Fire Alarm Fundamentals
How fire alarm systems protect people and property, followed through Bramwell Fire Protection's Charlotte service crew in an office building, a school, a hospital, an apartment tower and a sprinklered warehouse: fire science and fire growth, system types and devices, the building and fire codes, NFPA 72 and the authority having jurisdiction, sprinklers and other building systems, working with other trades and the fire department, safety and impairments, and a full building survey.
FAT-110 12 lessons · 4 h 4 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Fire Alarm Systems
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Describe what fire alarm systems do, the difference between alarm, supervisory and trouble signals, and the roles and credentials in the fire alarm trade
- Explain combustion, flaming and smoldering fires, the products of combustion, heat transfer and heat release rate, and how each detector type senses a fire
- Use the stages of a room fire, the t-squared growth model and the ceiling jet to explain when detectors and sprinklers respond
- Explain the life safety and property protection goals of fire alarm systems, the ASET and RSET time race, protect-in-place strategies and the cost of nuisance alarms
- Distinguish conventional and addressable systems, signaling methods, voice systems, power and supervision, and monitoring arrangements
- Identify common initiating devices, supervisory devices, notification appliances and control functions, and read a sequence of operation
- Explain how the building and fire codes, NFPA 72, the NEC and the authority having jurisdiction set and enforce fire alarm requirements in a state
- Describe sprinkler, standpipe, fire pump and special suppression systems and the devices the fire alarm system uses to monitor or release them
- Describe the fire alarm's interfaces with elevators, air handling and smoke control, doors, power and audio systems, and how they are tested together
- Follow the sequence of a fire alarm project from design to acceptance testing and handover, and work effectively with other trades, the fire department and the monitoring station
- Work safely around electricity, ladders, lifts, noise, hazardous materials and suppression systems, and manage impairments with notifications and fire watches
- Survey an occupied building's fire alarm system against its documents and report findings by urgency in clear language
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 4 min total · final exam
- 1 The fire alarm trade 21 min · quiz
- 2 Fire science basics: combustion, smoke and heat 20 min · quiz
- 3 How fires grow in buildings 19 min · quiz
- 4 Why buildings need fire alarms: life safety and property protection 19 min · quiz
- 5 System types and architectures 20 min · quiz
- 6 Initiating, notification and control functions 20 min · quiz
- 7 Building codes, NFPA 72 and the authority having jurisdiction 19 min · quiz
- 8 Sprinklers, standpipes and suppression systems 20 min · quiz
- 9 Fire alarms and other building systems 22 min · quiz
- 10 Working with other trades and the fire department 20 min · quiz
- 11 Safety for fire alarm technicians 21 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: walking a building's fire alarm system 23 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
How fire alarm systems protect people and property, followed through Bramwell Fire Protection's Charlotte service crew in an office building, a school, a hospital, an apartment tower and a sprinklered warehouse: fire science and fire growth, system types and devices, the building and fire codes, NFPA 72 and the authority having jurisdiction, sprinklers and other building systems, working with other trades and the fire department, safety and impairments, and a full building survey.