Grandparents House Burnt Down, Need advice on a fire alarm!

I am new to the forums and I came here because I need some help, I watched New Age Server Alarm on Youtube and Here’s The Story: Well my grandparents house burnt down :frowning: , they made it out safely but no by much the smoke alarms didn’t wake them at 2:30am and they are in there rooms, luckly the neighbor heard the smoke alarms and rushed over and busted there bedroom window to wake them and help them out. They are living with us temporarily and I want to help them. They are buying a new double wide next week and I need some help on a project. I want to put a simple fire alarm system in for them so they can hear it. I want to find a facp, 5 or 6 smoke detectors, and three strobe / horns and 1 or 2 pull stations. I am new to this and I know I can hook it up I just need to find the parts. Problem is that I don’t have a lot of money and wanted to see the roundabout cost for this, don’t care if it is used. If someone could please help out that would be great also if someone had some parts they could donate then that would be awesome, You can PM me and I will give you my phone number if you want to call and talk personally or skype me too just PM me!!!

Mods/Admins if this is in the wrong section please move it.

Thanks,
Justin
From Everett, Pennsylvania

Welcome to the forum!

Did you read the rules? https://forums.thefirepanel.com/cms/rules.php


First of all, can you tell us about your current skills with wiring, construction, fire safety, and “handyman” work?

Installing a commercial fire alarm system in a home is a real difficult task and if you have little to no experience with fire alarm systems then I would not recommend it. There are hundreds of codes you have to pay attention to, both from the National Electrical Code and the National Fire Alarm Code. Also, depending on where you live, your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) may not permit this type of work being done by an unlicensed individual. For a double wide home, which is really not that big, this course is not recommended considering a fire alarm panel will cost over $300, even used. FACPs are very hard to find for cheap now and then you still have to get smoke detectors, horn/strobes, and everything else.

The double wide will most likely already have wiring for 120V multiple-station smoke alarms. In this case the easiest thing you can do is install some residential smoke alarms. I’d recommend the Gentex GN-503 smoke/carbon monoxide alarm and the Gentex S1209 smoke alarm. If you would like to add strobes then I would recommend pairing a GN-503F smoke/carbon monoxide alarm with relay with a GXS-120 strobe. This is really the simplest you can go as far as a home system goes. A three bedroom double wide will most likely have five smoke detectors and not all of them need to be smoke/carbon monoxide. In that case, stick a Gentex S1209 in each bedroom and a GN-503 everywhere else.
The S1209 costs about $35 and the GN-503 costs about $50. The GXS-120 strobe costs about $45.