Using the remote evacuate terminals.

Preamble

This document explains how the remote evacuate facility of the Firepoint-2 fire alarm works and how it can be used.  As with all aspects of the Firepoint-2, this feature is very designed to be very easy to use.  However, if you find this information insufficient and you would like further help or advice, please contact us; we'll be glad to help.

Please note, if you are installing a fire alarm that doesn't need a remote evacuate then you can ignore this document.  The Firepoint-2 is carefully designed to be easy to use and any features that you do not need can safely be ignored — you do not have to turn them off or disable unwanted features.

Background information

The remote evacuate terminals can be found on the controller PCB within the lid of the Firepoint 2.  The input is made active by joining the two terminals together using a switch or relay contact.  You should never apply any voltage or power source to these terminals as to do so will damage the Firepoint-2 or render it unreliable.

The remote evacuate terminals are intended to provide a way of sounding an alarm signal even when there is no fire within the building or floorspace that the Firepoint-2 fire alarm system is monitoring.  Some possible uses for the remote evacuate terminals include:

• Connecting the Firepoint-2 to an alarm command and control centre or "central station".  This would allow the Firepoint-2 to be put into the alarm state "on-demand" by the personnel at the control centre.
• Implementing a "bomb-alert" facility.

Other uses are, of course, also possible.

Related information

The interfaces of the Firepoint-2 control panel
Uses of the class-change/ manual ring terminals

What happens when the terminals are activated?

The Firepoint-2 will respond to a remote evacuate signal almost instantly; there is no significant delay between the terminals being activated and the Firepoint-2 response.  This is the response sequence:

• The red fire lamps will start to flash in a scrolling pattern.
• An entry will be made in the event log.
• The alarms will start sounding with either a continuous or discontinuous tone.  Whether it is continuous or discontinuous is determined by options set by the installer.
• The text display will show the message "remote evacuate"

The Firepoint-2 will remain in this state until one of the following occurs:

the remote evacuate terminals become inactive OR the panel is manually silenced OR the panel recognises a fire signal from a call-point or smoke detector (this can only happen if the remote evacuate is using discontinuous ringing).

The panel cannot be fully reset until the terminals become inactive; if a person attempts to silence and fully reset the panel before the terminals become inactive, all that will happen is that the panel will immediately re-recognise the active signal and return to the evacuate alarm state.

Ways to end a remote evacuate sequence

The simplest way of bringing a Firepoint-2 panel back to the standby condition is for the remote evacuate terminals to become inactive.  If this happens the Firepoint-2 will automatically return to the standby condition if no other alarm is active.

If the remote evacuate is using discontinuous alarms (the alarms are going on-off-on-off-on-off...) then the Firepoint-2 will continue to monitor other call-points and fire detectors attached to the system.  If any call-point or detector is activated then the control panel will begin the normal fire alarm response, namely continuous alarm sounding with no automatic silence possible.  An alarm signal from a call-point or fire detector will always take priority over a remote evacuate signal.

If a person initiates a "local manual evacuate" by using the front-panel controls of the Firepoint-2 then this also takes priority over the remote evacuate signal.  Both messages will be displayed but, because of the local evacuate, the panel will NOT automatically silence and reset if the remote evacuate signal becomes inactive.

A remote evacuate alarm sequence will only silence and reset automatically if there is no other active alarm.

Latching and non-latching alarms

The alarm signal from the remote evacuate terminals is NOT latched on the control panel.  This means that the panel will only remain in the alarm state for as long as the terminals are active.  One implication of this is that it would not be sensible to use a doorbell type push button to activate these terminals because it would be necessary for the person to keep their finger on the button at all times.

To latch the remote evacuate signal it is necessary to use something like a non-return toggle switch that stays in whatever position it is put in.

Continuous alarm sounding or discontinuous?

There are two options associated with remote evacuate and both will be found on "menu 3" of the Firepoint-2 front-panel controls.  The first option is whether the alarms will sound continuously or whether they will be discontinuous (on-off-on-off...).  The default setting is continuous because a continuous alarm will be recognised as an evacuation signal by people in the building.  If, at any time, the Firepoint-2 options are reset to their defaults then, thereafter, remote evacuate signals will cause continuous alarm sounding.

Use of the fire relay

Every Firepoint-2 control panel has a fire relay that can be used to initiate some action in other equipment if the Firepoint-2 detects a fire.  If the Firepoint-2 is responding to a call-point or fire detector then the relay will always change state.  However, when the Firepoint-2 is responding to the remote evacuate input terminals then it might not be desirable to have the relay change-over.

For example, if Firepoint-2 is being connected to a central station then it is probably not a good idea to have the fire relay change-over in response to a remote evacuate signal.  The reason is this: When connecting to a central station, the fire relay can be used to tell the central station that there is a fire on the local Firepoint-2 system.  The remote evacuate terminals can be used to tell the Firepoint-2 that there is a fire in some other part of the site.  The exchange of information is summarised in this table:

Fire relay	send fire signal	From Firepoint-2	To central station
Remote evacuate terminals	send fire signal	From central station	To local Firepoint-2

Now, if the fire relay is set to change-state in response to the remote evacuate terminals then the installation will get locked in a loop and the only way of getting everything back to the standby state would be to physically disconnect the cable between the two systems and then reset them both individually.  The Firepoint-2 is designed to avoid this sort of mess; simply tell the Firepoint-2 NOT to change its fire relay in response to remote evacuate signals and everything will work smoothly.

The option for the fire-relay is on menu 3.

Links

The Firepoint 2 fire alarm panel.