Control Panels and Circuits

The fire alarm control unit from the inside out, followed through Bramwell Fire Protection's Charlotte crew: conventional zones and addressable loops, isolators, pathway classes and survivability, initiating and notification circuits, synchronization, single-stage systems and positive alarm sequence, programming, the cause-and-effect matrix, annunciators and networked panels, ending with the replacement and NFPA 72 acceptance test of an office building's panel.

FAT-210 12 lessons · 3 h 53 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 the parts and functions of a fire alarm control unit listed to UL 864, and read its alarm, supervisory and trouble indications in order of priority
Plan and annunciate conventional zones within the building code's limits, and find alarms and wiring faults on a conventional zone
Explain addressable polling, address plans, analog values and loop capacity, and place isolators so a single short affects only one floor or zone
Compare Class A, B, X and the other pathway classes, and select pathway survivability levels for the circuits a building's strategy relies on
Wire and supervise initiating and supervisory circuits, find ground faults and set waterflow retard and timing within the limits
Explain how notification circuits are supervised, coded and synchronized across circuits and remote power supplies, and set their silence behavior
Explain single-stage systems, positive alarm sequence and presignal features, and program and test each path
Build a site program with correct device types, labels, groups, logic and special functions, and control changes with comparisons, versions and security
Write and use a sequence of operation and cause-and-effect matrix for elevator recall, fans, doors, locks and off-site signals
Plan annunciators and point lists with the fire department, and read the panel's event history
Explain networked panels, degraded mode, global logic and the supervision and synchronization of remote power supplies
Program, install and acceptance test a replacement control unit to NFPA 72, from the point list to the record of completion

Course content

12 lessons · 3 h 53 min total · final exam

1 The fire alarm control unit 20 min · quiz
2 Conventional panels and zones 19 min · quiz
3 Addressable systems and their loops 19 min · quiz
4 Circuit classes and pathway survivability 20 min · quiz
5 Initiating circuits and supervision 19 min · quiz
6 Notification circuits and synchronization 19 min · quiz
7 Single-stage and two-stage systems 19 min · quiz
8 Programming the control unit 20 min · quiz
9 Sequences of operation and the cause-and-effect matrix 20 min · quiz
10 Annunciators, displays and the fire department interface 19 min · quiz
11 Networked panels and remote power supplies 19 min · quiz
12 Capstone: programming and testing a panel for a mid-rise office 20 min · quiz
E Final exam 20 questions

Requirements

Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.