by Shane Henson — July 10, 2013—The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s (NEMA) Signaling Protection and Communications Section recently released a library of application guides and manuals on fire detection, emergency communication, and life safety that may prove beneficial to facilities managers and owners overseeing all types of buildings.
There are numerous advances taking place in fire detection, notification, and life safety such as intelligibility of emergency voice communication systems, carbon monoxide detection, multi-criteria fire detection, and new alarm communication methods, notes NEMA, an association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers. The documents address all of these advancements, as well as provide a solid overview of the basics of life safety systems for those just entering this field. They are based on national fire and life safety codes and standards, and are presented in a format that is easy to understand and use, says NEMA. The documents include:
- NEMA SB 2-2010—Training Manual on Fire Alarm Systems: Covers terminology, basic theory of operation, installation details, system start-up techniques and general maintenance of fire alarms, and is intended to be used as source material for the fire service, fire marshals and all fire alarm sales, design and installation organizations. It is ideal as a reference guide and can be used in a classroom setting for learning about fire alarm systems.
- SB 40-2010/08—Communications Systems for Life-Safety in Schools: Covers the application, installation, location, performance and maintenance of school communications systems and their components associated with the life safety of students, faculty, administrative staff and all other occupants affiliated with educational facilities.
- SB 50-2008—Emergency Communications Audio Intelligibility Application Guide: Assists specifiers and Authorities Having Jurisdiction with the concepts and terminology used to enhance intelligibility for emergency voice paging systems.
- SB 11-2011—Guide for Proper Use of System Smoke Detectors: Provides information about applications of smoke detectors used in conjunction with fire alarm systems. Outlines operating characteristics of detectors and environmental factors that aid or prevent their operation.
- SB 13-2012—Guide for Proper Use of Smoke Detectors in Duct Applications: Provides information concerning the proper use of smoke detectors in duct applications.
- SB 7-2011—Applications Guide for Carbon Monoxide Alarms and Detectors: Reviews carbon monoxide (CO) detection devices including single and multiple station CO alarms and system-connected CO detectors and sensors connected to a control unit.
To download or purchase these documents, visit Amazon Kindle, iTunes, or the NEMA Web site. Future documents including Application of Flame Detection and Quality Guides for Systems will be available soon.
