Fire Detection: An Integral Part of Home Security Safety

By: Art Gib

Home security involves more than just setting up a burglar alarm. Home security involves protecting every aspect of the home. Although, theft deterrent sensors and alarms are an integral part of the system, a complete home security system extends to include fire detection and emergency response. These three detection and alert elements make up what is commonly referred to as home security.

Fire protection sensors in the form of smoke alarms are designed to detect heavy smoke and intense heat. The latest advances in smoke detectors work by sensing the air around them and measuring the amount of carbon that is in the air. These sophisticated devices are able to tell the difference between burning toast and burning carpet. Older smoke detectors are ion detectors and are triggered by the slightest elevation in ion particles in the atmosphere.

The older detectors were highly sensitive triggering alarm sirens at the smallest change in atmosphere. Many false alarms have been attributed to the ion sensing smoke detector. Today smoke detectors have been modified to detect carbon particles that are heavier and have greater density than ion particles so determining the difference between fabrics, upholstery and framing burning is far easier to differentiate and protect against.

Additionally, updated smoke detectors include a heat sensor that is designed to detect dramatic rises in temperature above 120 degrees. The sensor tests the temperature every two minutes and monitors raises in temperature in five degree increments. If the temperature is rising slowly the alarm will sound once the 120 degree preset tolerance limit is reached.

If a fire is burning and the temperature is raising by five degrees or more over the two minute test cycle of the sensor the alarm will sound and the monitoring station will be notified. The dual sensor smoke detector is a fail safe system that is being incorporated in many home security systems.

Security systems that utilize integrated smoke detectors replace the older ion particle smoke detectors and are tied directly into the security system allowing for immediate response from the fire department once an alarm in sounded. Typically, the fire department is the first responder to any alarm.

If the monitoring center determines that a fire alarm is false they have the ability to contact a fire truck en route to notify the firemen of the mistake and turn the truck back to base. Fire protection is just one aspect of a complete home security system.