Fire safety is something most of us take for granted; we all expect public buildings to feature adequate fire safety systems and procedures to ensure our safety should a blaze break out, while we expect fire alarms in our workplace or home to work in case of fire. However, have you ever considered how fire alarms can continue to operate despite being exposed to fire? While alarms can be built from fire-resistant materials, how do the cables that power a fire alarm manage to not only survive a fire but also continue operating throughout? For years, custom cable designers have been working alongside fire safety manufacturers and the owners of public buildings to come up with a solution to this very problem. This ongoing collaboration is to thank for the reliable fire safety systems we have today.

The Challenges

Building a cable for use in a fire safety system presents a number of issues for custom cable suppliers:

•  The cable needs to perform reliably under extremely harsh conditions
• The cable needs to be safe, even when burning; burning plastic and metal components could potentially emit dangerous fumes and make the situation even worse.
• The cable needs to be unobstructive and versatile – the less cables a system requires, the more reliable it is.
• The cables needs to meet the fire safety standards set out by the likes of BS5839 (a code practice for fire alarm system design) and BS 7629-1 (the standard for fire-resistant electric cables).

The Solution

Custom cable designers have met the unique design challenges presented by fire-resistant cables in a number of ways:

• Fire-resistant materials are used to construct the cables, including fire resistant cable shielding.
• Low smoke, zero halogen cable sheathing is used, preventing the cable from fire damage while also ensuring that the levels of poisonous halogen emissions from burning sheathing are kept to a minimum.
• Cable screening is utilised to ensure that the cable is unaffected by any electromagnetic interference.
• Twisted conductors are frequently used to facilitate data transmission, allowing for a connection to be made to the local emergency services and any on-site fire safety officials.

Fire-resistant custom cables are used across a vast range of industries, meaning they also have to be versatile in their design to accommodate for different fire system designs and building layouts. Luckily, custom cable designers are well accustomed to this kind of work! For more information on fire-resistant cables, get in touch with Custom Designed Cables on 01204 658 784 or via the contact form on the contact us page.