Why do fire alarm call points need covers

JALITE fire safety signs are integral to mitigating risks of injury, harm, or death to occupants, as well as to public and private property. This is true in all lighting conditions, as JALITE signs reinforce safety messages to occupants in all lighting conditions, including in smoke filled areas during an emergency. JALITE fire safety signs are installed alongside life saving equipment such as fire alarm call points to help occupants locate this vital equipment.   

What are Fire Alarm Call Points?:

Fire alarm call points, also knowns as manual call points, are key to allowing occupants to evacuate during an emergency. This firefighting equipment are installed in many public spaces, including shops, hotels restaurants, offices, and other public spaces to allow the public and staff members to trigger the overall fire alarm system of a building. The easy access to fire alarm call points, is the very thing that pose a risk to other occupants with costs to businesses and time for fire and rescue services adding to further disruption.

With this in mind, BS 5839-1 was the Standard introduced to bring significant change, with guidance that states call points should be fitted with a protective cover to reduce false alarms.

The revision of BS 5839-1 specifically states that "All MCPs should be fitted with a protective cover, which is moved to gain access to the frangible elements”. Whilst the standard does not specifically refer to existing call points, retro fits are available for most industry standard call points.

This new change should help prevent accidental activation from impact and should force users of the fire alarm system to lift the cover before activation, thereby adding an extra action to the process of pressing the alarm.

The solution to the risk:

We want to protect firefighting equipment such as the fire alarm call points, but we want to equally to ensure that this vital equipment can be easily and quickly accessed when needed most. When a fire breaks out, the last thing we want is confusion from a visitor or member of the public, who is confused about how to access the fire alarm call point. This ultimately causes delay, and therefore a possible risk to people and property.

JALITE photoluminescent ‘lift cover to operate fire alarm’, fire safety signs are your solution for potential delay, and mitigating risks of injury, harm, or worst-case death to building occupants. JALITE photoluminescent ‘lift cover to operate fire alarm’ signals to occupants how they can access the fire alarm call point, as well as how to activate the vital equipment.

Our JALITE photoluminescent ‘lift cover to operate fire alarm’ fire safety signs are characterised by firefighting red colours and square shape, as per the Standard BS ISO 3864- 1:2011. JALITE photoluminescent ‘lift cover to operate fire alarm’ fire safety signs are also designed according to BS EN ISO 7010:2020; the fire alarm call point graphical symbol of the finger, and the flame determinant.

JALITE photoluminescent ‘lift cover to operate fire alarm’ fire safety signs, are available in two sizes as standard including (D) 150 x 200mm, and (Y) 100 x 150mm.

Code: 6131D Size: 150 x 200mm	Code: 6131Y Size: 100 x 150mm

Have assurance that JALITE photoluminescent fire safety signs, are your solution to keeping occupants safe, and able to evacuate from the building even in conditions of low visibility.