FireClass detectors can be found in almost every commercial environment including office complexes, hotels and shopping centres, schools and hospitals around the world.

Comprehensive Range

FireClass provides a broad range of detection solutions. FireClass Essential conventional fire detection panel is the entry product in the FireClass panel range featuring 2 zone and 4 zone variants. These are complemented by an enviable range of conventional fire detectors and accessories focused on providing comprehensive protection and minimum false alarms.

FireClass addressable fire detection products range from the easily installed out-of-the-box FC500 panels and FC MAE software to monitor various locations via IP to the FC600 range of networked digital protocol fire panels with optional FireClass Graphics. FireClass Addressable uses a powerful and robust digital protocol for high reliability and flexibility in installation up to 8 loop FC700 panels using innovative touchscreen display technology leveraging same hardware base with FC600 panel range.

Fully Approved

In order to ensure peace of mind for both the installer and end user, FireClass products are third party approved and certified to relevant European standards. FireClass approvals go beyond the minimum requirements including EN54 approval of the FireClass network, EN54-13 system approval, EN54 detector approval in all detection modes and the Prescient III Extinguishing Panel having EN54-2, EN54-4, EN54-13 and EN12094-1 approval.

Digital Open Protocol

FireClass provides a digital protocol solution widely available throughout the market via trade and distribution specialists ensuring freedom of choice for installers and end users. Developed originally for the harsh marine environment FireClass uses a robust digital protocol that supports various wiring configurations to simplify installation and retrofit applications often problematic for competitors’ protocols.

Easy to Install

Ease of installation and engineering underpins the concept of FireClass. It runs through all the products. For example panel installation is simplified by allowing electronics to be easily as removed for first fix, while simple user friendly configuration software and fault finding tools speed up commissioning. Field device installation is simplified through the flexibility of the FireClass digital protocol and other features such as the ceiling tile adaptor that can significantly speed up detector installation.

WHY FIRECLASS?

FireClass is a digital fire detection technology built on over 50 years of dedication and performance from Johnson Controls.

Widely chosen as the fire detection product of choice, FireClass addressable control panels take today’s computer performances and adapt them to become one of the most effective and sophisticated fire alarm panels on the market.
The panel’s core technology uses a digital fail safe algorithm to talk to each device and determine if that device is functioning as it should. The system can then promptly and precisely alert facilities management personnel, based either on-site or remotely, to any breakdowns or maintenance issues.

FireClass encompasses three main levels of detection including optical smoke detection, heat detection and detection of CO levels. Depending on the application; these can be adjusted to various levels of sensitivity in order to sense a fire and reduce false alarms. FireClass provides an extended 10 year lifespan on the CO sensitivity element. This device is primarily used to protect occupants whilst they sleep. The Triple Sensor Detectors can sense all signatures of fire including heat, smoke and CO. The system analyses all three channels of data and rapidly analyses, using sophisticated algorithms to provide an accurate confirmation of a real fire.

FireClass scenarios

Commercial

The FireClass range comprises a complete fire detection solution for all commercial environments. Bringing sophisticated fire detection technology into these public spaces, used by millions each day, will ensure a safe and secure environment. FireClass systems provide an unbeatable level of accuracy and ease of use for building personnel, installers and firefighters. At the first sign of danger, the FireClass system triggers a pre-programmed coordinated alarm, people are led out of the danger area via both audio and visual messages, and extinguishing systems are activated if required. Our detectors can be found in almost every commercial environment including office complexes, hotels and shopping centres, schools and hospitals around the world.

FireClass for residential and work environments

Keeping your home, business, loved ones and property safe is of paramount importance. For ultimate safety and adaptability FireClass products can be installed to protect any environment. The FC501 Panel saves installation time and cost, and provides an out-of-the-box solution which does not require configuration. It is easy to set up with a little training and has full local and remote monitoring control.

FireClass for Office and Corporate Environments

In corporate office buildings false alarms can be an expensive and time consuming blight on business and the fire and rescue services. The FireClass range features a number of enhanced fire detection technologies designed to improve the management of false alarms and reduce their impact. These include, the Triple Sensing Detectors (sensitive to Heat, CO and Optical smoke detection) FireClass Graphics fire alarm management system and a selection of manual call points with covers. The full local and remote monitoring and control function of the FC501 allows remote real time visualisation of control panel loop and zone status from any location in the world, with multiple sites being monitored from one location.

FireClass for Retail Environments

Retailers large and small face the constant challenge of loss prevention, whether the risk is vandalism or arson, customer or staff theft, fraud or robbery. Protecting a business against fire and smoke damage, but most importantly, safeguarding the welfare of employees and customers, should be of primary concern in the overall running costs of any business. Industry statistics tell us that commercial fires cost more than £2 billion to the UK economy in 2013 and 60% of private businesses never recover from a fire. Johnson Controls is committed to helping customers achieve their commercial and industrial safety and security goals so that they may maintain and improve business productivity.

FireClass FC501 offers the ideal solution for retail premises; from large and multi-site to smaller, single shops. Retailers often alter or modify their internal shop architecture and some shop alterations are often carried out with conservative time frames in order to minimise off-trading. FC501 provides triple loop inputs, spurs and radials. It can be wired in many ways to achieve the desired result for a suitable fire detection system as it has the flexibility to match requirements in any shop size, whilst being able to adapt to new layouts as easily and quickly as possible. The FC501 also has the added advantage of integrating IP based cameras into the Graphics package, to allow remote confirmation of alarms.

FireClass for Hotels

Hotels often offer a complex challenge with varying room sizes, restaurants, leisure facilities and public areas all under one roof. The reliability of the system is paramount as its primary function is to protect life. FireClass systems provide the most effective cover, performance you can count on with minimum disruption to the operation of the building and
its occupants. Most hotel bedrooms have en-suite facilities containing bath and shower. Both of these can generate substantial amounts of steam which is known to trigger some smoke detectors. This disruption could be extreme and result in an unnecessary full evacuation. Various sensitivities are available to truly tailor the system to the building owners needs.

Guests can be inconvenienced if sleeping, eating in the restaurant, relaxing in the bar, or in a meeting or conference in one of the hotel’s meeting rooms. Not to mention the financial penalties when guests refuse to pay or take their business elsewhere for the next visit. The FC460PC Multisensory uses sophisticated technology to ensure that the steam escaping from the en-suite facility will not trigger an alarm. However the sensor is still highly sensitive to the products of combustion generated by a smouldering fire and will raise an alarm even before a normal sensitivity smoke detector, due to its ability to sense the combustion gas; carbon monoxide, produced by the fire.

FireClass for Care Home Environments

The reliability of a suitable fire detection and alarm system within a residential care home is paramount as its primary function is to protect life. Unlike most buildings whose occupants are of sound mind and body, this is not always the case in residential care premises and this should be taken into account when planning your fire detection system.
Disruption can be stressful to residents and it is therefore vital that the chosen system provides effective cover, performs reliably, and gives the maximum possible warning in the event of fire, given the additional difficulties in evacuating residents to safety. Furnishings in residential homes often contain carbon. When these materials are involved in a slow smouldering fire, carbon monoxide is released. The combustion gas is highly toxic, odourless and colourless and poses a major threat to a person sleeping. Long before there are any visible signs, toxic gases can reach dangerously high levels. In older and frailer people the threat to life is exacerbated. By installing the FC460PC Multisensory in each bedroom, protection is afforded to the highest level from the emissions from a fire of heat, smoke and carbon monoxide.

These three detection elements combine to provide a highly sensitive detector which although classed as an optical smoke detector, increases its sensitivity in a fire where there is a presence of carbon monoxide. This enables the detector to operate, in most cases, much faster than a standard optical smoke detector enabling the occupant of the room to be rescued earlier and suffering less from the effects of smoke/toxic gas inhalation.

There are times when vulnerable occupants within a building are at risk but sounding a high level warning will just cause distress. In such cases FireClass sounders and beacons are addressed which means although installed on the same cables they can be programmed, when to operate and at what volume. Volume is set in software so some sounders can
be set at lower levels than others, or even turned off leaving only the flashing beacon operating. This allows the designer to be flexible in his design whilst the installer and user do not incur extra costs for additional wiring of sounder circuits. In some cases designers even opt to use the feature whereby they sound just the one detector in alarm for a period of time, to allow the occupant to clear the cause of the activation.

FireClass for Manufacturing and Warehouse Environments

Warehouses and manufacturing spaces can vary enormously in size and process, some being fully automated and some having multiple occupants at different times of the day. Distribution warehouses can be difficult places in which to work as they may require specialist platforms for working at height and could present on-going problems for maintenance and repair. Equipment used and access to escape routes are also major factors when planning and designing an effective fire detection system. Alternatives to the standard point detection systems are smoke beams, and aspirating systems within storage racking, providing the solution for a sensitive yet stable fire detection solution. The FC460 addressable
multisensory detectors are ideal for this environment. They can be programmed in such a way that at certain times of the day, when the building is fully occupied and the risk of fire going undetected is low, the smoke elements can be turned to low sensitivity and then turned back up to their normal sensitivity during unoccupied periods.

The FC460 addressable point detectors also have added protection applied to printed circuits and vital components to enable them to survive in environments that are more difficult. Threshold compensation overcomes the effects of dirt and dust and prolongs the life of the detector reducing lifetime costs. 

You can also read the contamination level of each sensing element for each device in the FireClass range at any time you wish. The Fire Ray 5000 smoke beam and FC410BDM beam detector module allows direct connection to the addressable loop, saving wiring and associated costs. The beam detector is motorised so if the beam alignment shifts due to building movement, it realigns itself automatically. The ICAM AS 460 and 461 single or dual air sampling systems combines the best of the FireClass 460 PH multisensory with proven air sampling techniques. This form of detection is ideal within racking where plastic pipes are all that exist and can easily be protected against the risk of mechanical damage.

FireClass a solution focused approach

The FireClass product range has been consistently developed with the views and needs of customers and end users in mind. All our products are specifically focused on providing the most effective and efficient system for the environment and for those responsible for installing and maintaining the system. Below are some examples.

Customer Requirement

Often on a construction site, such as a newly built office block, fire detection installation contractors are requested to provide a first fix installation to all detectors but they are not able to return to the site for several months
to complete the installation due to the installation of the ceiling.

Solution

On a recent installation with Fire Detection and Suppression, Bristol, for installation of all detectors FireClass recommended that our customer use the Ceiling Tile Adaptor Kit (517.050.060), this way the engineers were able to not only first fix devices but they were also able to install and commission all smoke detectors and complete programming and testing in one visit. The engineers clipped their standard bases to the ceiling tile adaptor back box then installed the detectors. They were then able to connect the devices to the loop and test each device.
On this project, the engineers were able to leave the ceiling tile adaptor bezel and clamp, which had been installed by the ceiling tile contractor, in positions marked on the installation drawings. This was done by drilling a 127mm hole in each tile and then pushing the bezel and clamp into the hole. The contractors were then able to pull through each detector as they installed the ceiling tiles.

Upon return to site the fire alarm engineers simply re-tested the system and handed over to the client to manage. No additional visits were required to second fix detectors, therefore offering a cost saving to the end user.

Outcome

FireClass was able to save the end user costly re-visits for continued testing and commissioning of the system. This enabled our customer to win further work with this client and other clients as they had the time available to send their engineers to site.

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Customer Requirement

When dealing with a monitoring gas extinguishing system for instance in
a server room with addressable fire detection in all areas, customers often require the system to be controlled by a central panel located in the engineers’ maintenance office.

Solution

Within the FireClass range, we offer an addressable panel which uses addressable smoke and multi sensors in the server rooms. This could be used to distinguish a fire condition in each server room giving full details and enabling Quad Input/Output units (555.800.771) to be programmed to operate a Prescient III gas extinguishing panel to operate the gas suppression required in the correct area.

The system also uses addressable detection for all areas outside of the server rooms and effectively reports back to the same panel. Using a four loop panel provided the capacity to have up to 1000 addresses, consequently leaving the end user enough space on the loop for future expansion.
These signals were all then reported back to a FireClass Graphics system
(FCG-001) where, with the full flexibility of a computer, the end user was able to monitor all activations from site on a graphical representation of the area where the incident occurred. The user friendly software also enabled the end user to customize how they wanted to see the screen and all relevant buttons for controlling the
fire alarm panel.

Outcome

Using FireClass the customer was able to provide a building solution, using
an addressable fire alarm panel and devices together with gas extinguishing panels and a full graphical interface to control the system and mimic the status at all times.

FireClass Addressable Range

Addressable Range Overview

Comprehensive Addressable Range

The FireClass Addressable range of panels offer the customer very easy
to install and configure out-of-the-box, stand-alone panels with up 6
in two loops supporting up to 500 addressable devices. In addition, the range includes panels from a 1 loop panel up to a 4 loop panel with up to 250 addresses per loop, from 32 to 240 zones per panel and up to 7 fully functional repeaters per panel with 24 panels networked together. FireClass also offers a full range of low false alarm multi sensor detectors and an extensive array of field devices.

Fully Approved

In order to ensure peace of mind for both the installer and end user, FireClass products are third party approved and certified to relevant European standards. FireClass approvals go beyond the minimum requirements including EN54 approval of the FireClass network, EN54 detector approval in all detection modes and EN54-13 system approval
for the networkable panels and a wide range of loop devices.

Freedom of Choice

FireClass provides an open protocol solution widely available throughout the market via trade and distribution specialists ensuring freedom of choice for installers and end users. Easy to use programming software is available to installers and end users, with the majority of service functions available through the panel user controls. Device configuration and text changes
now also available through the panel user controls.

Robust Digital Protocol

Developed originally for the harsh marine environment FireClass uses a robust digital protocol that has been proven to withstand poor, damp and damaged cables for over 20 years. The resilient digital protocol works
on most existing cables and allows for flexible installations when T’s are required. The loop can be made from spurs for a simple upgrade of conventional systems and allows up to 250 addresses per loop with 500mA for broad applications.

Resistance to False Alarm

The range includes a high quality optical smoke detector together with various multi sensor devices. The ultimate in false alarm resilience is provided by the triple sensing detector, combining optical, heat and carbon monoxide sensing technologies. Day/Night detection modes also allow for false alarm reduction when the building is occupied.

FireClass Addressable Range Graphics Software

FireClass Graphics is a new client/server emergency management system and fire detection graphical user interface designed for use with the FC600 and FC700 control panels.
FireClass Graphics is a Windows-based graphical interface with a high resolution colour display and provides annunciation and status of the complete FireClass detection system using the latest FireClass digital technology and helps monitor and manage an emergency in the event a fire is detected.

General Features

• Real Time visualization of control panel, loop and zone status.
• Multi-level maps based on tree structure.
• Access device data from any page of the map.
• Supports standard PC image file (i.e. gif, jpg, bmp).

These pieces of fire detection equipment from FireClass come with the FireClass Graphics fire management software which is compatible for between one and four fire alarm panels, the network card TLI800EN, which links all fire controllers together and a power supply unit.

SafeLINC

SafeLINC is a real-time, life safety information solution that connects customers to their FireClass fire panels via the cloud. By providing remote access to vital alarm and event information, SafeLINC helps customers to manage emergencies more effectively, keep systems in top working order and better protect people and property.
For maximum installation flexibility, CSG is available for mounting on an external enclosure or internal to the panel. It connects to the fire alarm control unit via ethernet or serial connection and to the cloud using the customer’s LAN or with the cellular module. One CSG is required per networked system.

Note: The internal CSG is not EN54-21 approved.

The web-based user interface securely connects to the cloud platform to receive and display real-time event data. Users can view and manage all workspaces they are responsible for in one location. From the user interface, workspace owners can control access rights, account users, mobile devices and set notification and language preferences. Users can also view, search and filter current and historical event data using Chrome or Safari web-browsers.
Using the SafeLINC mobile app, push notifications provide alerts when the status of a fire panel changes and the ability to view real-time event information from anywhere means a user can monitor their systems remotely and always be aware of the status of their fire systems. Users can also access current and historical event data from the app.
An optional cellular module is also available, allowing customers to connect their gateway to the internet wirelessly if ethernet is not available, or as a backup if an issue causes the ethernet connection to be lost. The 4G module includes an antenna kit to receive a wireless signal and there are 3 extension kits available in 4.57m, 7.62m and 15.24m allowing users to place the antenna further away from the module to optimise the signal coverage.
(Note – SIM card must be purchased separately from a local supplier in accordance with a user’s needs)

• Monitor systems from anywhere
• Improve service efficiency
• Streamline inspection, maintenance and commissioning
• Use with IOS, Android, Safari and Google Chrome

Detectors

The FC460 range of detectors use the FireClass digital protocol to provide robust and reliable communications to the control panel. A wide range of cable types can be used and the open topology capability of the system makes it ideal for the upgrade of older systems whilst reusing the cables to reduce cost.
FireClass FC460 detectors provide the best in class environmental and detection performance with the capability of detecting all fire types. The range includes an Optical/Heat Multisensor and Optical/Heat/CO Triple Multisensor.
Automatic self testing of each sensor element offers reassurance of operation at all times and the 360o alarm, isolated and fault LED on each detector provides instant line of sight. Fourteen EN54 approved modes/sensitivities for the Optical/ Heat Multisensor help to provide one of the best and most versatile detectors on the market.

General Features

• Multiple fire detection modes.
• FireClass detection algorithms.
• CO fire detection technology.
• Up to 250 detectors per loop.
• Optional bi-directional line isolation.
• Remote detector verification & temperature read out.
• Highly featured service tool.
• Programmable alarm LED with 360o viewing angle.
• Optional detector locking pin.
• Variety of sounder and relay detector base.
• Internationally approved.
• Color variant – RAL9016 Traffic White*.

Callpoints

A comprehensive range of call points for use with FireClass addressable systems, using the robust and reliable FireClass open protocol.
All the callpoints are designed to enable an alarm signal to be given by a plastic resettable element, which means that the call point can be easily reset after
it has been activated. Any change in the status of the switch is immediately communicated to the FireClass Control and Indicating Equipment (CIE). All call points have an integral short-circuit isolator for monitoring the addressable
loop wiring.
The integral LED indicator is normally off. When the frangible element is broken, an alarm is registered and the LED will illuminate red. If a section of the loop wiring adjacent to the call point is shorted, the built-in short-circuit isolator trips, isolating the shorted section and the LED is illuminated yellow. The status remains until the short is removed. If required, an optional transparent hinged cover may be installed to guard against accidental operation. Both indoor and outdoor versions are available.

General Features

• Integral short circuit isolator.
• Dual colour LED indication.
• EN54-11 certification.
• Compact, modern styling.
• Test key for fast testing.
• IP67 ingress protection models for external applications.

Addressable Fire Alarm Device Series

The FC440AV range of compact addressable wall sounders with a visual alarm device (VAD) includes three models with the same low current and high output specification; red and white body indoor models plus an IP rated version for either outdoor or harsh environment applications.

General Features

• Compact and unobtrusive sounder solution.
• Reflective Sound Monitoring (RSM).
• Reflective Light Monitoring (RLM).
• Self-test (**).
• Shorter Light Pulse for faster response.
• Indoor and outdoor versions.
• Indoor models can be semi-flush or surface mounted including a choice of shallow or deep back box.
• IP rated option has a deep surface back box for use with suitable IP-rated glands and cabling.
• Power and data from the loop.
• Built-in line isolator.
• 16 selectable tones.
• Realistic Conventional Bell Tone.
• 2 selectable volumes.
• 2 selectable flash rates.
• Select the tone volume and flash rate using panel configuration software.
• Independent addressable control of the sounder and beacon.
• Different tones can be used for fire alarm and class change.

FOR MORE DETAILED INFO DOWNLOAD THE FIRECLASS CATELOG HERE