Are smoke alarms connected to fire alarm panel in high rise buildings

[katwalatapan]

Hello,

I wanted to inquire if smoke alarms in individual units within a high-rise building are connected back to the fire alarm panel?

I understand that smoke detectors in a common hallway or corridor are connected back to the fire alarm panel, whereas multiple smoke alarms in each apartment unit are daisy chained with each other so that if one smoke alarm is triggered then all connected ones go off. But I would like to know if smoke alarms in an individual unit are connected all the way back to the fire alarm panel.

Thank you.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Planning on defeating one for a quick smoke break, are we? ;-)

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[dpc]

That's going to depend a lot on the location of the building and what building and fire codes must be followed. Since you have not provided any of this information, all we can do is speculate.

There is an NFPA forum on this website. If that is applicable to your question, I recommend that you red-flag your own post and asked that it be moved.

 

[jmbelectrical]

To the best of my knowledge, NFPA does not require that single/multi-station smoke detectors located within the dwelling units of a highrise be tied into the building's fire alarm system. The local building code in my area, which is derived from the IBC, doesn't require it, either.

Having said that, I have encountered projects in which the AHJ required otherwise. This is typically accomplished through the use of single/multi-station smoke detectors equipped with auxiliary dry contacts and input monitoring modules. The input monitoring modules are connected to the fire alarm system's signaling line circuit (SLC). Upon activation of these smoke detectors, the fire alarm control panel would go into supervisory mode, not alarm mode, for obvious reasons.

 

[IRstuff]

All of mine are daisy-chained. From a purely safety perspective, daisy-chaining seems to be the right thing to do, since any serious fire would require evacuation. On the other hand, most alarms are nuisance alarms, so the extra level of safety might be sacrificed for domestic tranquility.

TTFN
faq731-376

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