Choosing a fire alarm system for an office is one of the most important decisions building management has to make. A good system can make the difference between a life and death situation. There are several alarm system options to choose from. An alarm system with the capability to alert both building occupants and the local fire department within seconds is the best option for large buildings. Manual heat and smoke detectors are also highly popular for smaller buildings. Following is a list of recommended fire alarm systems for offices:
Automatic Fire Alarm Systems alert both occupants on the premises and the local fire department simultaneously. They are good for commercial and residential buildings where disabled occupants reside or work because the system automatically sends an alert to the local fire department to rush to the fire location.

Manual Fire Alarms are mainly used for large buildings or commercial property. They are a great option for large corporations and schools that have many occupants in the building because they have the capability of alerting every occupant in a large building of a fire situation. Manual fire alarms come with the following different alerting techniques: systems that require a building occupant to break the glass of the system to alert building occupants of fire, alarms that have to be manually pulled in case of fire and systems which require the push of a button to alert building occupants of fire. All manual fire alarms require the person who discovers a fire to alert the remaining occupants in a building by activating the alarm system.

Manual alarms are usually placed in stairwells of buildings in largely occupied buildings to ensure that occupants can exist the building safely through a stairwell.

Systems used for emergency evacuation are called Notification Systems. These systems notify building occupants of a fire or smoke situation by a beeping signal. Occupants of buildings are aware to evacuate the premises upon hearing the beeping signal from their building's notification system. However, they are not always equipped to send a signal to the local fire department. There are several different notification systems with various alerting notification. Some notification systems are equipped with lights to alert the hearing impaired occupants of a building. Other systems are equipped with voice announcement capabilities. Modern notification systems alert occupants of the building where the smoke or fire is detected. This is helpful to occupants of buildings and for fire fighters to detect exact smoke or fire location and to control the fire.

Fire alarms are so important in any home or business. They are the key ingredient in home safety, especially when everyone is sleeping. The shrieking sound of the alarms lets everyone know that there is some sort of fire or smoke in the house. These devices have saved thousands of lives, and they will continue to save lives in the future. Without fire alarms, people and their belongings would become engulfed in flames and everything that people cherish would be gone forever. Fire alarms give people the ability to get out of their house or business safely, and they may also give them the opportunity to get the fire out before it gets out of hand.