BS 5839 Part 8: 2008

Fire Alarm Voice Evacuation Systems

 About Mike Parsons

 Managing Director of ID Healthcare Solutions a division

of ID Fire and Security Ltd

 30 years’ experience in the UK fire and security industry

 Member of the Institute of Sound and Communication

Engineers (ISCE)

 Member of the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and

Estate Management (IHEEM)
 Presentation Overview

• What is a voice alarm system?

• Categories of voice alarm systems

• Standards

• System design considerations

• Questions
What is a voice alarm system?

A Voice Alarm is the sounder

circuit(s) of a Fire Detection
and Alarm System
 Why have a voice alarm system?

• Research has proven that in an emergency people will react without confusion or
panic if they receive a clear, intelligible message.

• Bells and sounders only give a warning, they do not indicate the nature of the
emergency.

• Phased evacuation using clear, easily understood, pre-recorded messages

ensures that even untrained personnel are evacuated speedily and efficiently.
A typical voice alarm system
Phased Evacuation - Typical Office Block or Hotel

ROOF ROOF EVACUATE

7th floor 7th floor alert
6th floor 6th floor alert
5th floor 5th floor EVACUATE
4th floor EVACUATE
3rd floor 3rd floor EVACUATE
2nd floor 2nd floor alert
1st floor 1st floor alert
ground floor ground floor alert
BASEMENT 1 BASEMENT 1 EVACUATE
BASEMENT 2 BASEMENT 2 EVACUATE
Voice alarm system categories

V1 : Automatic evacuation (No microphone)

V2 : Live emergency messages

(Automatic plus All Call Emergency microphone)

V3 : Zonal live emergency messages

(Automatic plus Zonal Emergency microphone)

V4 : Manual controls
(Automatic plus Zonal Emergency microphone & message control)

V5 : Engineered systems
(e.g. Wembley Stadium, Ascot Racecourse)
V1 - Typically simple acoustic spaces NOT requiring an
(All Call) Emergency mic. (a VA system may also be used)

Voice sounders
 Inexpensive
 Similar to normal sounders
 Simple installation
 No large equipment racks
 If used must comply with EN54 Pt3 A2 :2006

ₓ Multiple messages need a separate controller

ₓ No facility for live speech
ₓ Cannot achieve intelligibility in difficult spaces
V2 - Simple acoustic spaces requiring an (All Call)
Emergency microphone - single zone VA system

VA wall-mount amplifiers

 Extremely cost-effective
 Full compliance with BS5839 Pt8
 Compact design
 No special interfacing
 Connects to the detection loop
 Uses standard cause and effects
 Emergency microphone input
 Paging and music inputs AVAC - a single zone
 Natural sounding speech voice alarm system
V3 - V5 Simple / difficult acoustic spaces requiring a (Zonal)
Emergency microphone - multi-zone VA system

VA floor mount racks

 Compliance with BS5839 Pt8
 Facility for live announcements
 Can be used for public address & music
 Natural sounding speech
 Can cope with difficult acoustic spaces

ₓ Can be considered expensive

ₓ Speaker design is seen as a black art
ₓ Complexity of interface to fire alarm
ₓ Equipment racks take up lots of space INTEGRITY - a 2 to 64 Zone
voice alarm system
Voice alarm standards

Design, Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance

• BS 5839-8: 2008

Product
• EN 54-16: 2008 VACIE in force from April 2011 (incorporates EN54-4 PSU’s)
• EN 54-23: 2010 Visual Alarm Devices
• EN 54-24: 2008 Loudspeakers in force from April 2011
• EN 54-3 A2: 2006 Voice Enhanced Sounders
• BS EN54-25: 2008 (Radio Linked Components)
This will not comply

A PA/VA rack
example in a
Premier League
Football Club
Stadium which
has now been
replaced
Designing a voice alarm system

1. What type of building is it?

2. What is the evacuation strategy?
3. How many emergency loudspeaker zones?
4. How many paging/music zones?
5. What input sources are required?
Emergency Microphones - All-call or Zonal
Emergency Messages - Alert, Evacuate, Test, Security or Custom
Paging Microphones - All-call or Zonal
Background Music Sources- CD, Satellite Download, Tuner etc
6. What is the ambient noise level in each space in dBA?
This allows loudspeaker design, tapping / loading requirements
7. The reverberation time of any difficult spaces (i.e. atriums)
To see if specialist design help is needed
Voice alarm acoustics

ACOUSTICALLY EASY
(LESS than 75dBA Ambient / RT60 1.5 Sec - Little Echo)
• Shop units
• Office blocks
• Hotels

ACOUSTICALLY DIFFICULT
(MORE than 75dBA Ambient / RT60 1.5 Sec - More Echo)
Public areas of:
• Shopping malls
• Cinemas, theatres
• Airports, railway stations
• Swimming pools and leisure centres
Acoustic Design

When selecting loudspeakers for a particular application, there are two basic
requirements to take into account.

1) Sound Pressure Level (SPL) – How loud!

2) Intelligibility – How clear!

Output level should be such that messages can be comfortably heard by all people
with normal hearing in 95% of the area.

The information must be intelligible (understood)

How loud - 1

Sound pressure level (SPL) measured in decibels (dBA)

How loud - 2

How increasing the speech signal

above ambient noise improves
Intelligibility.

Speech signal to background noise

level ratio should be:
At least 10dBA+

Level of
ambient noise
How loud - 3

How the ambient noise level

can vary at a football match

If the ambient noise is

likely to vary a lot consider
ambient noise sensing

Used in applications such as:

Exhibition Halls
Baggage Reclaims Halls
 Ambient Noise/Reverberation - Easy Spaces
Typical BS5839 Pt8 Reverberation time
Application
ambient dBA required + 10dBA in seconds
Classroom (quiet) 56 to 65 66 to 75
0.5 to 1.2
Classroom (noisy) 64 to 72 74 to 82
Conference / meeting room 40 to 45 65+ 0.6 to 1.3
Corridor (uncarpeted, quiet) 45 to 55 65+
0.5 to 1.2
Corridor (uncarpeted, noisy) 66 to 76 76 to 86
Corridor (carpeted) 25 to 32 65+ 0.3 to 0.7
Courtrooms 40 to 50 65+ 0.5 to 1.0
Factories (control rooms) 70 to 75 80 to 85 0.5 to 1.0
Hotel bedrooms (TV off) 25 to 35 75+
0.4 to 0.6
Hotel bedrooms (TV on) 60 to 70 75+
Library (quiet reading area) 35 to 45 65+
0.5 to 0.8
Library (noisy reading area) e.g. reception 50 to 60 65+
Offices (cellular) Less than 60 m2 40 to 50 60+
Offices (open plan) 50 to 70 65 to 80 0.4 to 0.9
Offices (noisy) 70 to 85 80 to 95
Restaurants 72 to 75 82 to 85 0.5 to 1.0
Shops/stores (quiet) 50 to 60 65+
0.3 to 0.8
Shops/stores (noisy) 65 to 75 75 to 85
 Ambient Noise/Reverberation - Difficult Spaces
Typical BS5839 Pt8 Reverberation time in
Application
ambient dBA required + 10dBA seconds
Bank or building society (public area) 51 to 64 65 to 74 0.8 to 2.0
Cafeteria (quiet) 55 to 65 65 to 75
1.0 to 1.8
Cafeteria (noisy) 65 to 78 75 to 88
Factory (light assembly) 80 to 85 90 to 95 1.5 to 3.0
Factory (heavy engineering) 95 to 105 105 to 115 Consult specialist
Kitchen (commercial) 65 to 75 75 to 85 1.0 to 2.0
Leisure centre (multipurpose halls) 80 90 0.9 to 1.6
Leisure centre (ice rinks, public session) 69 to 80 79 to 90 Consult specialist
Leisure centre (swimming, diving pools) 72 to 79 82 to 89 1.5 to 3.0
Plant room (quiet boiler) 66 to 72 76 to 82
Plant room (noisy boiler) 76 to 86 86 to 96 0.7 to 1.5
Plant room (air handling) 84 to 87 94 to 97
Plant room (compressor) 89 to 93 99 to 103 1.0 to 1.5
Shopping mall 70 to 75 80 to 85 Consult specialist
Sports hall (quiet) 60 to 72 70 to 82
Sports hall (noisy) 72 to 82 82 to 92 1.0 to 2.5
Sports hall (loud ball games) 78 to 93 88 to 103
Warehouse (quiet) 47 to 63 65 to 73
1.5 to 2.5
Warehouse (noisy) 63 to 80 73 to 90
 How clear - 1

• Intelligibility is measured using the STI

(Speech Transmission Index) which has a
range 0 to 1

• The minimum BS 5839 Pt8 requirement for

intelligibility is 0.5 STI - this is not difficult to
achieve in simple spaces

• BS 5839 Pt8 says STI does not need to be

measured unless it is disputed
How clear - 2

Subjective methods
• A trained speaker reads text, syllables or
words.
• Listeners write down what they believe
they have understood.

Standardized Methods:
• CVC (Consonant – Vocal – Consonant)
• SRT (Speech Reception Threshold)
• CIS (Common Intelligibility Standard)
All these methods are very costly & time
consuming and therefore only used to verify
technical methods.
What is the listening height?

Standing

Sitting

Floor
Example of SPL reduction over distance
Types of loudspeaker

Standard Projector Suspended

Recessed Ceiling Sphere / Pendant

Specific Stadium
Application

Bi-Directional
Standard Cabinet Projector IP 66 Rated Horn

Vandal Resistant Industrial Projector

Cabinet Column
Tapping / connecting loudspeakers

Amplifier

EOLD

Important
Most manufacturers
supply loudspeakers 10W
5W
tapped at maximum 2.5W

and they almost 1.25W POWER

TAPPING
Common
always need to be
tapped lower. And
may need to be
altered at the
commissioning Spurs are not allowed
stage
What kind of loudspeaker?

VA Loudspeakers have to comply with BS5839 Pt8 which requires:

• Terminal blocks (usually ceramic) that are able to withstand a similar temperature
for a similar duration to that of the interconnecting cable for example:

• 830ºC (PH30 Standard cables) 930ºC (PH120 Enhanced cables)

• Recessed ceiling loudspeakers (when used) fitted with a protective non-

combustible fire dome that is able to withstand a temperature of 850ºC.
Note: the fire dome does not have to be completely sealed.
Installing loudspeakers

Recessed ceiling
loudspeaker Steerable loudspeaker
(horn, projector,
pendant, etc)

Cabinet loudspeaker
What kind of loudspeaker?

Acoustically EASY (LESS than 75 dBA Ambient / RT60 1.5 Sec)

Ceiling Loudspeakers
For flush fitting into a Suspended
Ceiling (less than 4M). Provide even
sound distribution e.g. open plan office,
department stores and supermarkets etc.
3 Metres from a wall and then 6 Metre Centres
What kind of loudspeaker?

Acoustically DIFFICULT (MORE than 75 dBA Ambient / RT60 1.5 Sec)

Pendant Loudspeakers
For retail/distribution
applications which
have high ceilings
and/or racking/aisles
Microphone Technique
Seek proof of competency

1. Member of the Institute of Sound and

Communication Engineers (ISCE)
www.isce.org.uk
2. Member of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA)
www.ioa.org.uk
3. A brand new course for fire industry
professionals is now available from the
FIA
 Thank you for attending
ID Fire & Security Ltd
Shepley House, Restmor Way,
Hackbridge, Surrey SM6 7AH

Tel: 020 8773 3377 Fax: 020 8773 4956

Email: info@id-group.co.uk

Visit our website at www.idfireandsecurity.co.uk