When a homeowner accidentally triggers the smoke detector by burning dinner, it’s just a mere inconvenience to air out the kitchen to restore peace and quiet.
When an alarm falsely sounds in a surgical center, however, the implications are far more serious.
That’s why System Sensor developed the new Advanced Multi-Criteria Fire Detector. Although basic photoelectric or heat detectors are suitable for more routine applications, System Sensor understands that mission-critical environments require a far more sophisticated detector with a much higher level of accuracy.
In addition to surgical and critical care facilities, applications that require the highest level of detection possible include high-security buildings, research and development laboratories, financial centers and brokerage houses with real-time trading.
“Those types of spaces, if they have to evacuate or put emergency response procedures into place because of a nuisance concern, they start counting the dollars in millions very quickly,” explained Todd Alford, product manager for this new detector. “They want the most accurate fire detection possible for those situations. In many cases, the dollars and time they’ve lost can never be recovered.”
To prevent costly and disruptive nuisance alarms from occurring in the first place, System Sensor developed its new Advanced Multi-Criteria Fire Detector with a number of key features. The most fundamental difference between this technology and typical detectors is that it incorporates four sensing devices in one low-profile product.
The sensor’s four elements — photoelectric, thermal, carbon monoxide (CO) and infrared — work together to intelligently analyze the environment and decide whether the sensors are detecting a true fire condition or a nuisance condition. The Advanced Multi-Criteria Fire Detector samples the environment every five seconds with each of these four elements and will only sound the alarm when at least two of the four elements positively confirm a fire.
Having these sensing elements working in tandem is what sets the detector apart from any other technology available on the market. The confirmation and intelligent assessment capabilities will also prove to be ideal for places that are prone to nuisance alarms. Such sites include theaters and other entertainment venues that use special effect smoke.
“It allows us to provide the most accurate fire detection possible while providing superior nuisance rejection for those problem sites,” said Alford. “Different fires have different characteristics, and each fire is a little bit different. By combining four elements, we can successfully filter out nuisance concerns and provide accurate fire detection.”
