Splitting an existing Fire Alarm System.

[IanT]

Residential property above a leisure facility.  Currently both areas are linked into one fire system so tenants burning toast leads to the whole building being evacuated.  What are the advantages and risks in separating out the fire alarm system so that activation in the residential area of the building does not lead to full evacuation of the building as a whole?

In short, two separate zones each with their own evacuation procedure but relying on current infrastructure of detection?

Thank you in advance
IanT

 

[AnthonyB]

You have to ask why they are linked in the first place - if it's inadequate fire separation then you can't separate them unless the required structural works are carried out to increase the physical fire resistance.

However what you can do is change the cause and effect between the two systems - the linking is primarily to warn the flat of any fire in the commercial property below not vice versa so you could programme the commercial system to have an alert only at the control panel on receiving a signal from the flats detection or to have a suitable investigation delay.

This would all need to be determined in your fire risk assessment & is relatively straightforward if a competent assessor is used.