Where There’s Smoke, There had Better be the Latest in Detection
Fire can cause death and destruction of lives, property and mission. For people, injury or death can occur by means of thermal exposures that results in burns or by the inhalation of the products of combustion, smoke. A building can be severely damaged by both the results of heat from a fire, or by the deposits of smoke within the structure. The mission of a commercial business can be stopped or altered if a fire occurs. This article reviews the means for the detection of heat and smoke. It is through the early detection of these two byproducts of a fire that lives, property and mission can be saved and damage from the same reduced. Code & Design Considerations The earliest form of detection was through heat detection. This method is still in use today. The second method is through the use of smoke detection. This discussion will not be comprehensive in reference to NFPA 72, Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. This set of standards has been in existence for more than 100 years in o...