Houses with commercial fire alarm systems are becoming more popular especially in California and Arizona because they also have sprinkler systems. Seen it first hand I’ve also seen a fuck ton of bed and breakfasts / inns, with fire alarm systems, that are now just homes which is another good example.
@@DiegoCabrera-tb6em Yeah that's standard in cali and arizona. Considering all new construction homes in cali are required to have sprinkler systems, if its a bigger home, a full on fire alarm system is spec'd too.
Very well done video. I can appreciate the time it takes to put these sort of videos together, they are not quick or easy. Very good explanation and research put in for this subject.
I've only seen one house installation, and it's near. I think it's a care home for an elderly individual, and it currently runs a conventional Vigilant 'Sigma 5' 5-zone system, installed by common local contractor 'Wormald'. Very cool things to come across.
I wouldn’t mind biting the bullet on speaker strobes and a voice evac fire alarm panel for my home. The extra complexity of wiring up speaker strobes is extra fun.
Commercial fire alarms are definitely unnecessary in most homes, beyond enthusiast use -- though I *do* think conventional home smoke alarms could be improved feature-wise and take inspiration from commercial systems, particularly a system-wide "silence" button, as well as identifying the originating detector. Perhaps a tiny display on the unit that says the reason why it's going off. It wouldn't even make them more expensive, and it wouldn't be too complicated to send data packets over the interconnect wire. Nest kinda tried this, but those are very expensive smoke alarms that are out of reach for most homeowners. I think having a few extra features like that could make the difference between people easily silencing the alarm and going to check the alleged location of smoke, and running around the house taking alarms out of the ceiling waiting for the beeping to stop.
also, families whos occupants may be deaf and/or blind may require an actual commercial system. there was one family where i believe they were all blind of some sort so the fire department installed an L-series system in their house.
@@alexandersalarms5380 I think this is what they were talking about: ruclips.net/video/Y5E-pHMekE8/видео.htmlsi=sTZtoHHU61uOk1Yf It appears that they installed a Silent Knight system with L-Series LF sounder/strobes on the wireless SWIFT bases.
One interesting thing to note is that NFPA 72 and IBC don't specifically stipulate that smoke alarms must be used in the applications where they are typically seen. Even where only smoke alarms are required, a more complex fire alarm system may be installed provided it meets the detection and notification requirements.
Really cool video! And very informative as well. Unfortunately in Eastern Europe or a lot of Europe as a whole, smoke alarms aren’t required and if they are installed, most of the times they are tampered with or just not maintained. My house used to have smoke alarms which expired in 2014. They have been replaced of course but still. Also they are really finicky and annoying. I really prefer smoke detectors on security systems in homes and that’s something I want to plan to install in a house my parents own. Also many older apartment buildings (even from 2010+) don’t have systems which isn’t good. But I do see smoke detectors (both fire and security) in embassy homes and especially fire alarm systems in ambassador residences.
Idk why but I have a fear of smoke detectors and fire alarms. I find these videos quite interesting but the fear is what caused me to move from my modern luxury apartment and went to an apartment built in the 80’s. If commercial fire alarm systems were forced to be in all single family homes I’d try to save money for a tiny home. 😅
Maybe that's your cue to become a fire alarm enthusiast and wire up a display wall or mock system. By activating it every single day for yourself, the fear will gradually lessen. This is called exposure in psychology and in my view, it's beneficial. I also apologize that you had to move out due to the fear, but just be an enthusiast or just binge watch all of FireAlarmDude5967 videos!
Idc if a commercial fire alarm is not required in my house, I’m still gonna install one. I now do an internship at a company who does those kind of installations and I will get certified to install them
My house currently has Kidde smoke alarms but my bedroom ceiling has a white Gentex remote horn because I wired a relay to make it compatible. Originally mounted my Spectralert Advance but we all did not like how it looked.
The closest enough thing for me to have a fire alarm system in a house was a fire alarm system in an apartment building that I used to live in. And that fire alarm went off a little frequently; sometimes at night even. 😅
I will give credit to first alert who even on their cheapest smoke alarms, are designed to have the green led flash after the alarm stops on interconnected setups. That way you know exactly which alarm went off. Also on their more advanced alarms, interconnected or not, it will flash the red light continually after the alarm goes off. It forces the user to push the button to reset it to normal after the fact.
Great video and well done on the presentation! I have never seen a fire alarm system in a home, but have heard of some with them and never knew why. Thanks for the explanation!
I don’t think houses need fire alarm systems. I think they should rather have sprinkler systems due to the high amount of synthetic materials in homes nowadays
Since they renovated about a year ago, my apartment has kind of a hybrid system and it's hella annoying. It's based on smoke detection, but when it triggers it blares commercial grade strobe alarms through the subsection of the complex(~5 apartments). As a person sensitive to loud, unexpected sounds this is AWFUL because it gets triggered by people cooking/smoking/whatever regularly. It also makes it largely ineffective because we've all learned to ignore it since it goes off every few weeks. I had to install an air purifier in my own apartment to stop setting it off every time I cooked. AFAIK there are no pull stations anywhere(at least that I've seen, maybe in the non residential parts?), but it does trigger notification in the main office and they have to silence it(which they tend to do very quickly because we've all complained like a dozen times.) I'm guessing the reason for all this is because this apartment complex is largely elderly/disabled housing but... it seems counterproductive because as I've said we've all just learned that loud alarm means one of our neighbors wasn't careful enough cooking again. We also have "Help" pull cords that trigger alarm in the main office too. Anyway thanks for a glimpse of a part of the world most of us never see! Edit: After writing this I did a little more research and it seems this apartment complex advertises itself as "Strictly ADA compliant" and maybe that has something to do with it. Also I don't know for certain that they are using ionization based detection it's just my guess since it's SO sensitive. We have separate "normal" smoke alarms as well that aren't interconnected, as well as CO alarm. In addition to the speaker strobes in the units, there is also one in front of each of our apartment doors on the outside!
Definitely explains it, yet makes sense from a common sense stand point. I admire the skills fire alarm hobbyists and collectors have when setting up their system. I don't really have a collection, other than just a ceiling mount spectralert advance, a Simplex strobe plate from the 80's with a mechanical horn on it, and a Simplex coded pullstation identical to the ones I used to see at a school I went to in 3rd grade.
I’ve seen fire alarm systems installed in houses before but they were mainly fire alarm collectors systems that they installed themselves in their houses. I do not have a fire alarm system in my house because I hate strobes. Now I do have a bunch of smoke alarms located throughout my house that go off all the time.
This Is becoming common in more modern homes. At One Point, Houses didnt typically have these systems unless they were being used for commercial purposes(i.e, Daycare or Group Home/Residential Units)
I saw a commercialized emergency light directly installed in a residential vacation home in Southwest Florida, right above the main entrance. The place had three stories and had a hardwired and rather sensitive smoke alarm system.
Practically, it all boils down to how much a homeowner would want to invest in a fire alarm system. New homes here in the state of California are required to have sprinkler systems installed since 2007. A homeowner can get a contractor to install an actual fire alarm system but it isn't practical, 5-10k on a brand new fire alarm system is a heavy budget to put into a home where $40 smoke detectors do the job. Another issue is National, State, and local fire code regulations which mandate annual inspections for these systems (in the state of California we do not mandate annual inspections for home fire sprinkler systems but advise the homeowners to maintain their systems). A good reference on fire code regulations is to go to ICC's website, state fire code website (i.e. CFC for California), or NFPA. Overall nice video covering the topic, this was one of my presentation topics to give with my FD as a reserve inspector.
depending on the house it can be another chore, like the house my parents bought, it's not made for 1 person, it's really too much upkeep for a singe person. windows are rotted, basement flooded a few years back because they unplugged the sub pump and bunch of other issues we are fixing. besides the people who built the houses fully filled up 2 breaker boxes but cost plays a factor, not many people have 3-8k just laying down anymore
My childhood home has 8 smoke detectors that are interconnected to each other. So, they’ll all sound if one is activated. The only detector that’s not connected to them is the one in the laundry room because we installed it later and it has 10 year permanently sealed battery. And my Greek Village house on my college campus that I currently live in has a full-on Simplex fire alarm system with TrueAlert horn strobes and TrueAlarm smoke and heat detectors. This house has a full on fire alarm system because it’s classified both as a commercial building and college dormitory
Good Work! By my observations the larger houses in Northern Massachusetts commonly have i3s with sounders tied into a generic ADT security panel, sort of like the last example.
We bought some farm land a while back. And for whatever reason. The barn. Which is massive. Has a full fire alarm system. Gentex commander 3s on chime. Im guessing it was for the milk machines or the workshop with welding tools. Its neat. I removed the dialer from the system because we dont need it going off on accident.
They are common in the northeast U.S. But they are usually special-needs homes, if smaller, otherwise, I would think at least closer to at least around 2,500 square-feet house.
In a majority of new home construction, smoke detectors are paired with carbon monoxide detectors that are daisy chained together and each detector is backed up with individual 9 volt batteries
Informative video! A history of fire alarms would be interesting to watch. There are older "Fire Alarm" systems in some apartment buildings which they act like an interconnected home smoke alarm system. Most of these systems are now replaced by newer commercial systems. They primarily use old horn strobes with home smoke alarms. They also have pull stations (usually Faraday Chevrons) as well. With the lack of a central panel, finding a source of the alarm would be a nightmare. These systems would definitely not meet modern code as they function similarly to smoke alarms with a commercial setting, and they have more than 12 detectors. Additionally, they may also have relays to release magnets on fire doors. Those systems are called "120 vac closed contact systems" (might be wrong)
Great and very informative video! Looking at the smoke alarm placement rules for your state that you showed, my house would already be at 12 smoke alarms, and it’s not even very big. I’ve seen some recent houses with WAY more than 12 smoke alarms in my area. Unfortunately, my area is still pretty lax about that stuff. Ionization and replaceable batteries are also still the norm in my area, although I’ve taken it upon myself to do better in my home. I don’t think commercial fire alarms will become common in homes, but hopefully something like in that last house you showed where it is like a security system. If I ever build a new home, I will probably get low voltage wiring (probably FA wire) to all of the detector spots instead of high voltage wiring. I would probably install something like that last house you showed. One other thing: I would like to see low frequency sounders get required in homes. If they have been proven to be so much more effective in things like hotels and apartments, why not in homes?
Some smoke detectors will do a solid flash if they were recently activated, versus older kidde models flash the ac light fast to indicate a recent alarm.
I've also seen videos of news stories where families that are hard of hearing have alarm systems installed in their house to provide visual notification. Also I'm pretty sure the exclusive use of the System sensor i4 series is for residential use in smoke alarm systems like the one you featured.
As a fire alarm tech with some security experience I appreciate the benefits of a real fire alarm system but the problem is that if you have one then they not only cost more but where I live you need an Engineer involved and ofc you need to have annual inspections and I can tell you that most home owners will NOT do the maintenance required. For myself I would be willing to run a security system wired up as a fire alarm since that is a good middle ground, providing most of the benefits of a conventional alarm (or on some systems addressable) but without the legal requirements related to maintenance.
Obviously the exception is any property that otherwise requires a fire alarm as per code regardless. In such a case then you only have one real choice.
Obviously be sure to confirm codes as they apply in your area, as well as any additional requirements by your insurance. I once was involved in installing monitoring for smoke alarms in a fairly fancy house. The house was built to code with interconnected smoke alarms throughout but the homeowner's insurance wanted some form of fire monitoring installed as well. We confirmed with their insurance company that using an approved relay on the interconnect line to input to a security panel would suffice. In this case we actually got them to approve use of a wireless door strike as an input so as to avoid having to run and conceal wire which would have been very difficult in this case.
I know group homes have commercial fire alarms. Because I went to visit one in 2010 and an other one in 2012. The first one I went to had a EST system with Edwards Integrity horn strobes. The second one was an older fire lite or Notifer system. With the first generation Wheelock AS and BG10 pull stations. I don’t know where the panels were I’m guessing in the garage.
Awesome Video! I have 15 System Sensor i3 Sounders in my home which are all tied to a security system. When the alarm sounds, it does temporal 3 once, and then the security siren relay kicks in, which does 1 second with the alarm sounding, and then 1 second with the alarm silent.
one big convenience and safety upgrade is a central battery backup that self maintains people often dont replace their battery or it becomes exponentially expensive to do so sealed alarms are not the awnser as those introduce more problems than they have ever solved nothings simpler than 12V SLA
Well, I don't see any big problems with installing commercial fire alarms in houses besides the fact that if you set off the fire alarm while cooking, unlike smoke detectors where they stop going off when the smoke is clear, you have to manually reset the alarm from the panel.
Very great informational video. It would be fine to install commercial fire alarm systems in homes from installers however we fire alarm enthusiasts do install are own commercial fire alarm systems in are houses... It can be complex but fun!
Funny this video showed up in my feed! I was looking into home fire alarm systems, and was appalled by how crap the options are. Any recommendations for a good fire alarm system for the home?
Smoke alarms are really the most practical option, unless you’re really set on a system. You could get a security panel and wire smokes into that, or get a real fire system
If I ever have a house, I'd have a fire alarm installed with the Firecom 8500 by having the alarm sound modded into a modern fire alarm notification appliance.
At 5:31 This is what the Wheelock AS can sound like beginning of a code 3 at my Sherman High School during Fire Drills like beeeeeeeeeep beep beep beep beep beep beep like that. I love this code 3 that makes it start begin it in my opinion.
Before watching the video, I believe that the cost of installation is the biggest factor and for small homes it may just be overkill. Larger dwellings are another story.
And garbage, but that one isn't required by code and he has videos explaining why he has it and that he likes making videos on it and the extra protection benefits
Domestic fire alarm systems should function the same or similar way as a commercial or industrial fire alarm system, but this time, connecting it to the fire station(s) would be optional.
Can you make a video on why jetbridges have a smoke detector? If you ever noticed, right hefor you step on the plane, on the left side there are a bunch of controls, and if you look up there, it would usually have a smoke detector, is it connected to the airports alarm system or just to notify FA's
My apartment I currently live in I moved into it 6 months ago had a fire 2 years ago that destroyed half the apartment my unit and the others were damaged and had to be rebuilt after the fire they added mini fire horns in the hallways rooms etc and household smoke/co detector in the hall bedrooms etc as as required by law our main fire alarm system is Gentex commander 3s on a silent night panel I think and the mini horns are probably also gentex in my unit and others
Do you have any recommendations when doing a system test video for loudness that way the neighbours dont call the police for loudness? Because I wanna start a fire alarm collection.
@@FireAlarmDude5967i dont do either and somehow still had a complaint from our next door neighbor who could hear it from through the side of our house. Spectralert Advance on high volume continuous is too loud.
My Smoke/Heat/Freeze detector is set up to my security system, which is connected to the fire department. They will be called A if I'm not home and any S/H/F sensor is triggered or B when the Security company calls and I say yes, fire.
I am good with just the smoke detectors installed in our house. We do have a security system with a fire protection feature but it is not activated and we don’t feel like we actually need it.
@@FireAlarmDude5967 In Firehouse Dog which is filmed in Canada but probably set in America, they have mirror writing and Houston Police has mirror writing.
On your fire alarm annunciator I saw that it says Cumberland Farms Northborough, Massachusetts. I live near Northborough. Why does it say Cumberland Farms? Do you live in a Cumberland Farms?😂
Houses NEED pull stations. If younswe a fire in your house and for some reason the smoke alarms arent sounding, you should be able to pull the alarm and get out without running around to get your family out. Big nightmare.
Quick answer because there are some people who can’t stand commerce fire alarms they prefer smoke alarms only aka people with a sensory processing disorder or Autism I’m one of them the only reason I watch videos of them is to desensitize myself to them but if it because a code I’m giving up my freedom and moving to a country that accommodates me better .
I’m not sure what this comment is saying, but I’m assuming you are saying that commercial fire alarms are not in homes because some people have sensory issues. This is not the case
@@1bejarrr That's a felony charge in almost every state in the US. If the system fails after you touched it, you'd be held liable for others death or injury in that case.
The facility house the fire system is a real fire alarm system. I don’t know why you said it’s not just because it’s in the house is not mean it’s not real houses are real buildings. I don’t know why you people don’t get that.
why not a smoke alarm system that stays activated unless manully shut off by holding the reset button for 6 seconds. I find it stupid that at least modern smoke alarms dont just latch on when their is a fire. e.g. if fire detected start beeping until menully shut off and if smoke clears before then DONT STOP BEEPING!
@@SodiumInduction-hv why are you a harassing me? If you’re the one who brought it up all I’m trying to say is that houses are real buildings that just residential buildings I literally looked it up. How does that not make sense to you? Are you dumb or something?
@@SodiumInduction-hv how is me saying that houses are just buildings but they’re just residential buildings not make sense to you. You are literal dumb person. If don’t that does not make sense to you.
Thank you for making this so that way we won't get Jealous over the fire alarm system that NIC'S SYSTEMS & ELECTRIC has in his house as he put it in because he has all the professional skills of being an electrician and a fire alarm technician for Notifier By Honeywell (not a technician that would work on these systems in real buildings as he was a school district apprentice electrician under journeyman supervision) which allowed him to have better protection than residential smoke detectors that were causing problems for him and he's smart to use and maintain his system
That is completely irrelevant to why I made this video. This video is just to explain some technical reasons why smoke alarms are used instead of fire alarms
Houses with commercial fire alarm systems are becoming more popular especially in California and Arizona because they also have sprinkler systems. Seen it first hand
I’ve also seen a fuck ton of bed and breakfasts / inns, with fire alarm systems, that are now just homes which is another good example.
Oh ok btw I lived in Arizona for 2 years!
Yes!!! I moved into a brand new home and there is a potter strobe horn outside and a horn inside hooked up to the sprinkler system.
@@DiegoCabrera-tb6em wow
I. Installed my own system
@@DiegoCabrera-tb6em Yeah that's standard in cali and arizona. Considering all new construction homes in cali are required to have sprinkler systems, if its a bigger home, a full on fire alarm system is spec'd too.
Very well done video. I can appreciate the time it takes to put these sort of videos together, they are not quick or easy. Very good explanation and research put in for this subject.
Yoooo nics here
Yo mic love your vids
I've only seen one house installation, and it's near. I think it's a care home for an elderly individual, and it currently runs a conventional Vigilant 'Sigma 5' 5-zone system, installed by common local contractor 'Wormald'. Very cool things to come across.
Found the other Aussie here.
I wouldn’t mind biting the bullet on speaker strobes and a voice evac fire alarm panel for my home. The extra complexity of wiring up speaker strobes is extra fun.
If you’re down for it sure
Commercial fire alarms are definitely unnecessary in most homes, beyond enthusiast use -- though I *do* think conventional home smoke alarms could be improved feature-wise and take inspiration from commercial systems, particularly a system-wide "silence" button, as well as identifying the originating detector. Perhaps a tiny display on the unit that says the reason why it's going off. It wouldn't even make them more expensive, and it wouldn't be too complicated to send data packets over the interconnect wire.
Nest kinda tried this, but those are very expensive smoke alarms that are out of reach for most homeowners.
I think having a few extra features like that could make the difference between people easily silencing the alarm and going to check the alleged location of smoke, and running around the house taking alarms out of the ceiling waiting for the beeping to stop.
also, families whos occupants may be deaf and/or blind may require an actual commercial system. there was one family where i believe they were all blind of some sort so the fire department installed an L-series system in their house.
They might request a system but unless specified it’s not required
Fire dept definitely didn't install it so idk where that story came from
@@alexandersalarms5380 I think this is what they were talking about: ruclips.net/video/Y5E-pHMekE8/видео.htmlsi=sTZtoHHU61uOk1Yf
It appears that they installed a Silent Knight system with L-Series LF sounder/strobes on the wireless SWIFT bases.
I'm blind and just have standard smoke alarms. Would be cool though
One interesting thing to note is that NFPA 72 and IBC don't specifically stipulate that smoke alarms must be used in the applications where they are typically seen. Even where only smoke alarms are required, a more complex fire alarm system may be installed provided it meets the detection and notification requirements.
Right, smoke alarms just meet the minimum requirements in a cheaper way
Really cool video! And very informative as well. Unfortunately in Eastern Europe or a lot of Europe as a whole, smoke alarms aren’t required and if they are installed, most of the times they are tampered with or just not maintained. My house used to have smoke alarms which expired in 2014. They have been replaced of course but still. Also they are really finicky and annoying. I really prefer smoke detectors on security systems in homes and that’s something I want to plan to install in a house my parents own. Also many older apartment buildings (even from 2010+) don’t have systems which isn’t good. But I do see smoke detectors (both fire and security) in embassy homes and especially fire alarm systems in ambassador residences.
Idk why but I have a fear of smoke detectors and fire alarms. I find these videos quite interesting but the fear is what caused me to move from my modern luxury apartment and went to an apartment built in the 80’s. If commercial fire alarm systems were forced to be in all single family homes I’d try to save money for a tiny home. 😅
Maybe that's your cue to become a fire alarm enthusiast and wire up a display wall or mock system.
By activating it every single day for yourself, the fear will gradually lessen. This is called exposure in psychology and in my view, it's beneficial. I also apologize that you had to move out due to the fear, but just be an enthusiast or just binge watch all of FireAlarmDude5967 videos!
Idc if a commercial fire alarm is not required in my house, I’m still gonna install one. I now do an internship at a company who does those kind of installations and I will get certified to install them
Okay
My house currently has Kidde smoke alarms but my bedroom ceiling has a white Gentex remote horn because I wired a relay to make it compatible. Originally mounted my Spectralert Advance but we all did not like how it looked.
The closest enough thing for me to have a fire alarm system in a house was a fire alarm system in an apartment building that I used to live in. And that fire alarm went off a little frequently; sometimes at night even. 😅
(And it was 1 of those Simplex TrueAlert systems that had the “Attention!! Attention!! Attention!! An emergency has been reported,” voice prompt.)
I will give credit to first alert who even on their cheapest smoke alarms, are designed to have the green led flash after the alarm stops on interconnected setups. That way you know exactly which alarm went off. Also on their more advanced alarms, interconnected or not, it will flash the red light continually after the alarm goes off. It forces the user to push the button to reset it to normal after the fact.
Great video and well done on the presentation! I have never seen a fire alarm system in a home, but have heard of some with them and never knew why. Thanks for the explanation!
I don’t think houses need fire alarm systems. I think they should rather have sprinkler systems due to the high amount of synthetic materials in homes nowadays
Since they renovated about a year ago, my apartment has kind of a hybrid system and it's hella annoying. It's based on smoke detection, but when it triggers it blares commercial grade strobe alarms through the subsection of the complex(~5 apartments). As a person sensitive to loud, unexpected sounds this is AWFUL because it gets triggered by people cooking/smoking/whatever regularly. It also makes it largely ineffective because we've all learned to ignore it since it goes off every few weeks. I had to install an air purifier in my own apartment to stop setting it off every time I cooked. AFAIK there are no pull stations anywhere(at least that I've seen, maybe in the non residential parts?), but it does trigger notification in the main office and they have to silence it(which they tend to do very quickly because we've all complained like a dozen times.) I'm guessing the reason for all this is because this apartment complex is largely elderly/disabled housing but... it seems counterproductive because as I've said we've all just learned that loud alarm means one of our neighbors wasn't careful enough cooking again. We also have "Help" pull cords that trigger alarm in the main office too. Anyway thanks for a glimpse of a part of the world most of us never see!
Edit: After writing this I did a little more research and it seems this apartment complex advertises itself as "Strictly ADA compliant" and maybe that has something to do with it. Also I don't know for certain that they are using ionization based detection it's just my guess since it's SO sensitive. We have separate "normal" smoke alarms as well that aren't interconnected, as well as CO alarm. In addition to the speaker strobes in the units, there is also one in front of each of our apartment doors on the outside!
Definitely explains it, yet makes sense from a common sense stand point. I admire the skills fire alarm hobbyists and collectors have when setting up their system. I don't really have a collection, other than just a ceiling mount spectralert advance, a Simplex strobe plate from the 80's with a mechanical horn on it, and a Simplex coded pullstation identical to the ones I used to see at a school I went to in 3rd grade.
I’ve seen fire alarm systems installed in houses before but they were mainly fire alarm collectors systems that they installed themselves in their houses. I do not have a fire alarm system in my house because I hate strobes. Now I do have a bunch of smoke alarms located throughout my house that go off all the time.
Independent residential homes have smoke alarms as fire alarms. Also, now a days the alarms are interconnected. If one goes off, they all go off. 0:02
This Is becoming common in more modern homes. At One Point, Houses didnt typically have these systems unless they were being used for commercial purposes(i.e, Daycare or Group Home/Residential Units)
I saw a commercialized emergency light directly installed in a residential vacation home in Southwest Florida, right above the main entrance. The place had three stories and had a hardwired and rather sensitive smoke alarm system.
Practically, it all boils down to how much a homeowner would want to invest in a fire alarm system. New homes here in the state of California are required to have sprinkler systems installed since 2007. A homeowner can get a contractor to install an actual fire alarm system but it isn't practical, 5-10k on a brand new fire alarm system is a heavy budget to put into a home where $40 smoke detectors do the job. Another issue is National, State, and local fire code regulations which mandate annual inspections for these systems (in the state of California we do not mandate annual inspections for home fire sprinkler systems but advise the homeowners to maintain their systems). A good reference on fire code regulations is to go to ICC's website, state fire code website (i.e. CFC for California), or NFPA. Overall nice video covering the topic, this was one of my presentation topics to give with my FD as a reserve inspector.
depending on the house it can be another chore, like the house my parents bought, it's not made for 1 person, it's really too much upkeep for a singe person. windows are rotted, basement flooded a few years back because they unplugged the sub pump and bunch of other issues we are fixing. besides the people who built the houses fully filled up 2 breaker boxes
but cost plays a factor, not many people have 3-8k just laying down anymore
My childhood home has 8 smoke detectors that are interconnected to each other. So, they’ll all sound if one is activated. The only detector that’s not connected to them is the one in the laundry room because we installed it later and it has 10 year permanently sealed battery. And my Greek Village house on my college campus that I currently live in has a full-on Simplex fire alarm system with TrueAlert horn strobes and TrueAlarm smoke and heat detectors. This house has a full on fire alarm system because it’s classified both as a commercial building and college dormitory
Good Work! By my observations the larger houses in Northern Massachusetts commonly have i3s with sounders tied into a generic ADT security panel, sort of like the last example.
We bought some farm land a while back. And for whatever reason. The barn. Which is massive. Has a full fire alarm system. Gentex commander 3s on chime. Im guessing it was for the milk machines or the workshop with welding tools. Its neat. I removed the dialer from the system because we dont need it going off on accident.
Show it in a short
They are common in the northeast U.S. But they are usually special-needs homes, if smaller, otherwise, I would think at least closer to at least around 2,500 square-feet house.
In a majority of new home construction, smoke detectors are paired with carbon monoxide detectors that are daisy chained together and each detector is backed up with individual 9 volt batteries
Right, this video is to analyze why those are used in place of fire alarm systems
Informative video! A history of fire alarms would be interesting to watch.
There are older "Fire Alarm" systems in some apartment buildings which they act like an interconnected home smoke alarm system. Most of these systems are now replaced by newer commercial systems. They primarily use old horn strobes with home smoke alarms. They also have pull stations (usually Faraday Chevrons) as well. With the lack of a central panel, finding a source of the alarm would be a nightmare. These systems would definitely not meet modern code as they function similarly to smoke alarms with a commercial setting, and they have more than 12 detectors. Additionally, they may also have relays to release magnets on fire doors.
Those systems are called "120 vac closed contact systems" (might be wrong)
Great and very informative video! Looking at the smoke alarm placement rules for your state that you showed, my house would already be at 12 smoke alarms, and it’s not even very big. I’ve seen some recent houses with WAY more than 12 smoke alarms in my area. Unfortunately, my area is still pretty lax about that stuff. Ionization and replaceable batteries are also still the norm in my area, although I’ve taken it upon myself to do better in my home.
I don’t think commercial fire alarms will become common in homes, but hopefully something like in that last house you showed where it is like a security system.
If I ever build a new home, I will probably get low voltage wiring (probably FA wire) to all of the detector spots instead of high voltage wiring. I would probably install something like that last house you showed.
One other thing: I would like to see low frequency sounders get required in homes. If they have been proven to be so much more effective in things like hotels and apartments, why not in homes?
Also, I noice residential buildings do not have exit signage. Every other buildings like churches require exit signage and independent homes don t.
Some smoke detectors will do a solid flash if they were recently activated, versus older kidde models flash the ac light fast to indicate a recent alarm.
I've also seen videos of news stories where families that are hard of hearing have alarm systems installed in their house to provide visual notification. Also I'm pretty sure the exclusive use of the System sensor i4 series is for residential use in smoke alarm systems like the one you featured.
As a fire alarm tech with some security experience I appreciate the benefits of a real fire alarm system but the problem is that if you have one then they not only cost more but where I live you need an Engineer involved and ofc you need to have annual inspections and I can tell you that most home owners will NOT do the maintenance required.
For myself I would be willing to run a security system wired up as a fire alarm since that is a good middle ground, providing most of the benefits of a conventional alarm (or on some systems addressable) but without the legal requirements related to maintenance.
Obviously the exception is any property that otherwise requires a fire alarm as per code regardless. In such a case then you only have one real choice.
Right
Obviously be sure to confirm codes as they apply in your area, as well as any additional requirements by your insurance.
I once was involved in installing monitoring for smoke alarms in a fairly fancy house. The house was built to code with interconnected smoke alarms throughout but the homeowner's insurance wanted some form of fire monitoring installed as well. We confirmed with their insurance company that using an approved relay on the interconnect line to input to a security panel would suffice.
In this case we actually got them to approve use of a wireless door strike as an input so as to avoid having to run and conceal wire which would have been very difficult in this case.
@ gotcha. Interesting
Hmm this probaly explains why I saw a house with a fire alarm system down in Iowa City a few years back. Interesting video!
Very interesting
I know group homes have commercial fire alarms. Because I went to visit one in 2010 and an other one in 2012. The first one I went to had a EST system with Edwards Integrity horn strobes. The second one was an older fire lite or Notifer system. With the first generation Wheelock AS and BG10 pull stations. I don’t know where the panels were I’m guessing in the garage.
Awesome Video! I have 15 System Sensor i3 Sounders in my home which are all tied to a security system. When the alarm sounds, it does temporal 3 once, and then the security siren relay kicks in, which does 1 second with the alarm sounding, and then 1 second with the alarm silent.
if known, what are the names, or part/model numbers for the system shown at 9:35
combination horn/smokes and central battery controller
I don’t know. Maybe DSC
one big convenience and safety upgrade is a central battery backup that self maintains
people often dont replace their battery or it becomes exponentially expensive to do so
sealed alarms are not the awnser as those introduce more problems than they have ever solved
nothings simpler than 12V SLA
Right
I have seen residential smoke alarms present in many restaurants and smaller stores, particularly in the western states. I wonder why that's the case.
Different areas may enforce rules differently, or those smoke alarms may have been installed before certain laws existed
Well, I don't see any big problems with installing commercial fire alarms in houses besides the fact that if you set off the fire alarm while cooking, unlike smoke detectors where they stop going off when the smoke is clear, you have to manually reset the alarm from the panel.
I mentioned the issues in the video so you should watch it
5:56 that door just closed all by itself!!!
It’s a fire door
@@FireAlarmDude5967 oh I think I watched to many ghost videos
Very great informational video. It would be fine to install commercial fire alarm systems in homes from installers however we fire alarm enthusiasts do install are own commercial fire alarm systems in are houses... It can be complex but fun!
Funny this video showed up in my feed! I was looking into home fire alarm systems, and was appalled by how crap the options are. Any recommendations for a good fire alarm system for the home?
Smoke alarms are really the most practical option, unless you’re really set on a system. You could get a security panel and wire smokes into that, or get a real fire system
Do you live in Massachusetts?
I do
I saw a building with smoke alarms before
Fairly common
@@FireAlarmDude5967 a former hotel that is now offices has one smoke alarm on each floor instead of a commercial grade fire alarm system
If I ever have a house, I'd have a fire alarm installed with the Firecom 8500 by having the alarm sound modded into a modern fire alarm notification appliance.
That sounds like an interesting system
you can actually buy the tone module the firecom 8500 used so this is kinda possible
@@alexandersalarms5380 Oh nice, where can I find it?
@@FireAlarmDude5967 Oh yea, I saw a RUclips video of someone who has the tone working on a more modern Wheelock E70 speaker strobe by Datamaster.
@@FireAlarmDude5967 Oh yea, I saw a RUclips video of someone who has the tone working on a more modern Wheelock E70 speaker strobe by Datamaster.
At 5:31 This is what the Wheelock AS can sound like beginning of a code 3 at my Sherman High School during Fire Drills like beeeeeeeeeep beep beep beep beep beep beep like that. I love this code 3 that makes it start begin it in my opinion.
Before watching the video, I believe that the cost of installation is the biggest factor and for small homes it may just be overkill. Larger dwellings are another story.
This is 100% on point. Great video!
and I've seen Nic's Systems and Electric have a Notifier system in his house
And garbage, but that one isn't required by code and he has videos explaining why he has it and that he likes making videos on it and the extra protection benefits
Okay
I am a fan of the late 90/00's Simplex Grinnell system.
Domestic fire alarm systems should function the same or similar way as a commercial or industrial fire alarm system, but this time, connecting it to the fire station(s) would be optional.
Is it also ok if I just install alarms in my house for fun? Not even connected to the fire department
That’s fine
Care facilities are not for one person it is a special type of group home that houses people with extra needs…
Right..
Can you make a video on why jetbridges have a smoke detector? If you ever noticed, right hefor you step on the plane, on the left side there are a bunch of controls, and if you look up there, it would usually have a smoke detector, is it connected to the airports alarm system or just to notify FA's
Probably just a local smoke alarm for supplemental purposes
What is the central unit for the i3 and i4 system at your friend's house?
Some DSC panel
My apartment I currently live in I moved into it 6 months ago had a fire 2 years ago that destroyed half the apartment my unit and the others were damaged and had to be rebuilt after the fire
they added mini fire horns in the hallways rooms etc
and household smoke/co detector in the hall bedrooms etc as as required by law
our main fire alarm system is Gentex commander 3s on a silent night panel I think and the mini horns are probably also gentex in my unit and others
I remember that when I was living in Florida, I saw 2 commercial fire alarms in my apartment.
thx for the like btw
I definitely prefer commercial fire alarms better than household smoke alarms because they look cooler
Do you have any recommendations when doing a system test video for loudness that way the neighbours dont call the police for loudness? Because I wanna start a fire alarm collection.
Don’t set off alarms late at night and don’t do it outside
@@FireAlarmDude5967i dont do either and somehow still had a complaint from our next door neighbor who could hear it from through the side of our house. Spectralert Advance on high volume continuous is too loud.
My Smoke/Heat/Freeze detector is set up to my security system, which is connected to the fire department. They will be called A if I'm not home and any S/H/F sensor is triggered or B when the Security company calls and I say yes, fire.
I am good with just the smoke detectors installed in our house. We do have a security system with a fire protection feature but it is not activated and we don’t feel like we actually need it.
Right
Can you do why fire trucks in America don't have mirror writing in the front?
Probably because it’s unnecessary
@@FireAlarmDude5967 But Canada does it.
@@seanalailima5929 it’s a cool touch but probably just not necessary. Everyone knows what a huge red truck with sirens and lights is
@@FireAlarmDude5967 But it comes in other colors too.
@@FireAlarmDude5967 In Firehouse Dog which is filmed in Canada but probably set in America, they have mirror writing and Houston Police has mirror writing.
On your fire alarm annunciator I saw that it says Cumberland Farms Northborough, Massachusetts. I live near Northborough. Why does it say Cumberland Farms? Do you live in a Cumberland Farms?😂
I took that video in a Cumberland farms
@@FireAlarmDude5967 oh cool
There’s a Papa Gino’s in my city that doesn’t even have a fire alarm system
We have spectralert advance horn strobes
Thinking about installing a commercial fire alarm system in my mobile home.
Hey fire alarm dude for the December system test can you do est/Edward’s horn strobes
That’ll be November
Hello! I like dual Lite!
my house has a commerical system
What does it have?
@@idkanymore9590 firelite MS-4 with spectralert and notifier and ademco devices
Cool.
Houses NEED pull stations. If younswe a fire in your house and for some reason the smoke alarms arent sounding, you should be able to pull the alarm and get out without running around to get your family out. Big nightmare.
Houses do not need commercial fire alarm systems in general
Quick answer because there are some people who can’t stand commerce fire alarms they prefer smoke alarms only aka people with a sensory processing disorder or Autism I’m one of them the only reason I watch videos of them is to desensitize myself to them but if it because a code I’m giving up my freedom and moving to a country that accommodates me better .
I’m not sure what this comment is saying, but I’m assuming you are saying that commercial fire alarms are not in homes because some people have sensory issues. This is not the case
Do you have fire alarm in your home guys?
No not yet
No
Hi
insurance discount?
Yes that’s a possibility
My apartment used to have spectralert classic but I replaced it with the l series a month ago
Did you replace it as an enthusiast or a professional installer that got permission from the building owner to replace the alarm?
Did you do this with permission? Are you a professional?
@hamzahassan7730 I replaced it like if I were a technician the manager doesn't notice when they inspection my apartment
@@1bejarrr so you aren’t a certified technician. So you tampered with an alarm without the owner’s permission…
@@1bejarrr That's a felony charge in almost every state in the US. If the system fails after you touched it, you'd be held liable for others death or injury in that case.
4:30 that is definitely Ai
Or cg
It might be
@@FireAlarmDude5967 yea
1. money
2. see first point
3. that's all
Right
My neighborhood state ran group home has a commercial fire alarm system
Cool video!
The facility house the fire system is a real fire alarm system. I don’t know why you said it’s not just because it’s in the house is not mean it’s not real houses are real buildings. I don’t know why you people don’t get that.
@@GentexGuy1997 kid.
@@SodiumInduction-hv i’m trying to say is that houses are real building residential buildings by the way I’m not a kid. I’m a teenager.
@@SodiumInduction-hv what do you mean by that? I’m not even a kid I’m literally in middle school.
@@GentexGuy1997 your talking like a kid
@@GentexGuy1997 yeah your a 4th grader lol. i don’t believe anything you say
I hope to have the opportunity to work with you!🥰
Glad to hear it
@@FireAlarmDude5967 How should I contact you?😃
why not a smoke alarm system that stays activated unless manully shut off by holding the reset button for 6 seconds. I find it stupid that at least modern smoke alarms dont just latch on when their is a fire. e.g. if fire detected start beeping until menully shut off and if smoke clears before then DONT STOP BEEPING!
That would be a good idea. Curious to see if there’s anything like that
Lots of millionaires have commercial fire alarm systems inside there homes
Their and yes
I want one for GRANDIOSITY! Make everybody JEALOUS of me.
what about a mansion and more than a single family home?
Watch the video for information
How are you allowed to have a commercial system yourself?
Commerical systems are not a controlled item. You can have them
Not true. Some homes do have red fire alarms. My house has a sprinkler fire alarm in my backyard above my side door.
No idea what you’re talking about being “not true”. There’s no central claim in this video
@@FireAlarmDude5967 I am talking about the sprinkler fire alarm above the side doors of homes.
@@Trafficlightsiosandmore Okay, that still doesn’t make sense in the context of your comment
@@FireAlarmDude5967 look closely. If you go to the sides of the homes you will see a sprinkler fire alarm.
Google nest protect would do that 😂 1:22
Maybe but they certainly aren’t cost effective
Houses are real buildings there just residential buildings not commercial ones
@@GentexGuy1997 Nooooooo.. REALLY?
@@SodiumInduction-hv you just need to stop whatever you’re trying to do by the way I don’t care what you say
@@GentexGuy1997 ?? then why reply? your comments don’t make sense
@@SodiumInduction-hv why are you a harassing me? If you’re the one who brought it up all I’m trying to say is that houses are real buildings that just residential buildings I literally looked it up. How does that not make sense to you? Are you dumb or something?
@@SodiumInduction-hv how is me saying that houses are just buildings but they’re just residential buildings not make sense to you. You are literal dumb person. If don’t that does not make sense to you.
Imagine your sleeping and your woken up bye a alarm but the smoke alarm chirps I can handle and enough warning to get out
What
Cool
Thank you for making this so that way we won't get Jealous over the fire alarm system that NIC'S SYSTEMS & ELECTRIC has in his house as he put it in because he has all the professional skills of being an electrician and a fire alarm technician for Notifier By Honeywell (not a technician that would work on these systems in real buildings as he was a school district apprentice electrician under journeyman supervision) which allowed him to have better protection than residential smoke detectors that were causing problems for him and he's smart to use and maintain his system
That is completely irrelevant to why I made this video. This video is just to explain some technical reasons why smoke alarms are used instead of fire alarms
That wasn’t the point of the vid
I love commercial firealarms
Glad to hear that
@@FireAlarmDude5967 thank you
Simple
Because they are reduant and expensive for most houses, and people are too stupid to opreate them.
Or they can’t do it because they have a sensitive family member in their family I will never do it that’l’ keep me up at night just seeing a strobe .
Right
New video!
hi
Congratulations for getting 16 views on a video👩🎤😂😂😂😂
you lit only have 51 subs
Bud is only 8💀
Typical Kiddie behavior.
What's wrong with that
@@SilasisSus I think you should be on RUclips kids until your like ten or eleven unless your parents own your account and have parental controls on