This project presents the design and construction of a fire alarm detector system. Fire alarms are prime necessities in modern buildings and architectures, especially in banks, data centres and gas stations. They detects the fire in ambient at very early stage by sensing smoke, heat and raise an alarm which warns people about the fire and furnish sufficient time to take preventive measures. The fire alarm detector does not only prevent big losses caused by deadly fire but sometimes proves to be fire savers. The designed fire alarm systems with the help of a smoke / heat sensor sense the fire by raising the temperature in the surrounding and trigger the alarm.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Fire is one of the most dangerous events which can occur in any part of world every minute of every day. While fire can be our friend in some instances, it can be our worst enemy when it is uncontrolled and allowed to continue through a building. Fire is destructive, and the smoke from a fire creates a toxic, dangerous atmosphere. The rapid detection of a fire and its control can save several thousand lives, thousands of injuries, and millions of dollars in property loss each year, NFPA 72, 18.4.2 (2010).

Due to the speed and totality of the destructive forces of fire, it constitutes one of the more serious threats. Items destroyed by fire, however, are gone forever. An uncontrolled fire can wipe out an entire room's contents within a few minutes and completely burn out a building in a couple of hours.

The first step toward halting a fire is to properly identify the incident, raise the occupant alarm, and then notify emergency response professionals. This is often the function of the fire detection and alarm system, Cote, Arthur E. (2000).

A fire alarm system has a number of devices working together to detect and warn people through visual and audio appliances when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other emergencies are present. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also be activated through manual fire alarm activation devices such as manual call points or pull stations. Alarms can be either motorized bells or wall mountable sounders or horns. They can also be speaker strobes which sound an alarm, followed by a voice evacuation message which warns people inside the building not to use the elevators, M. E-commerce (2015).

Fire alarm sounders can be set to certain frequencies and different tones including low, medium and high, depending on the country and manufacturer of the device. Most fire alarm systems in Europe sound like a siren with alternating frequencies. Fire alarm warning devices can also be set to different volume levels, Minister of Education (2008).

The field of fire detection has advanced to where smoke detectors and alarm devices have combined to become life-safety systems. The purpose of an automatic fire-alarm system is to detect an occurrence, alert the control panel and proper authorities, and notify the occupants to take action.

1.2 SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT

There will be no fire without a smoke. Fire is accompanied by heat and smoke. So in this project we will be designing a circuit that will detect smoke or heat. It activates an alarm when a substantial quantity of heat or smoke is sensed. Hence, it may not primarily indicate the presence of fire.

1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

History has proven that early detection of a fire and the signaling of an appropriate alarm remain significant factors in preventing large losses due to fire. Properly installed and maintained fire detection and alarm systems can help to increase the survivability of occupants and emergency responders while decreasing property losses, Minister of Education (2008).

For this reason, fire detection and alarm systems are part of the active fire protection systems found in many occupancies, and stands as the main reason for this work.

1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The aim of this project is to design and construct a smoke detector which helps to detect fire when at smoke level and sound a warning alarm.The main objectives of this project are:

To monitor smoke and temperature changes in our home.
Provide fast and quick notification for quick response.
Provide an audio warning to indicate the presence of smoke.
Provide visual warning to indicate smoke detection.

1.5 WORK ORGANIZATION

This project consists of five chapters. Chapter one covers the background information on the project topic, the aims and objectives, and the scope of the project. Chapter two covers the literature review and materials used. In Chapter three, the materials and method of the project were discussed. Results and discussion were covered in chapter four. Chapter five covers recommendation and conclusion.