Understanding supervision in fire alarm systems can be confusing for newcomers, since the term has many different meanings in the fire safety industry. In the NFPA 72 and International Building Code (IBC), it can refer to two distinct concepts—supervisory signals, and supervisory service. To add to the confusion, supervisory signals can be separated into two different categories, based on whether the signal is on-premises or sent off-premises. Lastly, supervisory is a fire alarm system state that indicates the system is in need of maintenance or correction. Fire protection systems monitoring sprinklers, pumps, suppression systems, etc. send on-premises supervision signals to the Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP). Meanwhile, off premises supervision refers to the signals that the fire system sends to a supervising station. Thus, there is a distinction between supervisory conditions sent to the FACP and those sent to a central station.
Even more, fire safety professionals use the base word supervise in a variety of different ways in the industry. For instance, there are supervisory personnel like Fire Safety supervisors, supervision of systems through devices like waterflow switches, supervision of activities, like hiring fire watch for hot work, and more. Supervision services allow you to immediately respond to emergency situations. More importantly, they also allow you to maintain consistent records and reports on the conditions and status of your fire alarm system. Read on as I go into more detail about these important processes.
Fire alarm system supervision has three important factors. These categories are the supervision station, the supervisory service, and the supervisory signal. First, the supervision station is the company or facility that receives signals and has personnel that can respond to an emergency at any time. Second, fire codes require us to monitor and record the effectiveness of fixed detection, suppression, and other fire systems. The personnel or third parts performing this function are known as supervisory services. Finally, the supervisory signal indicates “the need of action in connection with the supervision of guard tours, the fire suppression systems or equipment, or the maintenance features of related systems.
A supervisory condition is a signal sent to the FACP to indicate that your system has a problem or is in need of maintenance. The signal does not describe any fire conditions or need for alarm, however it signals that there may be conditions that disrupt the normal operation of your fire alarm and suppression systems. For example, if there is low water pressure or closed valves in the system, a supervisory signal may be sent to the FACP. This means that there is a problem that needs your attention, but is not immediately life-threatening. Similarly, signals can be sent for a whole host of reasons. Your pressure may be low in your fire pump, you may have water supply problems, leakages, or other issues that may prevent the normal operation of your systems.
Off-premises supervision is when a supervision station or a public communication center receives and monitors system conditions, such as an alarm state.. The signal sent the station is a supervisory signal, while the station or personnel monitoring your system is the supervisory service. Monitoring allows fire professionals to notify the fire department about an emergency immediately after they confirm an alarm condition. In the case of a supervisory or trouble signal, they can also notify the right person to deal with the abnormal situation. When the supervising service station receives a supervisory signal, they will receive a visual and audio notification, which prompts them to take corrective measures.
It is easy to confuse this service with local supervisory conditions, which are not considered off premises supervision. For example, switching a valve position, monitoring a local temperature reader, fire pump, or any local devices on the signaling line circuit is not considered off premises supervision. They may, however, still send a supervisory signal to the Fire Alarm Control Panel when there is an issue with equipment. These two levels of local and off-site supervision ensure that fire officials can respond to an emergency on time.
The primary distinction between on-premises and off-premises supervision is the signal to a dedicated station off-site. Having this connection to a supervising station ensures that there will always be a fire safety professional monitoring your fire alarm system 24/7. A supervising station can supervise thousands of fire alarm system states concurrently and even more in the larger, legacy companies. Even so, dedicated service means the off premises supervision station can quickly dispatch firefighters to the location of the fire and monitor your site for any abnormal conditions.
There are several different categories of supervisory services. However, for every one of these services, the NFPA 72 and IBC both stipulate that you must monitor the location constantly, and have the ability to contact emergency services or the responsible party who will take corrective measures.
Central Station supervision refers to a dedicated third-party service provider that monitors your fire alarm system. This type of supervision provides 24/7 monitoring and reporting services, and may be used in commercial or large-scale buildings. In a real scenario, the fire alarm system will send a signal to the central station, who is then responsible for verifying the alarm and notifying fire department or other emergency responders.
Some facilities have proprietary systems, where the building owner, employee, or building security monitor the fire alarm system in-house. As a result, the supervisor or the fire alarm system must contact the fire department themselves if there is an emergency. This may be the case if a facility has their own security or fire response team.
Historically, documentation and recoding of the fire alarm system isn’t always handled up to code when someone untrained performs it. Thus, recruiting a central or remote station can ensure that your facility is keeping good records of the fire alarm system.
A remote station receives signals from a remote location where someone takes action depending on the signal. This remote location can be a dispatch center or a dedicated service facility.
An Auxiliary System is a fire alarm system that directly signals the local fire department or emergency services when an alarm activates without the use of a central or remote monitoring station. When the system reaches an alarm state, it will autonomously send a signal through the municipal fire alarm system to a public fire service center. Afterwards, the fire department will respond accordingly to the situation.
A local alarm system is a fire alarm system that sounds an alert within the building, such as a horn or strobe, to warn occupants of an emergency. A local system is sometimes also called a protected premises. It does not automatically notify the fire department or any external monitoring service. In this case, an occupant must call the fire department themselves to get a response from fire officials.
Read more: The Purpose of Strobes Within a Fire Alarm System >>
The overall purpose of supervision is to reliably know when there is an alarm, trouble, or supervisory condition, and to act on that signal as soon as possible. To this end, we equip fire alarm systems with monitoring devices that reports the status of your fire alarm system. Afterwards, it can send signals locally, to the FACP, or off-premises to a supervising station, who may then take action. This process is the overall goal of fire alarm supervision.
At FireAlarm.com, we understand the importance of fire and life safety compliance. Our expert team is ready to assist you with systems design, installation, inspection, and maintenance services tailored to your needs. Don’t compromise on safety—ensure your systems are up to date and effective. Contact us today to discuss how we can support you in achieving optimal fire safety in your building.
