Manual fire alarm activation

When a fire pull station or call point is activated, codes usually require evacuation begin immediately.

There are certain exemptions like system maintenance and security lockdowns, where manual activation outside the control panel may be overridden.

After operation, most fire alarm pull stations must be restored to the ready position using a special tool or key for the panel to be reset.

Early strategies to cope with this problem included requiring the operator to break a pane of glass to release an internal spring-operated mechanism.

The teeth would push up on a contact, which would open and close a circuit, pulsing the code to the bells or horns.

For example, consider a pull station in the fourth-floor elevator lobby of an office building with a code of 5-3-1.

Turning the switch one way causes the notification appliances to sound continuous (or in the case of single-stroke bells, ding once).

Turning it the other way and then activating the pull allows a silent test to be done in which the station's mechanical parts are checked to ensure proper function.

Until the early 1990s, some panels were made with an extra zone to accommodate any existing coded pull stations.

In some places, particularly at college dormitories and schools, students deliberately set off fire alarms as a prank or just because they want to (because they are angry, curious, they want to seek revenge on someone, or to postpone, skip or cancel a test or exam).

There will be an indicator on the monitoring unit for visual indication to locate the call point easily, and there should be a visual identifier of the unit which triggered the alarm, typically a mechanical flag that operates on a latch and must be manually reset, e.g. by a key.

In actuality, "there appears to be no requirement in NFPA 72 that precludes the use of manual call points..."[6] It is becoming increasingly common in the UK and Europe for wireless MCPs to be used in temporary environments such as construction sites.

Such systems typically operate a similar structure to a standard wired fire alarm network, in that Manual Call Points may be mixed with automatic fire detection in the form of heat detection and smoke detection (often specially designed to be dust resistant, due to the increased likelihood of dust on a construction site) and can be connected to a monitoring base station unit.

EN 54 part 11 is the section of the mandatory standard relating to manual call points.

Manufacturers can not sell or install the device with expired certification in any country of the European Union.