Tag: fire alarm

Florida New Construction Fire Alarm Company

Posted on by Lane

Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems Inc. is a Florida new construction fire alarm company –

Did you know that Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems works with lots of new construction builders throughout Florida? We cover Central Florida entirely – in fact we currently have projects going on in Kissimmee, Florida, Maitland, Florida, Orlando, Florida, Altamonte Springs, Florida and more. The end of the year brings general contractors to a fork in the road – it’s do or die time so to say. It’s time to wrap up as many big projects as possible to get those numbers on the accounting books for the year. The urgency for completing fire alarm system installation in these projects trickles down to us and we do our best to meet the deadlines we’re given.

Most of the time, general contractors provide us with a fire alarm design layout for their Florida projects and we use their design to give them a proposal for material and labor for the fire alarm installation. These fire alarm designs are often provided to the general contractor by a specialized fire alarm system engineer. The estimators at Lane Electronics then work with the general contractor to put together a price and timeline for completing the fire alarm system installation.

Once a fire alarm system is approved for a new construction Florida property, we use the builder’s master permit information to file what is called a sub permit. In some central Florida municipalities we are required to apply for both a low voltage electrical permit and a fire alarm system permit. The electrical portion of the permit is submitted to the building department for review where as the fire alarm portion is sent to the Fire Marshal’s office for review by a qualified plans examiner. Shop drawings or engineered drawings of the fire alarm system layout, along with data sheets for each piece of equipment (ie: fire alarm control panel, annunciator, manual pull stations, strobes, horn strobes, smoke detectors, heat detectors etc.) must be submitted with the permit application.

The plans examiners will review the national fire alarm and the Florida fire alarm code to ensure each fire alarm device is appropriately spaced and that all areas have adequate protection. The examiners will also ensure that the proper voltage and battery calculations have been completed so that each device receives the proper power supply with and without ac current from the main building electrical supply source.

Once a fire alarm and a low voltage permit have been issued, Lane Electronics fire alarm system installers are dispatched to complete the pre-wire phase of the new construction project. We tediously run all the necessary fire alarm wires – which also have to be rated for the appropriate application. Size of wire and casing of the wire are all important here. Devices mounted on the wall will also have to (in most cases) be enclosed in conduit. Fire alarm system wires above the ceiling must be suspended and cannot rest on the ceiling grid.

Once the above ceiling and other fire alarm pre-wiring has been inspected and approved the walls and ceilings are closed up and Lane Electronics technicians return to install the fire alarm devices. Before the fire alarm can be inspected by the authority having jurisdiction (an inspector) the system must be 100% pre-tested to confirm it functions as designed.

Fire alarm systems in Florida must have two telephone lines to the fire alarm control panel for communication to the central station for fire alarm system monitoring or they must have an approved UL listed cellular or internet communicator. These cellular communicators check in with the monitoring center periodically to ensure that the communication paths stay open in the event of an emergency. Lane Electronics provides cellular and internet fire alarm monitoring services. We also provide the required service and inspections required for Florida fire alarm systems after the new construction process is completed and the system is turned over to the property owner or manager.

For design, installation, service, monitoring or inspection help for your Florida fire alarm system please contact us at 407-299-6070

Annual Fire Alarm Inspections

Posted on by Lane
Fire Alarm Inspection

Annual fire alarm inspections are required by law!

Florida Fire Alarm Prevention Code requires that certain businesses have a fire alarm system installed, maintained and monitored. There is much more than just the initial fire alarm installation. Your chosen fire alarm monitoring company or fire alarm service company must provide you with annual fire alarm inspections. These annual fire alarm inspections are an important process that must be followed in order to protect life and property. Fire alarm systems are installed in hopes that they never have to be used. In the event that a fire alarm system is triggered, it’s important to know that the fire alarm will work and that the proper authorities will respond quickly.

What is done during an annual fire alarm inspection?

A Florida certified Fire Alarm Systems Agent (FASA) fire alarm technician will perform a visual inspection of all fire alarm devices including:

Manual Pull Stations also known as Manual Fire Alarm Boxes

Smoke Detectors

Heat Detectors

Heat Alarms

Supervisory Signal Devices – including Lockboxes

Duct Smoke Detectors

Waterflow Devices

Valve Tamper Switches

Gas Detectors

Strobe Devices

Horn Devices

Horn – Strobes

Speaker Strobes

Voice Evacuation Panel

Fire Alarm Panel

Battery Condition

Battery Installation Date

Remote Fire Alarm Annunciators – Fire Alarm Keypads

A visual fire alarm inspection can help the technician to determine if there is any physical damage to the devices that may cause a malfunction – either in the deliberate initiation of the fire alarm system or if the device may pose the potential for a false alarm trigger.  It’s also important to ensure that no required fire alarm devices have been removed from the property.

After a thorough visual inspection, the fire alarm technician will perform a functionality test to determine that the devices are working as intended and that the fire alarm sequence of events takes place as it’s intended.

The technician will contact the alarm monitoring central station and request that the fire alarm monitoring account be placed on test. This means that while the operators will receive the signal information from the control panel, the fire department will not be dispatched.

Once the system has been placed on test, the technician will begin a functionality test by manually engaging the fire alarm pull stations, smoke detectors, heat detectors and other fire alarm initiating devices. When this action occurs, the technician will observe and document the events that follow – including the initialization of the fire alarm strobes, horn strobes, speaker strobes and other notification appliances.

During the process of the fire alarm sounding in alarm, the technician will verify that the system’s power consumption is appropriate, that the proper signal information is being transmitted to the monitoring center and that the system is able to be reset to normal.

The fire alarm technician will also test the fire alarm panel’s ability to recharge backup batteries and replace depleted back up batteries as needed.

A full fire alarm inspection report is provided to the on site property representative to be placed near the fire alarm panel and a copy is brought back to the Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems office for record keeping.

If there are any deficiencies found during the fire alarm’s visual or functionality tests the deficiencies must be reported to the proper Florida fire alarm jurisdiction along with a plan of action to repair these devices.

If you have a business in Florida that requires fire alarm system monitoring or fire alarm system inspections, reach out to Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems in Winter Park, Florida and trust your fire alarm needs to the experts!

Please use our Contact Us page for instant contact information for Lane Electronics and Alarm Systems – your Florida Fire Alarm Company!