Since I know there are a few fire alarm servicemen on this site, I have a question:
The other day, the company who services my school division’s fire alarm systems was testing the entire system. However, from what I could tell, the system was not on walk test. There were some troubles on the panel while they were performing the testing, probably because the NACs were disconnected. Also, the system was being manually acknowledged after each alarm, and the system was reset manually.
Does your company put the panel into walk test for large-scale system testing? Why may a company choose to not use the built-in walk test function of a panel?
This has a whole bunch of possibilities, unfortunately. It mainly depends on the testing crews’ preference, the type of panel or password protection, or even the client’s preference.
Testing crew’s preference:
Some crews may prefer to stick one person at a panel and one person testing devices. How this works is the person at the panel radios the person doing the testing when the alarm from the device is received by the panel. This is mainly used on zoned systems and some addressable systems when you cannot confirm the alarm at the device. The troubles you mentioned are for the NACs being turned off somehow, either from being disabled, or from being physically disconnected. A lot of newer addressable panels can create a temporary walk test log and also confirm the alarm’s receipt at each device. It is simply a matter of going around and setting everything off, then reviewing the walk test log and confirming that the panel received each alarm.
Type of panel:
Not all panels, especially older panels, actually have a walk test function. Examples are the Autocall MDK, Simplex 2001, Gamewell Zans 400, and Siemens System 3.
Password protection:
This becomes a problem in the case of takeovers (when one company loses the service contract and a competing company gets it) when the previous company changed the password to get to walk test and the current service company does not know it. We run into this all the time with Siemens systems installed by one of our competitors. This also becomes a problem with disabling NACs, and so we end up having to physically disconnect the circuits.
Clients’ preference:
This has never really occurred but sometimes a client does not want walk test to be used.
And now about your system –
What kind of panel?
Conventional or addressable?
A lot of what you described happens when we test sprinkler systems, too. I don’t do the testing aspect of it anymore, but when I did, the fire alarm system is involved in our tests.
We test tamper switches on gate valves, sending a trouble signal to the panel. We also note the time it takes for a system to go into alarm after opening an inspector’s test and flowing water. Normally if the panel had the capability, we would silence the N/As but sometimes with older panels you can’t, and then you get the times when a customer wants the N/As to activate because they count it as a fire drill for their building.
My school has a Simplex 4100UIA, but the system is wired as a conventional panel.
I think it is a matter of crew preference, because the same company serviced my elementary school’s fire alarm system. That was a 4002, and they didn’t use the Walk Test function. Heck they didn’t even bother to disconnect the NACs! :lol: