What is BS EN 54-3 - Fire alarm sounders about?
BS EN 54-3 discusses fire detection and fire alarm systems. It aims to establish safety equipment and systems that play a positive role in a fire emergency.
BS EN 54-3 is the third part in the multi-series that specifies the requirements, test methods, and performance criteria for fire alarm sounders, including voice sounders, in a fixed installation intended to signal an audible warning between the fire detection and fire alarm systems and the occupants of a building.
BS EN 54-3 is not intended to cover:
- Loudspeaker type devices primarily intended for emitting emergency voice messages that are generated from an external audio source
- Supervisory sounders, for example, within the control and indicating equipment
Who is BS EN 54-3 - Fire alarm sounders for?
BS EN 54-3 on fire alarm sounders is relevant to:
- Manufacturers and suppliers of fire alarm devices
- Manufacturers and suppliers of sounders
- Product designers
- Fire safety department
- Fire safety engineering
Why should you use BS EN 54-3 - Fire alarm sounders?
The purpose of a fire alarm sounder is to warn person(s) within or in the vicinity of, a building of the occurrence of a fire emergency to enable such a person(s) to respond appropriately. BS EN 54-3 recognizes that the exact nature of the sound requirements, i.e., its frequency range, temporal pattern a,nd output level will vary according to the nature of the installation, the type of risk present and appropriate measures to be taken, the type of signals used by other non-emergency alarms and national differences in custom and practice. The resulting standard specifies, therefore, a common method for the testing of the operational performance of sounders against the specification declared by the manufacturer rather than imposing common requirements.
BS EN 54-3 also specifies voice sounders which are used as alarm devices for warning the occupants of a building of the occurrence of a fire risk, using a combination of an attention-drawing signal and dedicated voice message environment category.
Adopting the best industry guidance under BS EN 54-3 can provide you with the assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP) of fire alarm sounders that helps demonstrate reliability, quality and credibility for your devices and systems.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN 54-3:2014+A1:2019 supersedes BS EN 54‑3:2014, which is withdrawn. Some new clauses and annexes are as follows:
- Requirements for software-controlled devices (5.2.8)
- Clause 6 Assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP)
- Clause 7 Classification and designation
- Clause 8 Marking, labelling and packaging
- Annex C Data supplied with sounders
- Annex D (informative) Sound patterns used in some European countries
