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Integrated Fire Alarm, Emergency Power and Smoke-Control Systems for Enhancing Building Resilience in Saudi Arabia
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Building Fire Safety Systems
Abstract
How tough a building can be made out to be in the event of a fire depends on whether the life-safety systems function as a single, coordinated protective chain or whether they remain as separate systems that merely meet code requirements. This study examines the integration of fire alarm, emergency power and smoke control systems in buildings in Saudi Arabia, with a special emphasis on high-rise buildings, mixed-use developments, healthcare facilities, hotels and other large public buildings in the light of the country's rapid urban development. A structured integrative review was carried out using thirty sources published between 2020 and 2025, combining peer-reviewed research on fire safety, evacuation procedures, sensing technology, power reliability and digital twins with the existing Saudi and international standards. The evidence was organised according to the areas of detection and notification, power continuity, smoke tenability, interface logic, commissioning and operational governance. The synthesis indicates that resilience is most at risk at the points where the systems interact: at the interfaces between the alarm system and the control system, when switching to standby power, when receiving feedback from dampers and fans, along the communication links, and when operators have to interpret conflicting status signals. Emergency power should therefore be regarded as a layer which guarantees the continuity of life-safety, while smoke control should be checked to make sure that it operates as a dynamic tenability feature that is initiated and monitored via reliable alarm logic. The paper suggests an endurance assurance framework for Saudi Arabia based on dependency mapping, cause-and-effect verification, integrated testing, fault visibility and the availability of evidence throughout the whole lifecycle. The review concludes that improved co-ordination between designers, specialist contractors, commissioning teams, facility managers and the relevant authorities can turn prescriptive compliance into real, measurable continuity during a fire and into faster recovery.
How to cite this paper
@article{1722786,
author = {Mohammad Younus},
title = {Integrated Fire Alarm, Emergency Power and Smoke-Control Systems for Enhancing Building Resilience in Saudi Arabia},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {3},
pages = {165-177},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1722786.pdf},
abstract = {How tough a building can be made out to be in the event of a fire depends on whether the life-safety systems function as a single, coordinated protective chain or whether they remain as separate systems that merely meet code requirements. This study examines the integration of fire alarm, emergency power and smoke control systems in buildings in Saudi Arabia, with a special emphasis on high-rise buildings, mixed-use developments, healthcare facilities, hotels and other large public buildings in the light of the country's rapid urban development. A structured integrative review was carried out using thirty sources published between 2020 and 2025, combining peer-reviewed research on fire safety, evacuation procedures, sensing technology, power reliability and digital twins with the existing Saudi and international standards. The evidence was organised according to the areas of detection and notification, power continuity, smoke tenability, interface logic, commissioning and operational governance. The synthesis indicates that resilience is most at risk at the points where the systems interact: at the interfaces between the alarm system and the control system, when switching to standby power, when receiving feedback from dampers and fans, along the communication links, and when operators have to interpret conflicting status signals. Emergency power should therefore be regarded as a layer which guarantees the continuity of life-safety, while smoke control should be checked to make sure that it operates as a dynamic tenability feature that is initiated and monitored via reliable alarm logic. The paper suggests an endurance assurance framework for Saudi Arabia based on dependency mapping, cause-and-effect verification, integrated testing, fault visibility and the availability of evidence throughout the whole lifecycle. The review concludes that improved co-ordination between designers, specialist contractors, commissioning teams, facility managers and the relevant authorities can turn prescriptive compliance into real, measurable continuity during a fire and into faster recovery.},
month = {September},
}