Medium Fire Detection

Architect Specifications

SECTION 436.02 FIRE DETECTION/ALARM SYSTEM

1. GENERAL
The design of the fire detection system and the materials used in its construction shall be fully suitable for marine use. Proper design and installation shall be adhered to in order to meet the requirements of the local inspecting authority. In general the system shall meet the separate requirements of 46 CFR, Subchapter J – Electrical Engineering, for systems covered in Part 113; Subchapter H, Part 76; and NVIC 2-89, Chapter 5. The system shall also meet the requirements found in SOLAS 74, Chapters II and III; ABS Rules, Part 4, Chapters 7; and IEEE Std. 45-1998, Recommended Practice for Electric Installations on Shipboard.

A Fire Detection system, Multicom/Notifier 1010 system or Equal, shall be furnished and installed by the communications contractor. A manufacturer-certified technician shall supervise the installation and testing of the equipment and shall be present during all official acceptance tests and trials, unless specifically approved otherwise.

2. FIRE DETECTION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
A. A stand-alone fire detection/alarm system shall be installed in accordance to 46 CFR Parts 113, Subpart 10 and 76, Subpart 27. The system shall supplement the general emergency alarm system and shall use the General Alarm or Public Address system for transmission of alarm tones throughout the vessel by means of signal generators and loudspeakers. This system can be integrated with the public address system and the general emergency alarm system.

The fire control panel located in the pilothouse will have audible and visible indication of the presence of a fire throughout the vessel. The fire detection system shall use addressable detectors, pull stations, monitor modules, and control modules so that the presence of a fire or control function shall indicate on the panel the location of the device. The system shall be expandable up to a total of 396 smoke detectors and a combination of up to 396 pull stations or monitor/control modules. A Fire System Chart, to be provided next to the panel shall be utilized to give further detail as to the location of devices and instructions on the operation, maintenance, and testing of the system. Alarms shall be acknowledged at the fire control panel. If an alarm is not acknowledged within two minutes, the fire detection system will, utilizing tone generators and public address or general alarm system, produce an alarm in crew areas of the vessel.

The fire detection system shall monitor/control fire doors and monitor sprinkler systems (provided by others) throughout the vessel. Fire doors shall be provided with magnetic holdbacks powered by either 110V AC or 24V DC and local release switches. Monitor modules and relay modules shall be supplied with the system to provide monitoring of the doors, control the voltage being used by the magnets, and monitor the sprinkler system to notify users when there is an alarm condition. Separate annunciator panels located next to the main control station, shall be used to indicate whether the doors are open or closed and whether water is flowing through the sprinkler system (indicating a possible fire). A button on one of these annunciator panels shall be used to allow closing the doors from the pilothouse.

The system will use red-flashing lights in high noise areas where the alarm might not be heard over the background noise. In addition, to meet ADA requirements the alarms may be supplemented with synchronized strobe lights in all public areas. These strobes shall be activated by the general emergency alarm and the fire alarm.

Power requirements for the fire detection system shall at a minimum meet the requirements for the power source and emergency power source for fire detection systems as is called out in Subpart 76.27-6 in 46 CFR. The system shall be provided with appropriate feeder distribution panels and branch circuit distribution panels. Each system shall have at least one feeder for each vertical fire zone with at least one branch circuit for each deck level and shall be, where possible, separated into port and starboard branch circuits so as to provide uninterrupted operation in the event of damage to a portion of the vessel/system. The system shall be a self-monitoring system using return lines from feeder/branch circuits to provide for continuous operation.

Cabling shall be done in accordance with IEEE 45-1998 for signal circuits. The system shall meet all requirements, whether called out in this specification or not, of the USCG, ABS, or SOLAS 74 as called out in their respective rules and regulations.