Installation guidelines a joint initiative from AFAC & ASIAL

These guidelines have been agreed between the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL). They are intended to assist a security company to install, service and monitor smoke detectors/sensors connected to security alarm systems in an appropriate manner, without requiring detailed knowledge of fire alarm standards, individual state regulations or building codes.

Outside of installed fire safety systems engineered to the requirements of Australian/New Zealand Standards, the purpose of a smoke detector is to detect the presence of smoke and alert persons on site only. It is important to note that smoke detectors/sensors that are connected to a burglar alarm have not been designed to meet the specific technical requirements of a system intended to respond to the fire brigade.

These guidelines are prepared on the basis that the intent of including smoke detectors/sensors in a security system is to provide some additional protection in addition to any mandatory fire safety requirements. Including smoke detectors in a security system may not fulfil mandatory legislative requirements for hard-wired smoke alarms in premises.

1. If the security company is unsure of the legal/regulatory requirements for the installation concerned, it should request that the customer obtains clarification from an appropriate fire professional before proceeding. If the building to be protected is a new or recently constructed building, the customer should obtain a specification for the smoke detection requirements before proceeding.

2. As a general rule, a security company should never install smoke detectors/sensors if the installation is required by legislation, as the installation by the security company may not meet the requirements of that legislation. If the customer advises that the detectors/sensors are required by legislation, they should be directed to an appropriate fire professional for advice before proceeding.

3. A security alarm system should never be used as the primary monitoring method for buildings that are required under legislation/building codes to have a monitored smoke detection system.

4. A request to call the fire brigade should always be at the discretion of the customer and a cost may be incurred when the fire brigade attends a false alarm. Security companies should ensure their customers are aware that fire brigades in many states may charge either the security provider or their clients for callouts to false smoke alarm activations.

5. Smoke detectors/sensors connected to security systems should only be supplementary systems and, as such, if large numbers of detectors are required (eg, more than 5) or the number of smoke detectors/sensors is greater than the number of security devices, the client should obtain advice from an appropriate fire professional.

6. The security system should never be used to control other functions as a result of the detection of smoke (eg, activation of door closers, smoke exhaust or shutdown of air conditioning). If this is required, the customer should be advised to obtain advice from an appropriate fire professional.

7. If after providing this advice to the customer they still wish to proceed with monitoring of the smoke detectors/sensors connected to a security alarm system, it is recommended that the security company should have the client sign an appropriate disclaimer. This disclaimer should contain the following as a minimum: 7.1 - the installation is not intended to meet any requirements of any Act, Regulation or Building Code in regards to a fire detection system including any legal requirement to have hard-wired smoke alarms in the premises; 7.2 - security alarm monitoring centres are not approved fire alarm monitoring centres and, whilst they carry out their instructions to the best of their ability, they cannot guarantee that the fire brigade will attend any specific alarm; 7.3 - if the client requests attendance of the fire brigade or authorises the monitoring company to request attendance of the fire brigade, any costs associated with this attendance will be the responsibility of the client.

8. If the security company is required to service existing customers, or customers at whose premises they did not install detectors/sensors, they should obtain a similar waiver, as per item 7, before commencing work.

9. In normal circumstances, it is recommended that heat detectors not be connected to security alarm systems. However, if suitable for a semi-external environment, they may be used in an attached garage. The security company needs to ensure that their sales, installation and service staff have been appropriately trained in the correct use of the products they install as follows: there are various types of smoke detectors/sensors available, from the battery-only version to the mains-powered type installed by electricians; the security industry uses the power from the alarm panel as the primary source and must have a separate battery supply onboard or on the system; the selection of the correct detector/sensor is based on the purpose of the installation; the type of transmission path used to monitor the alarm system, which may include smoke detectors/sensors, should be based on the risk rating of the premises and, therefore, the Class from 1 to 5 (covered in AS/NZS2201.5:2008 - Alarm Transmission Systems); for fire monitoring systems, it is important to know that constant monitoring is available. This is normally relevant to Class 3, 4 and 5 in the above Standard; monitoring of smoke detectors/sensors in an intruder alarm system when coded for regulatory or insurance reasons should be performed by a monitoring centre independently graded to AS 2201.2:2004, Monitoring Centres.

10. Recommendation should be made to the client to maintain the system to the manufacturer’s recommendations, even if maintenance is not requested by the client. AS/NZS 2201.1:2007 recommends maintenance be carried out but it is not mandatory. Where smoke detectors/sensors are installed the client should be made aware of their responsibility to test the whole system if maintenance is not performed by the security company.

11. All smoke detection/sensor cabling must be performed in compliance with Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) regulations.

12. The security company should maintain a log of all smoke detector work performed, as is required under AS/NZS 2201.1:2007, Intruder alarm systems - Part 1: Client’s premises - Design, installation, commissioning and maintenance.

13. All customer cabling associated with the above service must be in compliance with AS/ACIF S009:2006 (telecommunications cabling Wiring Rules) and all other requirements of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Cabling Provider Rules.

Special note: In some circumstances the fire alarm panel may also be monitored by a security monitoring centre as a failsafe feature. A fire technician working on the system should notify the facility manager, isolate the alarm signalling equipment (ASE) and also notify the security monitoring centre to avoid unnecessary false alarm responses from the fire brigade. Details of the security monitoring centre should be kept on the front of the fire panel log book.

Reproduced with permission.