Fire Alarm Strobe: From Disco to Danger Warning
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

Defined Tag: Fire Alarm Strobe.

When you think of strobe lighting, you most likely think of discos, with their flashing lights and heavy music. In fact, however, one of the most common and useful of all uses for strobe lighting is in fire alarms. A fire alarm strobe is generally used in connection with a horn or siren, and are meant to grab the attention of bystanders, to warn them that there is a fire nearby, and to clear the area as quickly and efficiently as possible. As such, a fire alarm strobe is an essential part of fire alarm safety, and are invaluable in any large fire alarm system.

The fire alarm strobe is typically connected to a fire alarm control panel, and may be set up to go off when the panel is triggered by either a smoke alarm or a heat sensor, or some other form of fire alarm. Naturally, the fire department is also alerted, usually via an ATS (alarm transportation system), but that has little or nothing to do with the fire alarm strobe. Its only purpose is to alert bystanders to the presence of a fire and to ensure that the area is cleared as quickly as possible.

Alarm strobes are now required to have clear lenses, due to requirements imposed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but at one point many early models had translucent lenses. These lenses were sometimes different colors, such as red and blue--in fact, the red and blue lights on police cars, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles are also a kind of strobe light--which were designed to grab people's attention more effectively. However, most fire alarm strobe lights today are clear. Occasionally you will find an older model with colored lenses.

Alarm strobes grab attention and evacuate fire endangered areas. As such, they do valuable service and save many lives each year. Strobe lighting isn't just for discos any more.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.