Fire alarm technology and equipment
Technology & usage
Plain-English explanations of fire alarm technology — written from 30 years of hands-on experience with the equipment.
Thirteen guides covering fire alarm technology from detection devices to hazardous area installations — written by someone who has spent 30 years working with this equipment, not researching it from a desk.
Whether you want to understand what type of detector is on your ceiling, why your system keeps generating unwanted alarms, what the difference between a conventional and addressable system means in practice, or how a fire alarm system works end to end — these guides cover the technology side of fire alarms from the ground up.
Detection
Detecting the Fire
| Guide | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Detection devices explained | Every detector type used in UK fire alarm systems — optical smoke, ionisation smoke, heat (fixed and rate-of-rise), multi-sensor, CO, beam, aspirating (VESDA), flame, and linear heat. For each: how it works, what it detects best, and where it should not be used.Optical · ionisation · heat · multi-sensor · VESDA · beam · linear heat | › |
| Smoke detector vs heat detector | What each responds to, where each should be installed, and how to choose the right type for every environment in your building — including multi-sensor detectors and the most common specification mistakes.Optical · heat · multi-sensor · kitchen · bathroom · false alarms | › |
| What triggers a fire alarm? | All the inputs that can activate a fire alarm — automatic detectors, manual call points, sprinkler flow switches, suppression signals — and the signal path from trigger to alarm sounding and ARC notification.Alarm trigger · smoke detector · call point · sprinkler · ARC · cause and effect | › |
| False alarm management | Why unwanted fire alarms happen, the serious consequences including Fire Service charging and delayed response policies, and the technical and procedural measures available to reduce them without compromising detection.Unwanted alarms · coincidence detection · two-stage · ARC verification · isolation | › |
Alarm devices
Warning the Occupants
| Guide | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Sounders, bells, and beacons | Motorised bells, electronic sounders, combined sounder beacons, and visual alarm devices (VADs). Audibility requirements under BS 5839-1, sleeping risk premises, and legal obligations for deaf and hard-of-hearing occupants under the Equality Act 2010.Sounder · VAD · beacon · 65 dB(A) · BS EN 54-23 · Equality Act | › |
Control and wiring
The Panel and Cabling
| Guide | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Control panels explained | Conventional panels, twin-wire systems, addressable panels, and suppression control panels. Practical differences in fault-finding and cause-and-effect capability, and a note on panel brand compatibility.Conventional · twin-wire · addressable · cause-and-effect · suppression panel | › |
| Cable and wiring explained | MICC (Pyro) and softskin fire-resistant cable (FP200) — construction, fire performance ratings, where each must be used, and why cable choice matters for system integrity during a fire. Covers containment, segregation, and route selection.MICC · Pyro · FP200 · PH 120 · PH 30 · LSF · containment · segregation | › |
| Wireless fire alarm systems explained | How wireless systems work, mesh networking, battery management, and supervision requirements. When wireless makes sense — listed buildings, occupied premises, difficult cable routes — and when it does not. Cost comparison with wired alternatives.Wireless · 868 MHz · mesh network · battery · listed buildings · temporary | › |
| Fire alarm system types explained | Conventional, addressable, wireless, analogue addressable, and aspirating systems compared — what each does, where each is used, and how to choose the right type for different building sizes and occupancies.Conventional · addressable · wireless · analogue · aspirating · ASD | › |
| How fire alarm systems work | A complete end-to-end explanation of a commercial fire alarm system — from detection through control panel processing, sounder activation, ancillary outputs, and ARC notification. What happens from the moment a detector activates to occupants evacuating.How it works · detection · panel · sounders · ancillary · ARC | › |
Specialist systems
Beyond the Standard Installation
| Guide | What it covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Suppression systems — an overview | Gaseous suppression (inert gas, FM-200, Novec 1230, CO2) and water mist systems. How each agent works, the pre-discharge sequence and safety interlocking, fire alarm integration, and F-gas and PFAS regulatory considerations. Includes water mist in heritage buildings.Inert gas · FM-200 · Novec · CO2 · water mist · pre-discharge · heritage | › |
| Signal transmission and ARCs | What an ARC is, BS 8521 transmission grades (1 through 4), IP and GSM transmission, and the PSTN switch-off and its implications for existing monitored systems. Covers costs, when monitoring is required, and what it actually provides.ARC · BS 8521 · Grade 2 · IP · GSM · PSTN switch-off · monitoring | › |
| Hazardous areas — ATEX and intrinsically safe devices | Fire alarm equipment in explosive atmospheres — zone classification (Zones 0, 1, 2 and 20, 21, 22), intrinsic safety and ATEX protection methods, equipment certification, and the CompEx competency framework including which modules are required for different scopes of work.ATEX · UKEX · Zone 1 · intrinsic safety · Ex i · CompEx · Ex01–Ex06 | › |
Looking for more?
The technology guides above cover the equipment itself. For the design rules that govern how detectors are positioned and sounders are specified, see the design guides. For the engineering detail behind addressable systems, see the engineer guides. For a complete index of every guide on the site, see the all guides page.