[Reloadron]

Yes, think about it. Also think about a large facility or even better a large ship with multiple decks and spaces. You can remove electrical service from a fire panel located in ship's engineering.

Again, my experience is limited. A facilities engineering type is what you want.

Ron

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Your buttons have wierd names.

Isolate, may mean generate a local alarm only. This would be used when testing the fire alarm. You would, in effect, want to isolate the panel. It would not call the monitoring station. It would put monitoring in "trouble mode"

Usually, the alarm is acknowledged and the buzzers are turned off. The panel still indicates the fault and the alarm panel goes into "trouble" which is a local buzzer at the panel.

I haven;t heard of a "mimic panel" either. I've heard of an annouciator. A more complex annouciator would have the building layout and it would be posted at the doorway.

You generally get "Zones", so you don't know what detector actually went off until you examine the zones. We had indicators placed on the ceiling.

Emergency would likely just set off the alarm.

A "Zone" could be all of the pull stations on a given floor. You would have to examine every one of them to know which one tripped the alarm. Does it matter....No.

In an "alarm system" I designed to interface with the FAP (Fire Alarm Panel). Level 1 actived local buzzers and strobes. A level 2 alarm activated the FAP. These were from gas detectors. The FAP activated my panels to isolate the gas cylinders and the process.

I to had shutdown buttons as you exited, but they did not activate the FAP.

The FAP makes use of "monitored contacts" which I did not use correctly. I did, however, make some use of "monitored". The gas detectors and the FAP were remote, so I needed to know when they were reset. The FORM C contact at the FAP, lit an LED when two of the wires were contiguous. If just the alarm wire was cut, I would not know.

All I really know is that when the lab blew up, it worked for the wrong reason. The gas involved was hydrogen and the powers that be had the detectors in a box. The likely hydrogen ignition broke the air velocity sensor in the ventilation stream and the system shut down.

An excess flow valve (A safety device failed) making the operator believe the cylinder was empty, About 1500 PSI was released into a line maybe rated for 30 PSI. In normal operation during a cylinder change it should see vacuum.

 

[Reloadron]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the strobes.

We had another feature. There was an area where we ran and tested jet engine fuel pumps, civilian and military. The walls were like bunkers and the only way for an explosion to go was up. When doors slammed there was a CO2 system that would discharge CO2 so if you weren't out you were dead. I forgot all about those strobes and the CO2 system. The doors automatically sealed.

I do remember the screen was like a map of the facility with all zones identified, I thought the color scheme was pretty cool. Imagine the systems in sky scrapers?

Ron

 

[JimB]

Does anyone know what do we use Isolated button for in reality?

I suspect that "Isolated" may be more often described as "override".
The idea being that a detector (smoke/flame/gas) will give an indication of alarm on the system, but the system will not initiate any action such as an audible alarm of set off an extinguisher.
Such a feature is used to isolate a faulty sensor, or to allow a sensor to be set into the alarm state during maintenance and calibration.

JimB

 

[gophert]

Isolate is the actual button name and it is used to cancel calls to the fire brigade (fire department) - even if local alarm continues. Used in cases like, If a grease fire starts in the kitchen and the grille fire suppression system goes off to put it out, the restaurant may want the alarm to continue until all guests are out, they can vent the building but do not need the fire department - they push the isolate button. The name is weird but an industry standard.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Don't Get Caught! Disable is different from Isolate

Occasionally we hear about someone having issues with the *Disable* function in AS 7240.2 fire indicating panels.

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