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Fire alarm courses

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  • 28-06-2019 1:18am
    #1
    Mikeyshragh
    Registered Users Posts: 92 ✭✭


    Hi.
    I’m a qualified electrician and I’m looking to get into fire alarm systems. Wiring and commissioning them. What would be they best course and with whom? And how long of a course is it? I would like to be qualified in installing fire alarms and commission them myself

    Thanks in advance for ur advise.


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    #2
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    Mikeyshragh wrote: »
    Hi.
    I’m a qualified electrician and I’m looking to get into fire alarm systems. Wiring and commissioning them.

    There is very little in wiring them. It will vary a bit depending on the make but the manufacturer can advise you on that. Most likely you will find them extremely cooperative as this enables them to sell more of their product. All modern systems are addressable, only the smaller or older systems aren't.

    For addressable systems, all detection heads are wired the same way on a ring or radial circuit. Then each head is addressed, normally by setting dip switches. Then each address has a description associated with it.

    Non-addressable systems will only identify which zone has activated, not which detector. Obviously addressable heads and system cost more.

    There is a bit of a knack to making off MICC (mineral insulated copper cable) such as pyro but it is not used as extensively as it was.
    What would be they best course and with whom? And how long of a course is it? I would like to be qualified in installing fire alarms and commission them myself

    I never commissioned an addressable system, but I don't think there is a lot to it. You could contact the manufacturer and get them to do it or show you how to do it. From a financial perspective the maintenance contract is the can be a nice little earner, the commissioning part itself won't be worth a whole lot unless it is a very large and complex system.


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    #3
    kramer1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭kramer1


    No harm to get yourself a copy of is3218 while you're at it. Fire alarm regs


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    #4
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    kramer1 wrote: »
    No harm to get yourself a copy of is3218 while you're at it. Fire alarm regs

    Absolutely, but that is more about designing a fire alarm system than the installation of one.


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    #5
    kramer1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭kramer1


    2011 wrote: »
    Absolutely, but that is more about designing a fire alarm system than the installation of one.
    A monkey could wire one


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    #6
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    kramer1 wrote: »
    A monkey could wire one

    ...as I said in my initial response "There is very little in wiring them."

    The OP did say "Wiring and commissioning them." not designing fire alarm systems, hence my response.


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    #7
    kramer1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 305 ✭✭kramer1


    2011 wrote: »
    ...as I said in my initial response "There is very little in wiring them."

    The OP did say "Wiring and commissioning them." not designing fire alarm systems, hence my response.
    Yep, wasn't arguing , just giving an opinion , apologies if it came across differently


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    #8
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    kramer1 wrote: »
    Yep, wasn't arguing , just giving an opinion , apologies if it came across differently

    Understood, no problem.


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    #9
    Mikeyshragh
    Registered Users Posts: 92 ✭✭Mikeyshragh


    Thanks for all they reply’s. I know it’s easy enough to wire them. I want to be able to commission them as well.


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    #10
    2011
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,596 Mod ✭✭✭✭2011


    Mikeyshragh wrote: »
    Thanks for all they reply’s. I know it’s easy enough to wire them. I want to be able to commission them as well.

    Not very difficult.
    Each system will be programmed differently. There is no one course for every panel.

    The design can be more involved depending on the installation. Some places I have worked such as power stations and pharmaceutical plants have more involved cause and effect matrices driven by the fire alarm panel.


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    #11
    alta stare
    Registered Users Posts: 2,326 ✭✭✭alta stare


    Alot of the work with an intelligent fire alarm is understanding and programming cause and effect. There can be serious ramifications if they are not set up correctly so training is a no brainer.


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    #12
    TIGARBARB
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭TIGARBARB


    Hi I hoping someone in here can help me. I'm an electrician and no NOTHING about fire alarm systems, I just wire them. I've recently added in some extra devices for a customer as they got a sprinkler system install. I put the I/O'S in and everything and a fire company set them up on the panel. Now we need to have the sprinkler system monitior for fire and fault. So we have to put in the resistors at the sprinkler system. I had a firing resistor into the n/o and a fault resistor into n/c, the blue from the input into common and brown in a conector block with the two resistors twisted together. The sprinkler system was off but the fire alarm went straight into fire. The panel is advanced and apollo. We can't get the fire alarm company back until for a week so hoping we can fix it asap. Hope this makes sense to somewhere here. Thank you


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