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HOW TO USE THIS SIMULATOR

This online simulator is designed to assist firefighters in learning the conventional sequence to reading and operating a fire alarm panel. It is important that your personnel become familiar with the fire alarm panels and monitoring systems in your jurisdiction. The intent of this simulator is for you to incorporate an alarm panel into scenario-based training you may hold at your agency. For example, if you are utilizing a fog machine to simulate smoke inside a structure, adding a fire alarm to this evolution makes the event more realistic. Place a tablet running this scenario in the entrance-way to your training location.

STEP 1 - SELECT ALARM TYPE

On the main page you must select the type of fire alarm scenario you wish to run.
Fire Alarm - options include smoke detectors, pull stations, and heat detectors
Supervisory Alarm - options include water flow, valve shutoffs, or fire pump activations
Trouble Alarm - options include wiring faults, AC power failure, or low battery warnings
Combination - the option to run both supervisory and fire alarm option combinations
For added realism, select "Instructor Mode" (see below)

STEP 2 - SELECT ALARM DETAILS

Once you have chosen the type of alarm you wish to simulate, a page will provide options specific to your scenario. You may select as many alarm options as you wish. Choose options that match the scenario you wish to simulate. Note that for residential alarms you must enter a PIN number that the firefighter will have to input to operate the panel. When you have selected all details, press "ACTIVATE ALARM" to begin the scenario.

STEP 3 - RUN THE SCENARIO

Upon activation the alarm panel will show up on your device. If your sound is turned on, an alarm will sound (connect to a Bluetooth speaker to create a louder, more realistic sense of an alarm).
SIZE THE ALARM PANEL FOR YOUR DEVICE. Note, the panel will not automatically adjust to your device. Hold your tablet horizontally and fill the screen with the panel using a pinch-and-spread maneuver to zoom accordingly. Begin the evolution with your firefighters. The panel is touch-screen operated. Note, not all buttons have functionality. The main functioning buttons will be Silence, Acknowledge, Reset, along with directional arrow keys for commercial alarms, and the numeric keypad for residential alarms.
NOTE REGARDING RESIDENTIAL ALARMS - This panel is modeled after common residential and small commercial alarm panels. To operate, the firefighter must identify and input the PIN, following by the "off" (#1) key to silence, and then repeat the same sequence when ready to reset.

STEP 4 - ADDED REALISM

The fire alarm simulator is designed to supplement hands-on scenario-style training. Consider the following ideas to add realism:
A) Place the tablet behind a locked door (such as in a trophy case) to require firefighters to locate a panel key inside a knox box
B) Create temporary room name placards for your facility that match the alarm panel options
C) Purchase or acquire pull stations that you can stick to a wall and require firefighters to reset them before hitting reset on the tablet
D) Hide the PIN for residential alarms in spaces where residents usually write down this information, or have someone playing the homeowner/keyholder know the PIN when asked by firefighters

STEP 5 - EXIT THE SCENARIO

When the evolution is complete, press "EXIT SCENARIO" at the bottom to return to the main page. You can then reset the panel and begin again.

INSTRUCTOR MODE

In reality, when attempting to reset an alarm panel but the notifying appliance is still activated (such as a smoke head in smoke conditions or an activated pull station), the panel will remain in or return to alarm status. Instructor Mode allows you to "clear" these activations to get a proper reset. As the instructor, when you see the firefighter trainees "clear" an alarm (such as vent a room of simulated smoke or reset a prop pull station), you can "clear" the activation on the panel by typing * (corresponding alarm #) * If all activations have been "cleared" then a full reset will be successful. If some activations still need to be addressed, only the "cleared" activations typed by the instructor will disappear.

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