If you’re concerned about office safety, a fire alarm system is one of the most basic safety measures you can take; in fact, it’s required in many places. While it’s always important to practice proper fire prevention methods like reducing clutter, leaving room for air circulation around equipment like copiers, replacing damaged building wiring, and so on, it’s also necessary to have a backup plan. This means making sure employees are aware of building evacuation procedures, keeping fire extinguishers handy, and installing fire alarms. If you’re looking for the best fire alarm system in Chester, PA, for your business, we have a few points for you to consider.
Sensor Types
As you begin to research commercial fire alarm companies in Chester, PA, you’ll find that different companies offer different types of alarms. If sensors use ionization, this means that the air is ionized inside the alarm, creating a small electrical current. If smoke enters and disrupts the current, this triggers the alarm. Photoelectric sensors, on the other hand, have a beam of light inside the sensor, and the smoke has to disrupt the light to set off the alarm. Since ionization alarms work well when detecting fast-flaming fires and photoelectric sensors excel at detecting slow-burning ones, it is generally advisable to have some of both.
Control Panel Types
If you buy a conventional alarm system, then you’ll have one fire alarm control panel that’s wired to all the different system components. If there’s a problem anywhere in the system, the control panel gives off a signal. Many people choose these fire detection systems in Chester, PA, if they own small businesses, given how relatively inexpensive they are. Unfortunately, the control panel doesn’t tell you where the smoke or fire is, so if you have a large facility, you might be hard pressed to find the source of the problem in a timely fashion.
If you want your control panel to tell you exactly where to go to fix the problem, you’ll need an addressable alarm system. In these systems, each component has a unique signal that it can send to the control panel, and the control panel can then tell you exactly where to look. If you have a large business, this is the best alarm system in West Chester, PA, because it can save you valuable time as you attempt to determine the extent of any smoke or fire present in the building. Given how quickly fire spreads, the more time you can save, the better.