A smoke detector warns early when smoke appears and suits offices, corridors and bedrooms. A heat detector warns when the temperature rises and suits places with steam, dust or cooking fumes, such as kitchens. The approved drawing sets the type for each space.
How does each detector work, and where is it fitted?
A smoke detector senses smoke particles in the air, and a heat detector senses a rise in temperature. Neither replaces the other in every space.
A smoke detector usually warns at the start of a fire, before the heat rises, so it is preferred in corridors, offices and bedrooms. But it is affected by steam, cooking smoke and dust, so it may give a false alarm in a kitchen or near a bathroom.
A heat detector responds to heat rather than smoke, so cooking steam and dust do not affect it. That is why it is used in kitchens, boiler rooms and some warehouses. Its warning comes later than a smoke detector's, because the heat rises after the fire has started.
The approved drawing sets the type, number and positions of detectors according to the space, its ceiling height and its activity, so a detector should not be moved or swapped for another type without going back to it. All detectors connect to the control panel, which shows which one raised the alarm.
Suppose a shop has a sales floor, a corridor and a small kitchen. A smoke detector goes in the sales floor and the corridor, and a heat detector in the kitchen, because cooking steam could set off a smoke detector there. All of them connect to one panel that shows where the signal came from.
Practical step-by-step
- Define each space: corridor, office, kitchen, storeroom, electrical room.
- Ask which type suits each space according to the approved drawing.
- Do not put a smoke detector near steam or cooking fumes unless the drawing says so.
- Do not cover or remove a detector when it keeps alarming; ask for an inspection.
- Make cleaning and checking detectors part of the regular maintenance.
Tick what you've done
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Fire alarm systems
- Smoke and heat detectors
- Control panel
- Audible and visual alarms