TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

Fire detection and alarm system – Technical requirements

This standard is applied to the fire detection and alarm system of factory, enterprise,
office, and public constructions…
It is not applicable in the construction designed with special requirements.

1. General

1.1. The engineering design, installation of fire detection and alarm system must
have an agreement of Fire Head Department and satisfy all the requirements,
stipulations of the issued related standards and procedures.

1.2. The fire detection and alarm system must satisfy the following requirements:
- Fire detection quickly depending on the proposed functions.
- Transfer the fire detection signals into the fire alarm signals for the people
taking the necessary actions.
- Have a good ability of interference prevention
- Clear and quick notification the signals of breakdown effected to the
accurate of the system
- To be immune from the influent of others system around.
- Not allow to be paralyzed a part or all of the system caused by fire before
finding out the fire

1.3. The fire detection and alarm system must guarantee the reliability. It must
carry out all the proposed functions but no error or other unfortunate cases.

1.4. Outside impacts caused a part of the system broken down must not bring
about the following breakdown to the system.

1.5. The fire detection and alarm system includes the elementary devices:
Fire alarm control panel, automatic fire detectors, fire manual call point,
miscellaneous, and power supply. Depending on the requirements of the fire
detection and alarm system, there are other devices such as communication,
automatic testing system for fire protection devices.

2. Terms and definitions

2.1. Automatic fire alarm system: The system can detect and alarm the firing
location automatically.

2.2. Manual fire alarm system: The systems (without fire automatic detections)
controlled by hands.

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

2.3. Fire automatic detector: The automatic devices that are sensitive to the
phenomenon related to the fire (the increasing in temperature, smoke
spreading, light flashing) and communicate to the fire alarm control panel.

2.3.1. Heat detector: The automatic detector that is sensitive to the heat changes
and the rate of temperature changes of around environment.

2.3.2. Smoke detector: The automatic detector that is sensitive to the smoke.

2.3.3. Photo detector: The automatic detector that is sensitive to the infrared flame.

2.4. Fire manual call point: The devices that that the alarms are controlled by
hands.

2.5. Power supply: The devices that supply energy to the fire detection and alarm
system.

2.6. Miscellaneous: Including components, cable and signal cable systems,

connection routes between detection devices.

2.7. Fire alarm control panel: energy supply to fire detectors with the following
functions:
- Receive the signals from fire detectors, alarm and give the instruction of
fire location.
- In case of necessity, can transfer the signals to the fire receivers.
- Test the normal operation of the system and instruct the system events
such as break cable, short circuit…

3. Automatic fire detector requirements

3.1. Must guarantee the fire detection functions designed and the technical
specifications in Table 1. The selection of automatic fire detectors based on
functions of houses and constructions is referred to the appendix.
Table 1

Technical Heat detector Smoke detector Infrared flame

specification detector
1. Active time Not longer than Not longer than 30 Not longer than 5
120 sec. sec sec
2. Active level 400C 1700C Smoke The flame height of
concentration in 15mm and 3m
the environment away from the
from 15%  20% detector
3. Humidity at Not higher than Not higher than Not higher than
detector location 98% 98% 98%
4. Operation -100C 1700C -100C 500C -100C 500C
temperature

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

Technical Heat detector Smoke detector Infrared flame

specification detector
5. Operation are 15m2  50 m2 50m2  100 m2 Pyramid with top
angle of 1200 and
height from 3m
7m

3.2. The numbers of automatic detector required for an area depend on the
necessary level for fire detection over this area.

3.3. The heat and smoke detectors are installed on the ceiling or the roof. In case
of being unable to install on, it is permitted to install the detectors on the
beams or poles as well as hang by wire from the ceiling or roof but the
distance from them to the ceiling of roof is not over than 0.3m including the
size of detectors.

3.4. The heat and smoke detector must be installed in each ceiling part bounded
by overhang structures (beams, edges of panels…) that higher than 0.4 m. In
case of having the overhang structures with the height from 0.08m to 0.4m,
the area protected by an automatic detector shall be reduced to 25%.

3.5. In case of installing the automatic detectors over the piles of material,
supports, equipments and structures, the distance from the top of these things
to the detectors is not over 0.6m

3.6. The number of the detectors installed on a channel of fire detection and alarm
system depends on the specifications of the fire alarm control panel. The
detectors must be used rightly in accordance with their specifications,
standards and technical records and considered the environment condition of
protection are.

3.7. In case of the fire alarm control panel without address indicating function of
the detectors on a channel, this channel is permit to protect 5 rooms and
areas which are adjacent or separated but having the exits to the lobby at the
same floor.

3.8. Smoke detector:

3.8.1. The correlation of the area protected by a smoke detector, the distances
between detectors and between a detector and wall is determined based on
the value in the table 2 but not larger than the value in technical specifications
and records of the smoke detectors.

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

Table 2

Height of Area protected by Maximum distance (m)

installation an detector (m2) Between detectors From a detector to wall
Under 3.5 Under 85 9.0 4.5
From 3.5 to 6 70 8.5 4.0
From 6 to 10 65 8.0 4.0
From 10 to 12 55 7.5 3.5

3.8.2. In the room with the width less than 3m, the distance between detectors is
allowed of 15m.

3.9. Head detector

3.9.1. The correlation of the area protected by a smoke detector, the distances
between detectors and between a detector and wall is determined based on
the value in the Table 3 but not larger than the value in technical
specifications and records of the heat detectors.

Table 3

Maximum distance (m)

Height of Area protected by
installation an detector (m2) From a detector
Between detectors
to wall
Under 3.5 Under 25 5.0 2.5
From 3.5 to 6 Under 20 4.5 2.0
From 6 to 9 Under 15 4.0 2.0

3.9.2. The active level of the heat detector must be higher than the maximum setup
temperature of 200C in the room.

3.10. Photo detector

3.10.1.Install the photo detector on the ceiling, walls and other structures of the room
or area, or on the protected equipments directly.

4. Requirements of Fire manual call point

4.1. Install the fire manual call point indoor or outdoor of the house and
construction, on the wall and structure at the height of 1.5m from the floor or
ground.

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

4.2. Must install the fire manual call point right on the emergency exit (lobby, stair,
way…), the stair rest place, and if necessity can install in every room. The
distance between them must not over than 50m.

4.3. In case of outdoor installation, the maximum distance between the fire manual
call points is 150m and must be signed clearly. Require artificial lights for their
installation places.

4.4. The fire manual call point can be installed in separated channel of fire alarm
control panel or in the same channel with the fire detectors.

5. Requirements of Fire alarm control panel

5.1. The channels or areas of fire alarm control panel must be reserved of 10% at
minimum.

5.2. The fire alarm control panel must be installed at the location with people on
duty all day and night. In case of people not being all day and nigh, fire alarm
control panel must have a fire signal transferring function to the fire watching
room or place having people all day and night as well as the methods of
preventing the trespass of no mission people to the panel.

5.3. Must install the fire alarm control panel on the wall, partition or table of no fire
danger.

5.4. In case of installing on the structures from inflammable material, these

structures must be covered by the metal sheet with minimum thickness of
1mm or by other fireproof material with minimum thickness of 10mm.

5.5. The minimum distance between the fire alarm control panel and the fire proof
ceiling must be 1.0m

5.6. In case of adjacent installing, the minimum distances between two fire alarm
control panels must be 50mm.

5.7. In case of installing on walls or machinery support, the distance from the fire
alarm control panel to the ground must be in the range of 0.8m to 1.8m.

5.8. The environmental temperature and humidity at installed place must conform
to the technical record and user manual of the fire alarm control panel.

5.9. Must have a telephone connecting directly to the fire brigade or fire alarm
signal receiving station at the place of fire alarm control panel.

5.10. The timbre of fire alarm equipment must be different from the timber of event
alarm of equipments

5.11. Must pay attention on the system conforming when installing the automatic
fire detectors (detector supply voltage, alarm signal category, breakdown
detection method, cable testing part…)

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

6. Requirements of cable, signal cable and power cable systems.

6.1. Cable selection for circuit of fire alarm system must conform to the standards
and installation procedures of electrical equipment and cable, and take into
account the technical requirements of this standard and the technical
documents of specific equipment.

6.2. The status of fire alarm circuit must be tested the automatically or manually.

6.3. Must use separated signal cable with copper core for the fire alarm circuit. In
case of fire alarm circuit of voltage lower 60V, communication cable can be
used. It is permitted to use the communication cable with core cupper of
mixed communication network but the channel must be separated.

6.4. The minimum cupper core’s diameter of cable and communication cable is
0.4mm.

6.5. The cables and wires for power circuit of fire alarm control panel and control
equipments must be separated. These cables is forbidden to hang up across
the rooms installed the fire detectors, except fire proof cables or they are
arranged into the fireproof structure.

6.6. The lower 60V voltage circuit and the higher one must be arranged in different
closed pipes, boxes, bundles and trends of structures.

6.7. The above circuits can be arranged together if they are partitioned off by
fireproof material with fireproof limit not lower than 0.25 hour.

6.8. In case of parallel open arrangement, the minimum distance between wires
and cables of fire alarm system and lighting and power cables must be 0.5m.
If the distance lower than 0.5m, the method of electromagnetic disturbance
proof must be used.

6.9. In case of using electromagnetic disturbance proof, must use metal covered
cables or uncovered cables arranged in grounding metal pipes and boxes.

6.10. Must have spare couple for the signal wires. Must have 20% spare of
connectors.

7. Power supply and grounding

7.1. Must have standby battery for the fire alarm system. The capacity of standby
battery must guarantee 24 hours in normal operation and 3 hours at least in
case having fire.

7.2. The fire alarm system must be grounding for protection. The grounding must
conform to the grounding procedure for the equipment.

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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement
FIRE DETECTOR SELECTION
ACCORDING TO THE CONSTRUCTION PROPERTIES
Detector
1. Heat or smoke detector
2. Heat or photo detector
3. Photo detector
4. Heat detector
5. Heat or photo detector
6. Heat or smoke detector
7. Heat or smoke detector
8. Smoke detector
9. Heat or photo detector
10. Heat or smoke detector
11. Smoke detector
APPENDIX
Construction property
A. Manufacturing
I. Manufacturing and preservation enterprise
Production of wood, plastic, man-made fiber,
polymer material, weaving, ready-made clothes,
leather shoes, tobacco, animal hairs, paper,
rubber, man-made rubber, film and inflammable X
film, cotton.
- Oil liquid, paint, flammable liquid,
combustible liquid, lubricant, chemical, wine
and wine products
- Alkali, metal powder, natural rubber
- Wheat flour, synthetic food and foodstuff,
dust spread material
II. Manufacturing enterprise
- Cardboard, pasteboard, cattle and poultry
food
III. Preservation enterprise
- Fireproof material covered by flammable
materials, flammable solid
B. Specific construction
- Cable arrangement room, transformer room,
distribution equipment and electrical panel.
- Computer room, electronic control
equipment, controllers, automatic telephone
box, broadcasting room.
- Equipment room and liquid and lubricant
pipe, internal-combustion engine testing
room, machine testing room, flammable gas
charging room
- Motor maintenance shop
C. House and public construction
- Performance room, training room, lecture-
room, reading and seminar room,
actor/actress room, makeup room, clothe
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TCVN 5738 : 1993 Fire Detection And Alarm System – Technical Requirement

Detector Construction property

room, maintenance, cinema, machine room,
waiting room, rest room, corrdidor, buffer
room, book preserving room, archives room.
12. Heat or smoke detector - Room of tools for film making, bureau of
administration, machine room, controll room
13. Heat detector - Living room, sick-room, storage, public
dining room, kitchen
14. Smoke or photo detector - Showroom, exhibition house, keeping room
of the museum.
Note: In the rooms that have different flame-signs, at the beginning the fire automatic
detector selection must be base on the economic – technical basics.

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