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Installing Fire Alarms in Healthcare

Facilities

August 15, 2011 by Peter Ebersold; Photos courtesy of Intrepid Electronic|Share|Print

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A small fire breaks out in a hospitals outpatient wing. Immediately the fire alarm system kicksinto action. The hospital engineering staff is alerted to the activated device location, the firedepartment is called, and an audible chime strobe informs the public. Meanwhile, in the

ambulatory cares private mode area, nurses are notified via the chime strobe and an alarmdevice on the nurse call system. Now, emergency egress can calmly take place in the affectedareas.

Of course, such a potentially disastrous scenario would only proceed so smoothly if a robust,code-compliant fire alarm/voice evacuation system had been carefully specified and installed,along with a well-trained facility staff manning the system.

Hospitals are very unique, complicated buildings, and our systems are the most complicatedwithin a hospital because we have to interface with so many other systems, explains KurtBrinkman, principal of Oakland, California-based Intrepid Electronic Systems, whose company

recently installed integrated fire alarm/mass notification systems at the renovatedVA Palo AltoHealth Care System campus in Palo Alto, California, and the new John Muir Medical Center,Walnut Creekin Walnut Creek, California.

Part of this complexity is created by the fact that the systems designer and supplier must closelycoordinate with so many different trades, not to mention dealing with stringent hospital coderequirements mandating specs like device placement and communication protocols.

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You never know how the job will ultimately be installed out in the field, so the key is to makesure there is enough hardware and capacity built into the design so you can deal with anysurprises, Brinkman advises.

Consequently, the need for a large-capacity system that can be easily reconfigured and expanded

led Intrepid to utilize a system controlled by a single workstation for both hospital projects. Thesystem is very modular and easily scalable, so it allows you to go and add features and functionspretty quickly, he says.

Design details

For the VA project, the team phased out the existing central system and phased in the newtechnology, while keeping the fire alarm system operational throughout. Thanks to the newsystems architecture, just five control panels were sufficient to replace the existing 36, therebysimplifying the owners maintenance program and saving a tremendous amount of expensethroughout the systems lifetime.

With lots of capacity and functionality built into the system, mass notification can easily becommunicated across the campus in the form of audio, LED strobes, computers, phones, andmobile devices. In sync with code requirements, the system was specifically programmed toencapsulate varying signals to different facility areas to prevent unnecessary panic amongst bed-ridden patients, for example.

Integrated with the HVAC, security, and elevator systems, to name a few, the VAs new firealarm installation can also shut off damper and fans for smoke control, operate the elevators, andoverride the security system to unlock doors for enhanced egress.

But before choosing this particular solution, James Veitch, VAs electronics supervisor forengineering services, shopped around quite a bit. I reviewed a lot of systems, looked at reliablemanufacturers, and watched out for proprietary systems to avoid being locked into onecompany, he says.

In addition, Veitch brought in an independent fire protection engineer to review all proposalsbefore making his final decision.

On the John Muir project, similar features were incorporated, except the mass notification wasscaled down to a chime system without speakers and open-plenum wire was specified instead ofconduit. Altogether, the new 250,000-square-foot, $400-million hospital incorporated more than

1,100 fire/smoke dampers, approximately 1,400 ceiling smoke detectors, 300 horns/strobes, 50manual pull stations, 50 duct smoke detectors, two control panels, and one network station.

Project process

Of course, all this functionality didnt happen by itself, as these types of projects require lots ofpre-engineering. Furthermore, the fire alarm system is usually the last to go in, so workingclosely with the owner and subcontractors is essential in commissioning the system.

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For the VA, it was a lot easier because it was design-build, and we were responsible for all thetrade coordination, Brinkman says. We understood the other suppliers requirements, so wewere forced to look at the issues right up front. This way, my guys were able to go out andclarify all the connections to our systems.

On the other hand, for the John Muir job, Intrepid was the low bidder to the electrical contractorand had no control over the process. In cases such as this, Brinkman suggests working with thecontractor in the early stages of construction to ensure a smooth installation and avoidunnecessary rework.

In general, Brinkman also stresses the importance of scheduling. Its so much easier tocoordinate beforehand, rather than having people trying to figure out what to do in the field. Youdont want to be an island out there in a big hospital, he says.

Inspection and codes

Coordinating inspections and system design reviews can be time-consuming, but necessary. Itsa huge challenge, especially in the state of California, Brinkman confirms. There were threedifferent State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD)inspectors involved with John Muir, and it took more than 60 days just to get our drawingsthrough the OSHPD plan check process.

Brinkman had to coordinate closely with his own staff to be sure they were available for everyinspection, even though the fire alarm was just one small part of the hospitals building systems.

When inspectors from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations(JCAHO) came through, Intrepids process of bar coding every device at the VA really helped

the inspection process, Veitch says. Utilizing inspection reports software, JCAHO reviewerswere then able to ascertain when each device was last scanned and inspected.

Offering some perspective, Brinkman points out that one-third of the manpower required for anew hospital is in engineering, and the review process involved is truly incredible. As such, theblueprints are constantly being worked on all the way through the project, which requires asignificant time investment.

In terms of proactively preparing for such realities, Brinkman advises building system suppliersto become National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies-certified electricians.Through the certification process, electricians learn the building and fire codes. By the time the

top certification rank, Level IV, is achieved, his or her code knowledge is typically equivalent tothat of a fire protection engineer.

In addition, Brinkman recommends becoming active in associations, such as theNational FireProtection Association (NFPA) and the Automatic Fire Alarm Association, which can be a greatresource of information on code and design issues coming up in healthcare projects.

Commissioning

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Another important aspect of effective fire protection installations is commissioning. Althoughcurrently not mandated, NFPA 3: Recommended Practice on Commissioning and IntegratedTesting of Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems code prioritizes it as a best practice.

Commissioning building systems typically involves testing 10% of the components, but with

fire protection systems, thats unacceptable and doesnt really serve the owner well. It has to be100%, explains David L. Boswell, SET, regional director, Hughes Associates, Lafayette,Colorado, whose firm served as the third-party commissioning agent for the VAs fire protectionupgrade.

We followed the project through from design to acceptance, and with no financial stake in theproject, we were able to provide an objective analysis, he adds.

End-user training

Yet another piece of the puzzle is training the end-user to operate the system. A big believer in

education, Brinkmans firm typically gives as much training as required, particularly in the firstyear, which includes system testing.

The worst time to figure out how to use something is during an emergency, he says. I canttell you how many times these systems go off and the user doesnt know how to silence thealarms.

With the VA installation, for instance, Intrepid spent more than 200 hours working with thehospital staff to fully understand the system operation. These field factory training classes,plus the issuance of training certificates to participants, were required by the VA. Furthermore,Intrepid had to train the VA police department, which necessitated six different training classes

to cover the departments various shifts supporting its 24/7 operations.

Even now, were doing a refresher training course for another week to get up-to-date on someupdates to the system, Veitch says. As the first responders [in non-emergency situations], myfacility engineering staff has to be able to make minor repairs, so the training has really helped.

Pulling it all together

In the grand scheme of things, todays fire protection/mass notification technology is moreadvanced than ever. However, for hospitals to truly take advantage of this functionality, a newinstallation must incorporate solid operator training, knowledge, and patience with the code-

compliance process. Finally, a well coordinated project process where the fire systems dealer isbrought on board as early as possible can ensure a well-designed fire protection solution andtimely installation. HBI

Peter Ebersold is the Director of Marketing for NOTIFIER. For more information, please visitwww.paloalto.va.gov orwww.johnmuirhealth.com.

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