fire alarm system
An automated or user-activated system to detect fire and to alert occupants of a building.
A fire alarm system is an automated network of sensors and/or user-activated signals which set off a general alarm throughout a building space, alerting all occupants in the event of smoke or fire. The system must be integrated throughout the building space, and cannot consist of a collection of independent smoke detectors. It is different from a sprinkler system, whose role is to extinguish flames; the main purpose of an alarm system is to alert and evacuate occupants.
This feature is similar in many ways to a security alarm, except in its purpose and its methods of detection.
The alarm must be integrated across the building space. Independent smoke detectors alone are excluded; automatic sensors and manual signals can both activate the integrated warning.
