Maintaining sprinkler and fire detection systems

In case of emergency, fire suppression systems and fire detection systems are an important means of fire protection.

Automatic fire suppression systems, or sprinkler systems, automatically detect a fire and discharge water over the fire to control and extinguish the fire. This will in turn transmit an alarm to the fire brigade.

Fire detection systems, such as smoke/thermal detectors, automatically detect a fire through the presence of smoke or an increase in temperature, and then sound an alarm.  Alarms can be configured to alert either locally (within the building only) or can be transmitted to the fire brigade via a central station monitoring facility (Fire Indicator Panel or FIP). 

Both automatic fire sprinklers and fire detection provide a significant level of protection for the property and building occupants. An adequate fire protection system may mean the difference between a minor interruption with only a slight impact and a prolonged or permanent shutdown of the building.

Building fires have the potential to severely damage the building structure, contents and also seriously or even fatally injure the occupants of the building. This risk increases significantly when the building does not have sprinklers or an automatic fire detection system installed.

Proper maintenance in accordance with the relevant Australia Standards is essential to ensure these systems operate correctly. In addition to increasing the extent of property damage, inadequate maintenance may, in some circumstances, expose the managers and/or owners of buildings to possible litigation if a fire protection system does not operate correctly in a fire situation. 

A typical sprinkler system has sprinklers located throughout the building. These sprinklers are supplied via a network of pipes which are connected to a permanent water supply via a system of control valves. These control valves incorporate local and fire brigade alarms.  Heat from a fire causes one or more sprinklers to operate due to the activation of the thermally sensitive sprinkler bulb. As a result, water is discharged directly over the fire-affected area.

Sprinklers should be designed and installed in accordance with the current Australian Standard AS 2118: Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems.

In general, a fire detection system has three major components:

1. Alarm initiating devices
2. Smoke detector, thermal detector, break glass
3. Notification devices
   Bells, horns, strobe lights, alarm-signalling equipment (ASE)
4. System control unit
   Fire indicator panel, mimic panel

A fire is detected through the alarm initiating devices. This sends a signal back to the system control unit which in turn sends a signal to the notification devices so that the building occupants and the alarm monitoring service/fire brigade are also alerted.  Some detection systems only activate a local alarm and do not alert the fire brigade - a system which alerts the fire brigade is preferable to mitigate risk.

Fire detection systems should be designed and installed in accordance with the current Australian Standard AS 1670:

Fire protection equipment and systems are generally used quite infrequently; therefore, their reliability is critical. As noted previously, proper maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment is essential as these systems are required to be ready to operate at all times. 

Other fire protection equipment such as manually operated hydrants, hose reels and extinguishers also play an important role in fire protection and, as with automatic systems, proper maintenance is also essential. 

The type and frequency of the maintenance task required is dependent on the type of fire protection equipment. All fire equipment should be maintained regularly by an approved fire protection contractor, in accordance with the current Australian Standard AS 1851:

Any changes to the site’s configurations (extensions, additional internal walls, etc) or changes to sprinkler or fire detection system should be reviewed by an approved fire protection contractor to ensure that the new configuration still complies with the current codes and standards.