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Fire alarms
Although fire alarms come in many different styles they all serve the same basic purpose. They are a form of active fire protection developed to detect fire and in turn notify applicable parties. A simple form of fire alarm, and the most common type is a home smoke detector. Smoke detectors sense smoke and/or heat and create noise to alert residents.
Some smoke detectors sense trouble visually and are known as spot type. Spot type detectors are activated when there is a significant change in photo-electricity or ionization. Line type detectors project a beam similar to a laser and are activated by smoke. More sophisticated fire alarms also notify people in surrounding buildings as well as the fire department and /or police.
Most fire alarms work via audible stimuli but some create visible, tactile or olfactory effects to alert occupants of the need for action. In the United States audible fire alarms are required to use a standard four count time pattern. This is to ensure that there will be no confusion between a fire and another type of emergency. In public buildings live or pre-recorded instructions are often piped through a series of speakers to let people know how to proceed.
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