Heat, Smoke, and Fire Alarm Testing

Fire alarm testing is a crucial aspect of ensuring the safety of life and property, mandated by law and insurance companies in virtually all occupied structures. Frequent testing also means that the sensors would have the capability to detect the signature of the fire (heat, smoke particles, and combustion gases), and the system would alert the occupants in time, in most cases automatically alerting emergency services. This is determined by rigid national and local codes (and in the US, NFPA 72), which specify timing, procedures, and records.

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Effective and safe testing should be done with the help of special and manufacturer-approved devices that are necessary to be code-compliant. In the case of smoke detectors, a canned aerosol smoke or smoke aerosol generator that generates particles with a specific size range (normally 0.5 to 1.0 microns) is utilised to test the chute of the detector, but does not leave any damaging residue. Detectors that have an inbuilt test facility have a magnet or test switch. In the case of heat detectors, a certified heat source is needed (e.g., a heat gun with a calibrated nozzle or a non-destructive heat test kit that safely heats the detector to its set point temperature (e.g., 135°F or 57°C).

Smoke Detector Testing: The technician would smoke the dome of the detector either by using a smoke generator or by using canned smoke. The alarm of the detector should take place in 90 seconds (NFPA 72). In the case of beam-based smoke detectors, a beam may be positioned with an optical filter of a particular density. Sensitivity testing (every other year) involves application of a special smoke detector analyser to test the response of the detector to specific levels of smoke, to verify that it is within its stated sensitivity range (typically as a percentage of per foot obscuration). 

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