• <br />• <br />The annunciator panel mayalso store building <br />plans and diagrams. These are then quickly acces- <br />sible to firefighters. A note outside the panel can <br />indicate that it contains building plans or diagrams. <br />All annunciators include: <br />■ Floor: the level where the signal originated; <br />■ Zone: the area where the signal originated; and <br />• Device: the type of alarm or supervisory initi- <br />ating device. <br />Local fire or building codes may dictate zone <br />size. The annex of NFPA 72 specifies a maximum <br />zone size of 20,000 square feet and 300 linear feet. <br />The zone limitations in both the IBC and NFPA 5000 <br />are 22,500 square feet and 300 linear feet. Zone <br />boundaries should coincide with fire ratings, smoke <br />ratings, or building-use boundaries. <br />Zone descriptors, whether labels next to lamps <br />or alphanumeric displays, should provide pertinent <br />information to fire service personnel. Designers <br />should assume that users will not be familiar with <br />the, building. Descriptors should be intuitive and <br />rapidly decipherable. As the building, layout, ten- <br />ants, or room names change, building owners <br />should update descriptions. <br />Flow switches or pressure switches indicate <br />water flow. To direct the fire department to the <br />appropriate area, it is important that the zone indi- <br />cation show the area covered by the sprinkler sys- <br />tem. The location of the switch itself is not impor- <br />tant for fire department response operations. <br />Alarm devices indicate a situation requiring <br />emergency action and normally activate evacuation <br />signals. <br />Examples of Alarm Devices: <br />■ Manual pull station <br />■ Sprinkler flow <br />■ Smoke detector <br />■ Heat detector <br />■ Kitchen cooking equipment extinguishing <br />system <br />Clean agent system <br />Carbon dioxide system <br />Halon system <br />52 <br />Smoke and heat detectors should be further <br />identified on the annunciator by mounting location: <br />■ Area (ceiling) <br />■ Underfloor <br />■ Duct <br />■ Air plenum <br />■ Elevator lobby <br />■ Elevator machine room <br />■ Elevator hoistway <br />■ Stair shaft <br />Supervisory devices indicate abnormal condi- <br />tions. They signal a need for non-emergency <br />action, such as repair, and they should not cause an <br />evacuation alarm or notify the fire department. <br />Examples of Supervisory Devices: <br />■ Valve tamper switch (closed or partially <br />closed water supply control valve) <br />■ Dry sprinkler high or low air pressure switch <br />■ Pre-action sprinkler low air pressure switch <br />m ,Water tank low temperature or low water <br />level indicator <br />■ Valve room low air temperature indicator <br />Some devices control certain building features, <br />such as fans, doors, or dampers. They may be <br />shown as "alarm" or "supervisory, " depending on <br />the preference of the code official. <br />Examples of Alarm or Supervisory Devices: <br />■ Duct smoke detectors <br />■ Air plenum smoke detectors <br />■ Underfloor detectors <br />■ Door'closure smoke detectors <br />■ Elevator hoistway smoke detectors <br />■ Elevator machine room smoke detectors <br />■ Heat detectors for elevator shutdown <br />■ Stair smoke detectors <br />Note: Some jurisdictions require devices that are <br />subject to unwanted alarms (primarily duct or air <br />plenum smoke detectors) be supervisory. <br />GISM <br />Occupational Safety and <br />Health Administration <br />168 <br />