Types of audible notification appliances

Fire Protection Technology

Part 4: Scenario-Based Case Study
Refer to the unit study guide for the needed information about water systems before attempting to complete this assignment.

For this assignment, you will submit Part 4 of the scenario-based case study course project, which is due in Unit VIII. You should evaluate and revise the recommendations as needed during the process for each previous unit as you learn more during the progression of this course. Please continue to draw upon your imagination to think creatively on potential concerns with fire and explosive hazards, fire controls, and fire and emergency management. Look at fire protection technology in a holistic way that is significantly different from what was previously designed by thinking in isolation. You will evaluate and develop recommendations to resolve potential fires in the future.

Section I

As you make suggestions to improve life, safety, and fire protection, refer back to the background information, if needed, to provide you with the necessary material to identify the basic components common to fire protection for the City of Washington Distribution Warehouse.

As we have been building on each phase of the scenario for fire protection design, evaluate the appropriate quality, quantity, and pressure of the water protection system in the scenario.

This assignment is not looking for compliance with building codes nor expecting you to be a fire protection system designer. However, the purpose of this assignment is for you to apply the concepts and knowledge you have learned in this unit as you begin writing your final project covering protection systems that will detect, contain, control, and extinguish a fire. In addition, this assignment provides you with the opportunity to use your skills, expertise, and experience to enrich your response.

Prepare a well-organized narrative addressing the existing water distribution system suppling the fire protection system for the warehouse described in the unit study guide. Your discussion will consist of your evaluation of the water system and the effect of water pressure on the fire as it relates to the movement of water, the components of a water supply and distribution network, and if the warehouse should be on the public water system or private water system.

Section II

In the unit lesson, fire brigades were described. Explain the views to a reader unfamiliar with fire brigades, including references to specific statements. What are the characteristics of fire brigades in the industrial or commercial setting? Should fire brigades be a part of today’s fire protection? Why, or why not?

For this assignment, you will write a two-page narrative (one page per section) supporting your position. Use APA level one headings for each section. The heading should be indicative of the major section to follow. You must have a title page and references page. You may use information from reputable, reliable journal articles, case studies, scholarly papers, and other sources that you feel are pertinent. You should use at least three sources, one of which must be your textbook. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations following proper APA style.

FIRE PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY 5

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FIRE PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY

Part 3: Scenario-Based Case Study

Part 1

Briefly explain the function of a fire alarm control unit.

The fire alarm control unit FACU has a very important part to play when it comes to the safety of properties. “This is a controlling component of a fire alarm system. This panel gets information from the various devices that are designed to detect and report fires and providing for automatic control of equipment transmitting the information required to better get prepared for fire” (Gollner, 2016). In a nutshell, it gets signals from alarm initiating devices it processes the signals producing output signals which help in activating audible and visual appliances and transmitting the signals to off-site monitoring stated when provided.

When a fire starts a heat detector, a smoke detector or a hand-activated pull switch will a signal to a fire panel. The fire alarm control panel will then respond by visual or audible notification appliances, activating bells or chimes as well as alerting the concerned officials or departments who then alert the authorities (Moffa, 2019).

Categorize the types of audible notification appliances.

Notification appliances are broadly categorized into two: visual and audible notifications. The former normally comprises of bright and flashing lights while the latter is about loud sound. When choosing audible appliances, it is important to choose different devices for every cause. According to the life safety code, the audible alarm is required to produce signals that are not similar to other audible signals that are installed in the building for other purposes. Some of these appliances include;

Bells: these have been a staple of the life safety industry for more than a century. Today, most of them are a motor-driven or single stroke. The latter produces a loud clean sound than the vibrating bells.

Chimes-these appliances function in the same manner as the bells and are constructed using the same mechanism. The only difference is that a chime is that in the place of the gong shell, a chime kit is mounted.

Electro-mechanical horns- these are characterized by their loud horn tone by the electro-mechanical diaphragm vibration.

Loudspeakers- these are in most cases used in very tall buildings serving as a voice evacuation system during mass evacuation and notification.

Discuss the three types of specialty signals.

There are three basic categories for firearm panel signals. They include the trouble, supervisory, and alarm signal. The trouble signal is characterized by a yellow light meaning that there is an issue of operation. The supervisory signal on the other hand shows that there is a problem with one of the systems which are attached and monitored by the alarm system and lastly, the alarm signal is characterized by a red light which means that there is an emergency that requires immediate attention.

Part 2

Discuss what an emergency action plan is. What are procedures and work practices?

Emergencies are inevitable and can occur at any time. This, therefore, means that every company should be well prepared on how it will handle an emergency in case it happens. This includes having set guidelines that will be followed during the emergency period. An emergency plan therefore can be described as a written set of instructions outlining what people should do during an emergency (Kodur, et al., 2019).

Looking at this case study, one can tell that fire in Washington City is a very significant type of building emergency. The most important thing to consider therefore is putting in place a good evacuation plan and coming up with a plan of helping in containing fires. In this case, the emergency plan should explain the first contact in case of an emergency. It should also explicitly elaborate on the duties and responsibilities of the workers when the emergency occurs. The people who are tasked with the responsibilities are required to remain calm, not to panic ad offer instructions on how things will be done.

Describe the designated actions employers and employees should take to ensure employee safety from fire and other emergencies after the warehouse is rebuilt.

After the warehouse is rebuilt, the workers should be educated about the dos and the don'ts during an emergency. This includes educating them on how to read warning signs and how to pay attention to them. Training and education should be done often. It is advised that it should be carried at least once in a year. Apart from this, the buildings are required to be equipped with an effective fire alarm control unit that is loud enough (Kodur, et al., 2019).

References

Gollner, M. J. (2016). Detection and suppression of fires: a cornerstone of fire protection engineering. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10694-016-0606-2

Kodur, V., Kumar, P., & Rafi, M. M. (2019). Fire hazard in buildings: review, assessment and strategies for improving fire safety. PSU Research Review. Retrieved from: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PRR-12-2018-0033/full/html

Moffa, A. P. (2019). U.S. Patent No. 10,478,651. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved from: https://patents.google.com/patent/US10478651B2/en