Fire Industry Association launched a new guidance note regarding considerations about fire alarms for people with sensory sensitivities.
FIA Board Member and Managing Director James Jones unveiled the guidance note at FIREX 2002 at London yesterday.
This is all thanks to 16-year old Sonny White, who has contacted FIA in 2021 about the fire alarm warnings in special schools. Sonny believed that this special suitability issue had not been addressed in the Code of Practice for fire detection and alarm systems – BS 589-1.
BS 5839-1 addresses those who are hearing impaired and with photosensitive epilepsy but it doesn’t address the others who may have hard time during evacuation due to their sensory sensitivities such as emotional reaction to sudden loud sirens or bright flashing lights. These warnings could triggers such emotional reactions like screaming, crying, running, freezing or hiding which could make evacuation in case of emergency harder if not impossible.
This new guidance note intends to provide recommendations for design and installation of fire alarm systems in premises where occupants have those types of sensitivities.
Some of the alternative solutions may include voice alarms, Visual Beacon alarms or vibrating paging systems.
